In 2018, the North Carolina Housing Coalition became a partner of Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA). EEFA unites people from diverse sectors and backgrounds, including housing, energy efficiency, environment, health and community leaders, to collectively make multi-family homes healthy and affordable through energy and water efficiency. This campaign is dedicated to linking the energy and housing sectors together in order to tap the benefits of energy efficiency for millions of low-income families. We have begun this work with our fellow state partner, the NC Justice Center, with the support of the Energy Foundation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the National Housing Trust.
Mapping the Energy Burden
Few things can make an affordable home unaffordable more quickly than high energy bills. Although low-income families can spend 20% or more of their income on energy, energy costs are often overlooked by housing advocates as we focus on the costs of a family’s rent or mortgage. However, energy costs are a crucial piece of the affordability puzzle. As part of the EEFA campaign, NCHC has partnered with the NC State University Geospatial Information Science and Technology Program to update our mapping tool to track average energy costs and energy burdens by county. Learn more about the mapping tool here.
