When Energize Pittsburgh launched, the goal was simple: help Pittsburgh homeowners lower their utility bills while making their homes safer, healthier, and more resilient. Over the past two years, this pilot program proved that we can tackle climate and housing challenges at the same time to create lasting change for local families.

A Powerful Partnership

Energize Pittsburgh was a collaboration between the City of Pittsburgh, Duquesne Light Company, ACTION-Housing, and Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh. Supported by local and national partners, we focused on neighbors facing the highest energy burdens (the percentage of income spent on utilities), especially those living in older homes that were never built to be efficient.

Rather than just fixing one thing, we took a “whole-home” approach. We paired energy upgrades like insulation and new appliances with critical home repairs. This ensured that investments would last, often fixing leaky roofs or outdated wiring before installing new, energy-saving technology.

By the end of 2025, we completed upgrades in 40 homes across 17 neighborhoods, helping families lower their bills, eliminate electrical hazards, and prepare their homes for future efficiency improvements for a cleaner energy future.

A Whole-Home Approach in Action

The true heart of the program is the homeowners we served. Dainna, a homeowner in East Hills, was navigating rising energy costs while welcoming a new baby and sending a daughter to college.

By combining Energize Pittsburgh with our broader repair programs, we completed nearly $70,000 in improvements at her home. This included a new roof, structural stabilization, and a 5.92 kW solar system. These changes didn’t just lower her bills; they made her home a stable, safe environment for her growing family.

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  Dainna's East Hills home received almost  $70,000 in free upgrades including a new roof, structural repairs, and a 5.92 kW solar panel system.
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  Through Energize Pittsburgh and our team at Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, we were able to repair and update Dainna's home to better fit her growing family and future energy needs.
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  Professionals from Energize Pittsburgh and Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh were able to install many energy efficiency upgrades.

Results Where They Matter Most

Most households we served live on limited incomes, with an average household income of $23,415. For these families, every dollar saved on utilities is a dollar that can go toward food, medicine, or education.

Click to read more about our 2025 Energize Pittsburgh impact.

Who We Served

• 33 female heads of household
• 13 veterans
• 8 multi-generational households
• 4 individuals living with disabilities

Program Upgrades

• 19 high-efficiency heat pump systems
• 17 electrical service and panel upgrades
• 31 window replacements to keep heat in and cold out
• 8 heat pump dryers and water heaters installed

On average, we invested $11,310 per home. By layering our funding, we were able to bring in three additional dollars for every program dollar spent, allowing for deeper repairs that improved both safety and efficiency.

Building Local Capacity

We also used this pilot to grow Pittsburgh’s green economy. We worked with seven contractors, including three Minority and Women-Owned Business (MWBE) partners. Several of these professionals completed specialized training in heat pump installation, building the local workforce we need for a more sustainable future.

Looking Ahead

The Energize Pittsburgh pilot showed that reducing energy burden requires more than installing new equipment. Many homes in Pittsburgh are over a century old, and meaningful energy improvements often depend on addressing deferred maintenance first.

By pairing energy upgrades with critical repairs, we helped 40 families stabilize their homes and their budgets. These investments will continue to pay off through lower bills and better comfort for years to come.

The post Energize Pittsburgh: Strengthening Homes, Lowering Energy Burden appeared first on Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh.

For our very first episode, we’re telling a story that starts right here at home.

Episode 1: Building Better, Together: The E3 and RTP Story

What happens when you combine a passion for helping homeowners with the precision of a particle physicist? You get a powerful partnership that makes homes not just safer, but healthier and more affordable for decades to come.

In our debut episode, we sit down with Dr. Lucyna “Lucy” de Barbaro, the founder and director of Energy Efficiency Empowerment (E3). Lucy shares her incredible journey from studying physics at the Fermi National Lab to focusing her expertise on a critical issue here in Pittsburgh: the energy burden placed on families living in our region’s older, often inefficient housing stock.

As Lucy explains, her work is driven by a simple question: How can we make a real, measurable difference?

“My conviction that we ought to do work to prevent the worst of climate change and my background as a physicist, I think, motivate me to go for projects that make a difference and have a sizable impact.”

A Partnership Born at Rebuilding Together

One of the most exciting parts of this story is that it began right here. Lucy’s work evaluating RTP projects was the “impetus” for creating E3. She saw that while homes were being made safe, there was a huge opportunity to go deeper—to tackle the hidden costs of energy waste that burden low-income families long after the repairs are done.

This episode explores how our two organizations have created a perfect partnership:

• Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh brings our deep commitment to our neighbors, focusing on the homeowner with the “absolutely heartwarming approach” and care that Lucy admired.
• Energy Efficiency Empowerment (E3) brings the technical expertise, measurement tools (like infrared cameras and blower doors), and crucial gap funding to upgrade homes with high-performance windows, proper insulation, and efficient heat pump water heaters.

Together, we ensure a home isn’t just repaired for today, but is affordable, healthy, and sustainable for the future. As we discuss in the episode, this collaboration was essential for our recent Rehab for Resale project in Braddock, transforming a house that was “porous like a sieve” into a safe and efficient home for a new low-income buyer.

A Call to Action for Our Fellow Nonprofits

This episode has a special message for other leaders in the housing sector. Lucy makes a powerful case for why every nonprofit should make energy performance a non-negotiable part of every rehab project. It’s not just about the environment; it’s about financial stability and equity for the families we all serve.

“I would love for each project to be evaluated… Thinking across organizations about how we move our city on a more sustainable path… We ought to rally together around this issue. Especially now that we can also help build equity and help lower-income folks to be part of that movement toward cleaner energy use and lower emissions. They should not be left behind.”

Listen Now and Get Involved

Ready to be inspired? You can listen to the full conversation with Dr. Lucy de Barbaro now!

• Listen on Spotify
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Amazon

Are you a leader at another nonprofit interested in making a deeper impact on your projects? Lucy invites you to connect with E3 directly.

• Energy Efficiency and Empowerment Email: info@eeepgh.org

Thank you for tuning in to Neighbor to Neighbor. Together, we can build a better Pittsburgh!

The post Announcing Our New Podcast: Neighbor to Neighbor! appeared first on Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh.