Resources, Education & Training

Enhance Your Skills and Knowledge 

Access a variety of resources, educational and training materials designed to help you better understand and implement energy-efficient practices in your buildings. 

* New materials will be added to this page as they become available.

Online Courses and Certifications:  

• Building Operator Training: Community Housing – This free online program educates custodians, maintenance personnel, and building operators in the affordable housing sector about energy efficiency, innovative technologies, and facility retrofits. It covers water conservation, electrical billing and its environmental impact, energy-saving lighting and equipment, energy monitoring, and HVAC system efficiency. 

• Energy Efficiency for Building Operators & Maintenance Staff (EEBO) – This interactive two-day course equips building operators and managers with practical skills to identify and control energy use across building systems through activities like demonstrations, case studies, and an “Energy Hunt.” By applying their facility knowledge, participants learn to uncover energy-saving opportunities, calculate potential savings, and implement changes to reduce energy consumption, maintenance costs, and operating expenses.  

• Energy Efficiency in Buildings – Offered by the International Energy Agency, this course equips participants to advance energy-efficient building construction and retrofits by exploring design fundamentals, waste reduction benefits, policies, standards, data, and financing. Through practical, cross-disciplinary examples, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of energy efficiency, and the tools needed to leverage their expertise for sustainable building practices. 

• Planning and Selecting GHG Reduction Projects – This two-day course provides participants with the skills to effectively plan and prioritize decarbonization projects, focusing on portfolio strategies, energy studies, and low-carbon road maps supported by real-world case studies. It emphasizes aligning decarbonization efforts with organizational goals, operational capacity, and climate adaptation needs for practical implementation. 

• Managing Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects – An online training program, created with energy experts, provides environmental professionals with practical tools to implement sustainable energy projects. Through four comprehensive modules and a final evaluation, participants gain expertise in energy retrofits, emissions savings, renewable energy, financial analysis, project management, and developing Community Energy Plans to lead sustainable initiatives in their communities. 

• Energy Management Professional 101 (EMP 101) – EMP 101 is a three-day training program that provides a solid foundation in energy management principles for professionals of all levels. It covers essential topics like bench-marking energy consumption, identifying savings opportunities, and creating energy management plans, with a focus on practical applications and standards like ISO 50001. 

• National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB) Online Training – Natural Resources Canada, the National Research Council of Canada, and CSA Group have collaborated to create NECB training courses and videos for contractors, designers, and building officials. These resources aim to enhance the construction community’s ability to implement the NECB effectively, thereby increasing building energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. 

• Training Opportunities for Non-Profit Providers – With support from BCNPHA, a new online Non-Profit portal offers free e Learning courses on asbestos management and fire safety, covering key regulations and maintenance needs. The portal also includes the Skills Plus property maintenance training program for provincially funded non-profit housing providers. 

Workshops and Webinars:  

• Energy efficiency in rental housing (Efficiency Canada) 

• Transform your approach to energy efficiency (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

• Asset management and energy conservation (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

• Making affordable housing sustainable (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

• Energy bench-marking: Empowering efficiency in affordable housing (BCNPHA) 

• Enhancing building performance in community housing in Canada (BCNPHA) 

Resources and Fact sheets:  

Access our comprehensive Resource Guide, which lists businesses and service providers specializing in energy efficiency-related work. This guide includes companies offering energy audits/modelling, insulation, solar installation, HVAC upgrades, and other energy-saving solutions. The guide is sourced from Efficiency Manitoba website and external research.  

To have your business, or a business that you have worked with and would recommend, added to the resource guide, contact us at [email protected] 

• Understanding energy efficiency: A guide for affordable housing providers (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

• Planning high-performance affordable housing (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

• Developing a business case for an energy-efficiency retrofit (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

• How to undertake deep energy retrofits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

• Hiring + Working with Development consultants: A guide for non-profit housing providers (BCNPHA) 

• Energy saving competitions: Activity kits (Energy Star) 

• How the average Manitoba home uses energy (Efficiency Manitoba) 

• National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings 2020 (NECB) (Government of Canada) 

Video Library:  

• How to save energy in your home (B&Q) 

• Energy minute | Winter savings (Efficiency Manitoba) 

• Energy minute | Save water and energy (Efficiency Manitoba) 

• Energy Efficiency 101 (Student Energy) 

• Saving energy at home – Energy efficiency tips (Reduction Revolution) 

• Creating more energy efficient social housing (World Green Building Council) 

• Energy-saving tips (We Energies) 

Tenant Education:  

• Tenant engagement on sustainability (BC Housing) 

• 8 great strategies to engage tenants on energy efficiency (Energy Star) 

• Checklists of energy-saving measures (Energy Star) 

• Innovative ways to educate tenants (Energy Star) 

• Tenant energy guide (Choice Housing) 

• A field guide to retrofits in occupied buildings (Tower Renewal Partnership) 

• Landlord informs, tenant manages energy (BOMA Canada) 

Case Studies: 

• Pine Tree Park Estates – a blueprint for sustainable, affordable housing (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

• How one affordable housing provider created a net zero strategy (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

• Energy retrofit delivers multiple benefits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

• Benny Farm Redevelopment – Maintaining community while greening affordable housing (Sustainable Heritage Case Studies) 

• Project Feature: Hazelview Properties (Efficiency Manitoba) 

• Project Feature: 65 Dewdney Avenue (Efficiency Manitoba) 

• Working with non-profit housing organizations (Efficiency Manitoba) 

Publications: 

• Energy efficient affordable housing: Policy design and implementation in Canadian cities (Sasha Tsenkova) 

• Advancing tenants’ rights to retrofits and energy efficiency (Ecotrust Canada) 

• Blueprint for greening affordable housing (Walker Wells and Kimberly Vermeer) 

• Smart homes in easy steps: Master smart technology for your home (Nick Vandome) 

• Energy efficiency for low-income tenants (Efficiency Canada) 

• The energy efficient home: A complete guide (Patrick Waterfield) 

• Energy efficiency and economic value in affordable housing (Research Gate) 

• Energy efficiency in rental housing (Efficiency Canada) 

We encourage you to explore funding opportunities, download the Resource Guide, watch informative videos, stay updated with the latest news, or reach out to our energy efficiency team for personalized advice.