Santa Fe Habitat homes are powered by all-electric appliances. This reduces our carbon footprint and eliminates natural gasses from the homes we build. By using all-electric appliances, LED light bulbs, and water-saving appliances – we are doing our part to ensure our Partner Families save energy and eliminate carbon emissions! Additionally, our homes are extremely well-sealed, which minimizes the amount of heat and air conditioning escaping the house to maximize the efficiency of household appliances.

We plant drought tolerant plants in homeowner’s landscaping and dependent upon the property, reuse grey water to conserve as much water as possible. All our appliances are extremely water efficient. Whirlpool is a loyal supporter of Habitat for Humanity and provides high-quality appliances for each home we build. Our design team also ensures that plumbing is as centralized as possible, meaning that the water heater is close to showers and heated water sources, so that water isn’t wasted as it heats up for usage. 

In addition to energy efficiency, we also use space-efficient building practices to eliminate waste. For example, we calculate the length of our walls to reduce scrap lumber. 

In 2020, Santa Fe Habitat committed to the construction of Net Zero Energy Homes. This means that the homes we build produce more energy through solar panels than they consume. They are environmentally friendly and go through strict certification processes to achieve this unique rating. Santa Fe Habitat is proud to shine nationally as a leader in Net Zero Energy construction and will continue to build the most energy-efficient homes possible, thanks to our environmentally conscious construction team.

Santa Fe Habitat installs solar panels on each home our nonprofit builds. In 2020, approximately 68,000 pounds of Carbon Dioxide were saved by solar production. Any extra energy produced by our solar panels is recycled back into the electrical grid. Due to our investment in low-energy consumption homes and solar panels, homeowners save on their monthly bills. They may only pay $7.80 per month, giving them the wiggle room to put their money toward other spending priorities.  

In 2020, our nonprofit collaborated with the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture + Planning EcoMOD Project to help build our first prefabricated home. This marked an exciting moment for Santa Fe Habitat, as these home designs dovetail with our green building initiatives to reduce energy, water, and home maintenance costs. This EcoMod house was shipped from a warehouse in Albuquerque to Santa Fe and installed on a concrete foundation in Oshara Village. Once shipped, the project was seen through completion by our construction team. To learn more about this project, click here. 

• Our affiliate office of Habitat for Humanity is notable for the quality and efficiency of our homes. Thanks to Evergreen Building Solutions and Green Build NM, we have achieved the following certifications, the biggest success being our Net Zero Energy status for all homes built after Fall of 2021.  

• HERS Rated 
• WERS Rated 
• EnergyStar Certified 
• Indoor airPLUS Certified 
• Net Zero Energy Ready Homes