An Ottawa organization is looking for drafty homes to insulate — for free.

The Envirocentre, an Ottawa non-profit group that specializes in energy efficiency, runs a weatherization program for low-income households. Spokesman Andrew Cole said while the current program ends in a month, they have funds to insulate for 50 more drafty basements homes.

Each home costs about $3,000 to insulate, with the money coming from Enbridge Gas, a part of an agreement the company has with the Ontario Energy Board.

Elizabeth Blois, who rents a house in the east end of Ottawa, is the kind of client Envirocentre is seeking.

Before finding out about the program, Blois said, the basement "was cold. I didn't even want to come down to the basement, it was that cold."

With her heating bills rising and cold air rushing into the home through the uninsulated concrete basement, she turned to Envirocentre for help. They determined she was eligible for the program, and within a week the work was done.

The effect was immediate, she said: "I noticed a complete difference — a complete transformation — as soon as they left."

Cole called Blois's home "a classic example. There are thousands of houses in Ottawa that could be helped in this way."

The process is simple, Cole said.

"We can walk through, ask [residents] a couple key questions … and in some cases we can turn around and have the job done in no time at all as long as we know that we have a qualifying household and a qualifying house," he said.

Cole said he expects Elizabeth's family will save $500 on heating bills over the course of the winter. And it's a quick job, he said, adding Envirocentre's biggest challenge is persuading people to go to their website to sign up for it.

Envirocentre's goal is to weatherize 200 homes this year in eastern Ontario.