Pittsboro's newest home is not only an affordable one built through Chatham County Habitat for Humanity, but it's the 1,000th home to be built with the SystemVision program, which makes affordable homes even more affordable by adding energy-efficient features.

Habitat for Humanity said the home for Brandi Lane and her daughter was finished in June.

For the construction, Habitat partnered with Advanced Energy of Raleigh, which started the SystemVision program in 2000.

The program adds energy-efficient appliances, extra insulation and advanced windows which help keep energy costs down.

Advanced Energy said the average heating and cooling cost for one month is around $32.

"People often say affordable homeowners are just one bad muffler away from losing their house," said Krista Egger with Advanced Energy. "So this program helps them know how much to budget for energy over the year."

During a ceremony held Monday at the new home, Egger said the company will cover the cost any month the homeowner's energy bill goes above $32.

Advanced Energy said the energy saved by the 1,000 homes it has helped build would have taken 1.5 million tons of coal to generate.

The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency helped fund the project.