Federal Stimulus Funds for Weatherizing Arrive in Long Island

Diagram of typical air leaks in a home that requires weatherization. (image: millercountrywidehomeguide.co.uk)

Out with the good air, in with the bad air…wait, that’s not right.

No, it’s not. However, it’s exactly what happens in many homes, especially older, more poorly insulated ones: warm air escapes in winter, drawing in cold air and raising heating bills. In the summer, the opposite happens. In either case, the homeowner spends more money on heating or cooling than he should have—and with crude oil, and therefore heating oil, prices rising, the extra hit to your wallet can be significant.

Fortunately, weatherizing a home is straightforward:
• Weather strip and caulk around doors and windows
• Clean and, if necessary, repair or replace aging heating systems
• Repair or replace broken windows, including storm windows
• Insulate walls and ceilings

Straightforward, but not necessarily cheap—caulk is inexpensive, and insulation’s not too bad, but anyone who has ever replaced an oil furnace or hot-water boiler, or installed new windows, knows that those costs add up fast. Many elements of weatherization are beyond the means of low-income residents, and those are precisely the people who need it the most: not only does every dollar saved on a heating or cooling bill represent real money if you’re one a tight or fixed budget, but lower-income residents are more likely to live in the oldest and most poorly weatherized homes.

Fortunately for Long Island residents, there’s help. As local news 27east.com reports, federal stimulus money will fund the weatherizing of over 2,000 Long Island homes—at no cost to homeowners. The non-profit Community Development Corporation of Long Island is receiving $10.5 million of federal grant money for weatherization through New York State, part of the overall $395 million NYS is receiving for energy efficiency projects.The Community Development Corporation provides weatherization assistance every year. Normally though, it can fund weatherization of 600 homes across Nassau and Suffolk counties. This year, over three times as many homes will receive new furnaces, energy-efficient doors and windows, and attic-insulation. The expectation is that the average heating bill will decline 32 percent after weatherization—very significant for seniors living on Social Security, for example. And seniors, in fact, are a major target of the CDC’s efforts, and are urged to apply for free home inspection to see whether their home needs to be weatherized.
It’s not just Long Island benefiting. As The HEAT Zone reported, $5 billion in federal aid is going to weatherize homes across the country—in hot climates and cold. (Most experts agree that on a pure bang-for-buck basis, the country would be best off spending all its weatherizing money on the coldest states, since you save more money by reducing heating costs than reducing cooling costs; however, try getting congressional support from southern states without money to weatherize Atlanta houses, Texas ranches, and Florida condos!)

Every state has its weatherization programs, generally administered through local agencies and partners, like Long Island’s Community Development Corporation. New York State’s program is typical—low income residents of any age can apply for weatherizing assistance. In New York, the target population for help is made up of households earning less than 60% of the state median income.

The goals of these programs—and the federal assistance for them—are several:
• To reduce usage of fossil fuels by improving energy efficiency—a step forward on the road to energy independence
• To save society’s most vulnerable members money
• To stimulate the economy—after all, people have to hired to do the energy audits and perform the work, and insulation, windows, furnaces, etc. have to manufactured purchased

Everyone should weatherize—you save money, save coal, oil, or natural gas, and save the environment (burning less fuel means less pollution). And if you are, or think you may be, eligible for assistance, apply for it—if Uncle Sam is offering you money to weatherize your home and help energy independence, it would be downright unpatriotic, not to mention ungrateful, not to accept.