More than 500 families in South Tucson should experience lower utility costs this winter thanks to the Tucson Urban League.
By helping residents make their homes more energy efficient the League’s weatherization and home repair programs thrives due to a boost in funding over the last four years.
Weatherization entails modifying the home’s energy consumption, whether it’s installing weather stripping or even replacing entire heating and cooling systems.
The average American spends more than $1,300 annually on utility bills, but weatherization changes to a home can help to save more than $300 per year.
The program geared toward low-income families offers a free diagnostic assessment for a home to determine what are the most cost effective repairs to make.
“It really depends on what the house tells us that it needs to make the home more energy efficient. It could be more insulation, it could be more efficient appliances, it could be duct sealing,” said Terisha Ellis, Housing Department Facilitator of the Tucson Urban League. “It really is the diagnostic testing that tells us what each specific house needs.”
A main goal of the program is to assist low-income families reach self-sufficiency. Individuals who qualify for the program must own and have lived in their home for more than 12 months. Renters may be approved in specific situations.
“If it’s not cost effective to repair, then it’s possible that it would be replaced,” explained Debra Johnson, the program’s Intake Specialist, at the Weatherization Day Open House that took place on Oct. 28.
Felix and Margaret Stanley, previous recipients of the program, spoke about what the program was able to do for their home in South Tucson.
“My husband at the age of 95 was getting on top of the roof, fixing the coolers, we had air coming in our front door,” said Margaret Stanley. “Our water heater was popping making all kinds of noise, so we couldn’t sleep, it would wake us up at night.”
The program was able to replace their furnace, give them a new water heater, two new coolers and help with other weatherization changes to their home. Satisfied with their lower utility bills, the Stanleys are a model for the success of the program.
The benefits go beyond just saving money, but are also a step toward helping the environment. According to the U.S Department of Energy, for every weatherized household carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by one ton.
Most houses being weatherized across the nation are older buildings and full safety checks are built into many of the programs to also ensure the resident’s safety.
“We’ve helped 500 families so far and have about a million dollars left to give out,” said Ellis. “So there’s definitely room for more.”
The program is currently accepting applications and more information about qualification can be found out through the Tucson Urban League.
