Free home weatherization: insulation, repairs and lower energy bills

The Weatherization Assistance Program, funded by the US Department of Energy and often supplemented by state and utility funds, has operated for decades. Trained crews perform an energy audit of your home and then carry out the cost-effective measures it identifies.

Typical work includes attic and wall insulation, sealing air leaks around doors, windows and ducts, repairing or replacing unsafe or inefficient furnaces and boilers, water heater upgrades, and health and safety checks such as carbon monoxide testing and smoke detectors. Windows are replaced only where the audit shows it is cost-effective.

Because the work reduces energy use, savings continue year after year. It also makes homes safer: crews test combustion appliances for carbon monoxide and repair hazards they find.

Demand is high and many agencies have waiting lists. Priority usually goes to older adults, people with disabilities, families with young children, and households with high energy burdens.

Renters are eligible if the landlord agrees to the work. Many landlords say yes because it improves their property at no cost, and some programmes require landlords to keep rents stable for a period afterwards.

The energy audit is the heart of the programme. Using tools such as a blower door, which depressurises the house to measure air leakage, and combustion analysers that test heating appliances, the auditor builds a picture of where the home is losing energy. Each possible measure is then ranked by how much it saves for what it costs, and only measures that pay for themselves over their lifetime are installed. That is why two neighbouring houses can receive very different work.

Health and safety is built in. Crews test for carbon monoxide, check gas lines and venting, install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors where needed, and address moisture problems that would otherwise be made worse by sealing the home. In some cases they find problems - a cracked heat exchanger, a back-drafting water heater - that the household had no idea were putting them at risk.

Homes needing major structural repairs before weatherization can be done may be deferred until those issues are addressed. Ask about home repair programmes alongside.

1. Find your local weatherization agency

   Use the Department of Energy's state contacts, your community action agency, or 211.

2. Apply with proof of income

   Include benefit award letters if you receive SSI or TANF, which may make you automatically eligible.

3. Get landlord permission if you rent

   The agency usually provides a form. Explain that the work is free and improves the property.

4. Have the energy audit

   An auditor inspects your home and identifies cost-effective improvements.

5. Work is scheduled and completed

   Crews carry out the work, often over a few days.

6. Final inspection

   The agency checks quality and safety.

7. Keep up the savings

   Ask the crew how to use any new thermostat or equipment, change furnace filters as advised, and keep the energy-saving tips sheet. Report any problems with the work to the agency, which inspects and guarantees it.

Energy audit

An inspection measuring where a home loses energy and identifying cost-effective improvements.

Blower door test

A test that depressurises a home to measure air leaks.

Air sealing

Closing gaps around windows, doors, pipes and attics that let air escape.

Combustion safety test

Checks heating appliances for carbon monoxide and proper venting.

• DOE - Weatherization Assistance Programwww.energy.gov
• Community Action Partnership - find an agencycommunityactionpartnership.com