TRACY CITY, Tenn. -- Candy Pert's home received some much-needed energy saving upgrades this week, but she didn't have to pay a cent.
She got new storm windows, a back door, an exhaust fan for the bathroom and an access door for her attic through the Tennessee Weatherization Assistance Program.
Mrs. Pert, 57, has been disabled for eight years and couldn't have afforded the work on her own. On a fixed income of about $1,100 per month, she said her power bills were just too high.
"Our electric bills were running between $300 and $400 a month ... and I just couldn't afford that," said Mrs. Pert, whose husband is her caregiver. "It's really hard on $1,100 a month -- it's very, very hard to pay a $400 electric bill. You have to cut from somewhere, so the place you cut from is food."
She heard about the program from a neighbor and signed up at the end of October. An inspector came the first week in November and put out a bid to local contractors in December, she said, but the holidays put the work on hold until this week.
"Our job is to go in and see if we can help the client reduce their electric bill or gas bill by making their house more energy efficient," said Wendell McCallie, weatherization manager for the Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency.
The agency oversees weatherization work in Bledsoe, Grundy, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Polk, Rhea and Sequatchie counties.
Energy auditors conduct mechanical tests to determine what needs to be fixed in a home, Mr. McCallie said. The main instrument used is a blower door, which can determine where air is leaking in or out of the house, he said.
"We can actually go around and feel the air coming in," Mr. McCallie said. "It helps us to identify air leaks so we can specify those places to be fixed."
DO YOU QUALIFY?To have your home upgraded through the Weatherization Assistance Program, your income must be at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. For Tennessee, that is defined as:* $21,660 annually, or $1,805 a month, for a household of one* $29,140 annually, or $2,428.33 a month, for a household of two* $36,620 annually, or $3,051.67 a month, for a household of three* $44,100 annually, or $3,675 a month, for a household of four* $51,580 annually, or $4,298.33 a month, for a household of fiveSource: Southeast Tennessee Human Resource AgencyABOUT THE PROGRAMThe Weatherization Assistance Program is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Eligible households can receive as much as $6,500 worth of improvements in a year, which can save about $350 in energy costs. So far, Tennessee has received almost $10 million of its allotted $99.1 million in federal funding.Source: U.S. Department of Energy
The state contract for the federal funds began on July 1, 2009, and the money will run out at the end of September, said Andrew Ramsey, weatherization coordinator for the Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency.
On average, the process takes about 60 days from application to completion, so Mr. Ramsey encouraged people who are eligible to sign up as soon as possible.
To be eligible for assistance, the household income must be at or below 200 percent of the poverty level, he said.
"It's a very good program in that weatherization helps people save money on their utility bills," Mr. Ramsey said. "It reduces how much energy homes consume and, by reducing how much they consume, you can also reduce the carbon footprint, which the federal government is always looking for ways to reduce."
Mrs. Pert is looking forward to the savings. She said she's still waiting to find out if she'll be able to have new insulation installed, which would "cut down the on the electric bill immensely."
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