Living on a fixed-income with her 26-year-old son who has Sickle cell anemia, Eleanor Young said she often struggled to keep her 980-square-foot home warm for her son while paying monthly electric bills that usually totaled more than $150 a month.
When she heard from a neighbor about a program to make her home more energy efficient, she jumped at the chance. With funding from the Tennessee Valley Authority and the advice of EPB’s Energy Pros, Young’s house was resealed and upgraded with a new heating and air conditioning system and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to not only cut her monthly light bill but also improve the air quality and safety of her 71-year-old house.
Young’s house on Delano Drive, which was built in 1950 and previously lacked adequate insulation or modern HVAC equipment, was the 400th home to undergo the energy upgrades as a part of EPB’s Home Uplift program.
“This program has really helped me out a lot,” Young said Wednesday during a celebration of the Home Uplift milestone. “Previously, I had sky-high electricity bills because my son and I were using portable space heaters and air conditioning window units. My power bill has decreased; the insulation is making a huge difference in helping the house stay warmer; my air is better, and I have more peace of mind now because I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to pay a really high power bill.”
Chattanooga is one of 49 local power companies in the Tennessee Valley providing the Home Uplift program to qualified homeowners with incomes of no more than 200% of the federal poverty level and in houses needing energy upgrades. Since 2018, TVA has pledged $13.8 million to pay for energy improvements, which average $8,000 per house.