Shirley Moore was reluctant to invite people to her Coolidge home because she didn’t want it to be too hot or too cold. At 72, she had no income to pay her ever-growing utility bills, and instead devised a system of fans and blankets strategically placed according to the season. But it wasn’t comfortable.
And last summer, she heard about the state’s Weatherproofing Assistance Program, administered by the Arizona Department of Housing.She filled out forms about her income, added recent utility bills when she bought the house, and filed an application. Local activity recruitment companyan affiliate partner.
“I had to do something. I had a lot of medical[problems]at the time and some of my prescriptions were incredibly expensive. Don’t save,” Moore said. Told.
Within two months, a team of weather analysts arrived at her door. They assessed her home for cold or hot air leaks, sealed it, reinsulated the attic and crawl her space, and cleaned and repositioned the interior vents.
“Now I can stand by the stove and feel the air,” she said. “I was just amazed at what they could do.”
Because she met the program’s low-income requirements, Moore didn’t pay a cent for the home remodel. She and her 13-year-old Shih Tzu, SugarBabe, can make themselves at home this summer without worrying about nearly $200 in utility bills eating into her prescription funds.
Loneliness, stress and medication trade-offs are just some of the reasons seniors with high utility bills deserve help, said Dora Vasquez, executive director of the center. Arizona Alliance for Retired Americansan organization that pays attention to the needs of older people.
Economic pressure to keep the thermostat off can put older people at increased risk of health complications. Scientists have discovered that shivering in the cold and sweating to dissipate excess heat take a toll on your body. damage vital organs and impair the immune system’s ability to fight off infectionsLimited mobility and isolation can also mean that help is not available when you need it. In 2019, an 80-year-old man died of heat exposure while deferring repairs to an air conditioning unit at his home in Scottsdale. The temperature in his home was 99 degrees Fahrenheit when police arrived in July.
“As retirees, we are here to make sure you are living your best life after a lifetime of work. The national social security average is $1,827 and that’s all I have to live on.”
Children are also at greater risk of health hazards associated with temperature extremes due to their smaller bodies and underdeveloped organs.and Studies show that people who are disabled by mental or physical health conditions often have trouble regulating their body temperature. When exposed to hot or cold temperatures.
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Because of these vulnerabilities, new inflows of Arizona’s low-income housing weathering assistance funds will go first to people over 60, families with children under 5, and people with disabilities. . But households struggling to pay their utility bills have income below her 200% of households, including renters. Federal Poverty Standard Recommended to apply.
In other words, people who live alone eligibility for assistance If your annual income is less than $29,160 and you have a family of four, you are eligible if your annual income is less than $60,000. For more information, Arizona Department of Housing Weatherization Website.
Accelerating the fight against costs and climate
Arizona typically receives just over $2 million in federal funding for weathering from the Department of Energy, according to Kathy Blodgett, program manager for the Arizona Department of Housing. A portion of the annual funding is also provided by Southwest Gas and the Arizona Public Service as part of a mandate from the Arizona Corporation Commission.
This year, Arizona became the first state to receive additional weatherproofing funding from a bipartisan infrastructure law. Received $47.5 million. That’s her maximum investment of $8,009 per unit, which is at least enough to remodel her 3,400 homes. About 15% to 20% of the total goes to administration costs and training opportunities for people interested in weathering jobs.
In order to obtain these extra funds, ADOH is responsible for how it allocates funds, determines need, secures quality jobs, and monitors the various agencies and companies involved in service delivery. had to devise and submit a plan for Arizona was the first to pass Congress and funds were allocated in his January. By February, Blodgett said he was already serving 12 customers.
“We are very pleased that we were the first to receive the award and that we will be able to deploy it soon,” she said. Because they don’t have the money to do both,” Blodgett said. “It also reduces energy consumption and what they draw from the grid, saving the country as a whole.”
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Growing awareness of the dangers of the Arizona heat may have motivated ADOH to submit its plan and the federal government to approve it. Initially, the federal weather assistance program was intended to help people in eastern states heat their homes, Blodgett said. They took that into account when they found out there were many days.”
Caryn Potter, Arizona’s president of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, is thrilled with the possibilities this funding will offer residents and workers. It would also help combat climate change, which scientists understand is largely caused by trapping the heat of greenhouse gases released when fossil fuels are burned for energy, she said. said.
When it comes to utility bills, the amount of energy used is one of the few variables the customer can control, says Potter. She believes the program will give low-income families and individuals more options to reduce energy use without sacrificing too much comfort.
“This increase in weatherproofing funding through federal programs is huge for our state,” Potter said. Helping customers cope with Arizona’s hotter summers and increasingly unmanageable utility bills is critical. ”
Improving home energy efficiency to reduce the carbon footprint of a growing population is an effort to slow the global impact of warming while communities work towards shifting to renewable energy sources. is a necessary step in The cost of installing and operating wind and solar energy is dropping rapidly, and climate scientists predict that mitigating climate change will be cheaper than the cost of responding to the damage later. In other words, weatherproofing your home benefits everyone.
“Not only in this program, but on a broader scale, energy efficiency will help advance the Arizona Strategy to provide more cost-effective ways to tackle climate change and mitigate its impacts.” said Potter.
Blodgett and its program partners did not have an official estimate of how many tons of carbon emissions weatherproofing Arizona homes under this new funding would prevent. Federal programs require a one-to-one investment to reap the benefits, and the amount spent is expected to equal the estimated savings in energy consumption over the lifetime of the change.
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Building Science to Win, for Now
Once an applicant is approved, the weathering process begins with a high-tech energy audit.
Using a diagnostic device called a “blower door,” trained technicians identify leaks and collect other “building science” data about how the home’s systems work together. , to determine the most effective weathering strategy.
FSL Chief Operating Officer Carrie Smith said: Adult life with health, personal services and affordable housing options.
In response to the needs and opportunities created by funding from the Infrastructure Act, FSL’s Southwest Building Science Training Center is stepping up and expanding its commitment to offering professional training and certification programs to those interested in careers in weathering. Training team and course delivery Helps meet local demand for increased labor force.
An energy audit may indicate the need to replace heating and cooling systems, seal ducts, install water-saving features, or upgrade thermostats to programmable models.
“We make our homes as tight and energy efficient as possible,” Smith told the Arizona Republic. “But we realize that our homes also need to breathe.” I know, so I have mechanical ventilation that allows me to control the airflow in my house as well as keeping doors and windows open.”
ADOH oversees the program, but the application some partner organizations FSL, Community Action Human Resource Agency, Maricopa County, Gila County, Pima County, etc. are listed on the website.
There are no official estimates of how many homes in Arizona will benefit from the weathering service.
SWEEP’s Potter said, “The verification process doesn’t always allow everyone or every household that needs to go through the program.” We recognize that there are many high-income families.”
But more training for the workforce could mean more options for Arizonans to fund their own weathering services. , will bring far-reaching benefits, including life-saving cooling for those who sweat indoors during the summer, significant savings for low-income households, and measurable action against a warming and intensifying climate.
Read the climate series:Update from Joan Meiners, azcentral’s weekly column on climate change
Joan Meiners is a climate news and storytelling reporter for the Republic of Arizona and azcentral.com. Before she became a journalist, she had a PhD in ecology. Follow Joan on her Twitter. @B Cycle or email her joan.meiners@arizonarepublic.com. For more of her articles, visit environment.azcentral.com..
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