Home Weatherization & Green Building: A Push-Pull for Home Repair Organizations
For many low-income households, the most affordable home is the one they already have.
The same rule can be applied to green buildings and energy efficiencies. The greenest building is the one that already exists.
The energy consumption for homes built before 1950 is 45 percent higher than that of homes built in the five years leading up to 2020, reports Harvard’s JCHS. While newer homes benefit from construction materials, techniques, and codes, older homes have the potential for retrofitting. The costs of both rehab and retrofit are burdensome for homeowners and affordable housing programs.
For a home in disrepair, the house with the greatest opportunity for long-term climate wellness doesn't equate to an energy-efficient home in the short term, creating a push-pull of opportunity and barriers for home repair nonprofits.
Home repair nonprofits are already engaging in "green" retrofits. Each wood-framed window replaced with a double-glazed energy-efficient window is a retrofit with climate-positive outcomes.
Let’s explore the challenges and opportunities for home repair nonprofits in home weatherization and green building:
Challenges: Weatherization and Affordable Home Preservation
Home weatherization activities protect the inside of a home from elements such as rain, sun, heat, cold, or wind. Activities help reduce home energy consumption, which in turn, reduces bills.
Most energy codes were established in the 1980s, which makes housing stock built before those codes particularly challenging to retrofit. Low-income households who live in owner-occupied homes are in older housing stock. Weatherization older housing stock requires both critical repairs and weatherization activities, making it challenging to secure funding.
Many home repair nonprofits must choose between critical safety repairs and weatherization activities due to limited funding, making it challenging to prioritize energy efficiency updates outside of HVAC, roof repair, window replacement, and/or repairing holes in the home structure.
In Pennsylvania, approximately one-third of low-income households get deferred from energy efficiency programs – for which they would otherwise be eligible – due to structural, health, or safety issues in their homes. Home repair nonprofits aren’t
While low-cost weatherization activities, such as sealing gaps, air ducts, light fixtures, or adding insulation are available, they can be time-consuming for a home repair nonprofit to take on and may require additional staff training. Choosing to perform weatherization activities beyond repairs can pose a trade-off: do you go beyond to make one home more affordable, healthier, and comfortable at the cost of making another family wait for critical safety repairs?
Staying informed on codes, policies, and the latest ratings is another barrier. Between LEED, FORTIFIED, National Green Building Standard, and Energy Star (and that's just the beginning), there can be a learning barrier for home repair nonprofits to build or maintain weatherization criteria outside of critical home repairs. Specialized knowledge often requires additional staff, which can be costly for a home repair nonprofit to take on. Additional costs, such as home audit training and equipment, pose barriers to moving into weatherization space beyond repairs.
Despite challenges for programs focused on critical repairs, there is an opportunity for outcomes for families served. Low-cost energy improvements can result in energy costs savings of up to $1,500 per year for lower-income households.
Learn more about energy cost burdens in your area here.
Opportunities: Health, Financial, & Beyond
The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $9B to support energy and electrification outfits in existing homes. The Climate Reduction Act, among others, shows increased investment and momentum in energy efficiency updates for existing housing stock.
Home repair nonprofits are uniquely poised to take advantage of resources for their communities. Many are already performing home assessments and performing impactful energy efficiency updates, like replacing windows or a roof. Additional weatherization activities can help a low-income family save money and live in a healthier environment, reducing not just energy bills, but potentially healthcare bills as well.
Housing practitioners increasingly recognize that Healthy Homes Principles can help improve the indoor environment and then create durable, comfortable, and energy-efficient housing. Among all the different housing improvement programs in existence today, weatherization programs offer a unique opportunity to combine weatherization activities with practical health protections that can help improve client health, safety, and comfort while lessening the burden of incurred energy usage and health-related costs. Weatherization crews are positioned to readily incorporate new strategies and have the skills to accomplish the aforementioned goals.
Energy Efficiency Programs as a Spectrum: Small Shifts
Home repair nonprofits are already engaging in "green" retrofits. Each wood-framed window replaced with a double-glazed energy-efficient window is a retrofit with climate-positive outcomes.
Instead of being overwhelmed with standards, nuanced activities, and blower-door tests, let's consider ourselves on a spectrum of activities.
We have critical repairs at one end, such as replacing an HVAC. This may fall in our existing activities. At the other end, exists a program that performs blower-door tests and replaces appliances. Your program may shift on the spectrum a little at a time. We don’t need to become a weatherization program overnight. We do need to position ourselves to take advantage of funding that ultimately keeps families safe and healthy.
Position Your Organization For Growth
Our upcoming two-part training, The Convergence of Weatherization & Healthy Homes, highlights how weatherization and energy efficiency interventions can effectively mitigate common environmental hazards that cause disease or exacerbate preexisting health conditions in the homes of historically disadvantaged communities. This presentation is based on GHHI's Weatherization and Health Benefits Guidance Tool, a resource tool being developed by GHHI for energy auditors, contractors, and companies to promote the health benefits of individual weatherization measures.
Hector Moreno, a Subject Matter Expert in Building Health, Safety & Performance with Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI), will lead this training. Register now.
Topics covered:
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Basic concepts in home energy efficiency, weatherization, and healthy homes
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Health benefits associated with weatherization measures
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Health and safety challenges
This training will be broken up into two 90 minute sessions. The first session will be Sept. 10th from 1-2:30pm EST, and the second session will be Sept. 17th from 1-2:30pm EST. You can register for one part or both parts depending on your needs and schedule. Please note that you must register for both parts separately if you would like to attend the full training.
Funding Opportunities for Weatherization
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Partnership with your local Community Action Agency
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Your State Energy Office
Sources
What Makes Affordable Housing Green by Shelterforce
About Whole-Home Repairs by Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance
