by June Portnoy
EnergyWorks is a five-county (Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware and Philadelphia) energy efficiency improvement and lending program established in 2010.
?We are one of 25 communities to receive funding from the Department of Energy to make this program possible,? says Katherine Gajewski, Director of EnergyWorks.
EnergyWorks makes low-interest loans available for residential and commercial energy efficient improvements.
?This program also enables you to make an investment in your home, your largest purchase, so you can save on energy use and bills while making your home feel more comfortable,? says Katherine.
Prior to EnergyWorks, trying to find a certified contractor to conduct an audit, complete energy efficiency work, and locate energy efficiency funding was a complicated process.
?There was no program in this region that brought all the pieces of the puzzle together,? says Katherine. ?Thanks to EnergyWorks, we have created one-stop shopping to handle your energy-efficiency and financing needs.?
EnergyWorks partners, The Reinvestment Fund (TRF), the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, AFC First Financial, the Keystone HELP Program and the Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA), offer the technical and financial expertise to make successful residential and commercial upgrades easy to complete.
To get started, simply go to EnergyWorks? web site at www.energyworksnow.com to complete a form. A program representative will follow up with you within 24 hours. You will be assigned one of over 100 certified contractors in the area to come to your home to conduct an audit. While audits typically cost around $400, EnergyWorks will charge you a discounted price of just $150.
?Most people contact EnergyWorks because their home feels uncomfortable, their energy bills are too high, or they anticipate their energy bills increasing,? says Tom Wells, Certified EnergyWorks Contractor from Thomas G Wells Construction, LLC in Levittown.
?I called EnergyWorks because my house was very drafty,? says Robert from Upper Makefield. ?When the wind was strong, you could feel it throughout the house, especially around the doors.?
?I was concerned about the high costs associated with heating my home with oil,? says Anne Sears from Yardley.
?I begin each audit by doing a walk through the house to get a sense of the layout of the home,? says Tom Wells. ?I look at each part of the house from the basement to the attic to see where it is missing insulation, how well it is installed and how thick the insulation is.?
Auditors insert a ?blower-door? in an exterior door opening, which is a fan that gently sucks air out of your home, mimicking wind blowing into the house. Infrared cameras help auditors identify the cracks and open spaces where cold air is coming into your home during the blower-door test. Your auditor will create a detailed audit report that includes recommendations of what will make your home more energy efficient and comfortable.
Nicos Scordis from Yardley got all the work done that was recommended by his auditor. However, ?Even if I didn?t have any of the work done, it was worth the $150 to receive the audit report and know where the weaknesses were in our home for future reference,? says Nicos.
?If you make all recommended changes and earn an adjusted gross income of less than $150,000 you might be eligible to get .99 interest rate and can get a loan up to $15,000 that you have 10 years to pay back,? says Tom.
Anne qualified for this funding. ?With this kind of financing, it would be foolish not to do it, and in the long run, it will increase the value of my home.?
?Homeowners will receive the biggest return on their investment by having cracks and holes in their house air-sealed and by adding insulation,? says Tom. ?In order to make sure you get the highest level of service possible, at the end of the job, we send a certified contractor, different from the person who did the work to your home, to verify that the job was completed correctly,? says Katherine.?
?My house feels much more comfortable now, and I don?t feel drafts anymore,? says Robert. Overall, the house feels warmer. ?I would have done this long ago, but I assumed that since this was such an old house, there was nothing I could do. I?m so glad I found out about EnergyWorks.?
?My house now feels snugger,? says Anne. ?I don?t feel drafts anymore and I?m using fewer gallons of oil.?
?EnergyWorks made this process so easy and affordable,? says Nicos. ?It just makes sense to call them and let them handle the entire process for you.?
?We are constantly looking for ways to improve our program and make sure energy efficiency grows in this region,? says Katherine.? ?Our hope is that home and business owners become more aware of all EnergyWorks has to offer.?
For more information about EnergyWorks, visit www.energyworksnow.com or call 215-609-1052.
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