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County mechanics worked at a house in Kannapolis last week, repairing sheetrock and adding insulation. The woman who lives there lost her job about a year ago, around the same time her heating and air conditioning unit gave out.
Now her refrigerator, which the mechanics said contributed $272.80 a year to her electric bills, will be replaced with one that costs about $50 a year to run. And she won't be needing to use space heaters this winter to heat the home she shares with her son.
"If anything can bring my bills down, I'm thankful for it," she said. "I'm just blessed that I'm getting this work done."
The repairs are part of the N.C. Weatherization Assistance Program, which reduces utility bills by saving energy in low-income homes.
Federal funding filtered through the state from the U.S. Department of Energy - as well as stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress in February - is distributed to the county to make homes more energy efficient, cutting high utility bills.
Kelly Sifford, community development manager of Cabarrus County's Department of Commerce, said the county received $108,000 last year for the weatherization program and made 42 homes more energy efficient. This year, the county will receive more than $111,000 and additional stimulus money.
So far this year, the county has made energy-efficient adjustments in seven homes, and county workers are working on about seven others.
The program allows county workers to make several repairs to eligible homes, including installing insulation, caulking window frames, tuning up or replacing heating and air conditioning units and replacing refrigerators that use too much energy.
The adjustments often save people $30 to $70 a month, said Donny Corbett, a county weatherization mechanic.
Households that have an income 200percent or less than the U.S. poverty level are eligible for the program. Eligibility is determined by a sliding scale based on income and the number of people living in a home.
The income requirement was recently expanded (from an income of 150percent of poverty), allowing more people to qualify. A family of four must now have a maximum income of $44,100 to qualify. A person living alone with income less than $21,660 is eligible.
Mike Byrd, who works with the county's weatherization program, said the additional funding will increase the county's workload.
Sifford noted that more young working families have sought assistance recently, though Byrd said many of those served are elderly people.
Through the weatherization program, county mechanics insulated walls and installed a new furnace in the home of Katie Foster, an 86-year-old living alone in Kannapolis. She'll also receive a new refrigerator.
"It's like a different place," the retired nurse said.
Byrd said when he told one family about the improvements that could be made to their home, they didn't believe him.
"It's hard for some people to believe they can get something for nothing," he said.
For more information, call the Cabarrus County Department of Commerce at 704-920-2192.
