Cayuga/Seneca Community Action Agency's Weatherization Assistance Program rings more often, and the customers are a bit more anxious during this time of year. The heating season is a scary and difficult time for eligible customers of the Weatherization Assistance Program.

“I'm still paying for last year's heat,” one client said to me. And another said, “The doors on my house don't even close all the way, and the walls and floors are cold all the time.”

With as much as 25 percent of a low-income family's monthly income being used to pay for utility and fuel costs, the heating season can be a costly time of year.

The Weatherization Assistance Program is funded by the Department of Energy and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and is administered in New York state by the Department of Housing and Community Renewal. The program was created in 1973 in response to the Arab oil embargo to assist eligible customers who lacked the resources to respond to the volatile energy markets by investing in energy efficiency.

Annually, more than 100,000 homes nationwide are provided with energy saving and health and safety retrofits, as well as vital information to help families stabilize their energy bills and improve living conditions. Cayuga/Seneca Community Action Agency weatherizes an average of 75 homes each year in Cayuga County.

One such home was the home of Noel and Gerald. Noel contacted the Energy Services Component of Cayuga/Seneca Community Action Agency and inquired about the Weatherization Assistance Program. After completing the application process and being approved for the program, an energy audit was conducted at her home.

The agency's auditors conduct a series of diagnostic tests using state of the art equipment such as a blower door, infrared camera, monometer and combustion analyzer. The information gathered during the visual inspection as well as these diagnostic tests is used to prepare a written report that pinpoints the measures that will help the family reduce the greatest amount of energy while protecting the integrity of the home and increasing the quality of the indoor air.

The assessment of their home was completed and a comprehensive workscope was developed that included a furnace clean and tune, reconnecting a cold air return to, sidewall insulation, attic insulation, door and window repairs and replacements, pipe wrap for water pipes, carbon monoxide detectors, compact fluorescent light bulbs, a low flow showerhead, faucet aerator and airsealing.

Cayuga/Seneca Community Action Agency uses in-house crews to perform the majority of work. All staff receives ongoing training from a variety of industry sources to maintain a high level of competency and quality of work.

Noel's work was completed prior to the start of the heating season and the changes significantly decreased the amount of cold air infiltrating her house as well as the heated air leaving the house.

According to the Weatherization Assistance Program Technical Assistance Center (WAPTAC) and based on 2006 energy costs, weatherization services will reduce the average annual energy costs by $358 during the first year per household. This can significantly reduce the burden of energy costs for eligible customers.

WAPTAC reported in 2006 “an average of 30.5 million BTU of energy is saved as a result of weatherization, which equates to a 23 percent reduction in primary heating fuel usage. This helps alleviate the heavy energy burden on low-income households and helps them become more self-sufficient.”

“At times it is easy to forget that you are an agency and not an old friend always there to help,” Noel recently wrote in a letter to the agency. It is not unusual for the energy services component to work with a customer for an extended period of time, since the waiting list for the Weatherization Program is quite lengthy. During a customer's wait, we have the unique opportunity to develop a relationship that respects the family's desire to move towards achieving and sustaining self-sufficiency.

Although the weatherization work had been done for quite some time, Noel knew that she could count on the agency to point her in the right direction when she needed help with a faulty water heater. Within a short period, three of the agency's components - Head Start, Family Development and Energy Services - worked together to find the necessary resources to install a new water heater.

Our agency capitalizes on the unique abilities of its staff to address multiple challenges for the customers we serve and to work with the customer to identify resources that will assist the family in achieving their goals.

For more information on the Weatherization Assistance Program, call 255-1703 ext. 142.

Marie Montgomery is the weatherization director for the Cayuga/Seneca Community

Action Agency.