Cyndy and Stan Louy say they’ll know the weatherizing of their Broomfield home has worked if the corners of their bedroom are no longer chilly and the basement loses its frostiness.
They should know soon.
On Tuesday, a crew from Boulder County’s Longs Peak Energy Conservation program were blowing insulation into the attic of the four-bedroom ranch and getting ready to install a new heater in the basement.
“It will be really interesting to see how this comes together,” said Stan Louy, as workers in white suits and respirators got ready to pump cellulose into the attic.
The Louy house is one of up to 8,000 across Colorado slated to be weatherized under state and local programs dramatically beefed up with federal economic stimulus money. In the first three months of the program — which began in July — Colorado was third in the nation in weatherizing homes, behind Ohio and Missouri.
“The program has not ramped up as quickly as we anticipated, but Colorado has been a leader,” said Claire Johnson, acting manager for the U.S. Department of Energy weatherization program.
Nationally, $5 billion has been committed for weatherization — about a 20-fold increase, according to Johnson.
Colorado’s program has jumped from about $8 million to $38 million, said Doug Karl, Colorado weatherization program director in the Governor’s Energy Office.
Colorado is set to receive $80 million over three years from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Paired with annual DOE weatherization funds, Colorado will have $100 million over three years, according to the GEO.
Colorado’s expanded program has required a ramp-up period as new employees were hired, contractors engaged and equipment purchased.
Longs Peak Energy, for example, boosted its staff to 46 from 30, added six contractors and purchased new trucks, according to Amy Hollander, the program’s director.
Last year the program weatherized 470 homes. This year the target is 900.
“Our waiting list was usually about 50 homes, but now it’s 300,” Hollander said. Longs Peak is one of 11 local programs around the state weatherizing homes.
One reason is that the eligibility requirements — the program is targeted to low-income households — have been expanded.
A family of four with a $44,100 annual income can now qualify for the program, which provides up to $6,500 for insulation, furnaces and appliances — based on an energy audit of what the house needs.
“The program is permanently changing the housing stock . . . and cutting energy bills,” Karl said.
It has also been an employment boost, adding 150 jobs in the state, bringing the total weatherization workforce to 400, and providing work for contractors, according to the GEO.
As of Dec. 18, 2,190 homes have been weatherized around the state, according to the DOE.
This week the Louy home will be added to the roll. “This house is so drafty. There are lots of places it could be warmer, but those corners in the bedroom do get cold,” Cyndy Louy said.
Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com
