Hundreds of Centre County residents will be finding themselves warmer this winter because of stimulus funding from Washington.
An estimated $4.7 million will be distributed for the weatherization of homes of qualified residents of Centre and Clearfield Counties, said Dale Knepp, the weatherization manager for Central Pennsylvania Community Action (CPCA). The money is part of the federal stimulus package and will fund the program until March 2012.
"It was a surprise," Knepp said. "On weatherization, I never thought we would get that kind of funds."
In the past, the program -- which assists residents with furnace, insulation and air sealing issues -- has suffered from low funding. After persevering through a four-to five-year waiting period, approved applicants have weatherization procedures performed by CPCA employees.
While the weatherization program helps around 180 homes in Centre and Clearfield Counties every year, the increased funding should bump that number up to 618 homes this year, Knepp said. This number is beyond that needed to meet the current waiting list of less than 500 homes in the two counties.
"It's kind of bad to have somebody call and say to them, 'We won't get to you for four to five years, but we'll put you on the list,' " Knepp said.
A weatherized home saves the owner an average of $350 a year in energy costs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
In addition to the reduced energy costs, weatherizing a house will reduce pollution and reliance on foreign fossil fuels, said Mark Fortney, director of Penn State's Pennsylvania Housing Research Center.
"It's an investment in the property versus just paying someone's bill," Fortney said. "It will have long-term profits."
This is a new situation for Knepp, who said the program will now have to advertise its services with the influx of money.
CPCA kicked off its staff training today to handle the expected increase in weatherization applications, said Ellie Fenton, CPCA family services department manager.
The increased funding will also create jobs, Knepp said.
The weatherization program, which has used five crews of two workers each in the past, will now be running 12 crews of three workers, Knepp said. Five of these crews will be active in Centre County and seven in Clearfield County.
Centre County's weatherization program is a part of President Obama's goal to weatherize one million homes annually as part of his New Energy for America plan.
Since its creation in 1976,
6.2 million homes have been weatherized through government assistance, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
