Heat and humidity can be tough on a home — and on the energy bill.
For some income-eligible households, a weatherization assistance program is helping make homes more energy efficient at no cost to the residents.
That includes Antonia Coronado, whose home is being weatherized through CenterPoint Energy’s Home Weatherization Assistance Program.
With help from Laura Escamilla of the Tejano Center, who translated during the visit, Coronado is getting repairs designed to keep conditioned air inside her home.
Contractors are sealing cracks around door frames, covering holes and addressing other areas where air can escape.
For Coronado, the assistance is important because she says she otherwise would not have had the means to make the repairs herself.
While some energy-efficiency improvements can save homeowners money over time, the upfront cost can be a barrier.
Freddy Salazar with Afford Your Electricity says insulating a 1,000-square-foot home with little or no insulation, for example, could cost between $1,200 and $1,700.
Insulation is particularly important during a Houston summer.
Salazar says an uninsulated attic can reach temperatures of 150 to 180 degrees, allowing that heat to transfer through the ceiling and into the home.
He says it could take up to seven years to recover the initial cost of insulation through energy savings, while the insulation itself can last about 20 years.
There are also some inexpensive things homeowners and renters can check themselves.
Salazar recommends checking around doors and windows for drafts.
If you can feel cold air escaping around a door, adding weatherstripping can help seal the gap.
For window units, he recommends using caulk to seal gaps along the bottom and metal tape to seal gaps at the top.
Sealing those areas can help keep conditioned air inside and potentially reduce energy use.
CenterPoint’s Home Weatherization Assistance Program is available to qualifying households that meet these requirements:
The Tejano Center also helps residents who don’t speak English navigate the application process, including submitting applications online.
For Coronado, the improvements mean more than simply fixing parts of her home. She says she’s excited about the changes and believes they will help her better deal with Houston’s heat.
For more information about CenterPoint’s weatherization assistance program and eligibility requirements, visit CenterPoint Energy’s website.
