Our Mission

To provide Weatherization services to income eligible residents of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont resulting in lower heating and utility costs. 

 
“This is the first time in 20+ years that my home has been warm! So much more than I expected. Amazing! Everyone knew their job and did it. A crew you can and should be proud of!”
— Ruthi, Newport
 

Based on assessments made during the Audit and/or Efficiency Coaching visit Weatherization Work Scope May Include:

Health & Safety Measures

  • Perform heating system safety testing

  • Perform combustion appliance safety testing

  • Repair/replace vent systems to ensure combustion gas drafts safely outside

  • Install mechanical ventilation to ensure adequate indoor air quality

  • Install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms when needed

  • Evaluate mold/moisture hazards

  • Perform incidental safety repairs when needed

Client Education Activities

  • Educate on potential household hazards such as carbon monoxide, mold & moisture, fire, indoor air pollutants, lead paint, and radon

  • Demonstrate the key functions of any new mechanical equipment or appliances

  • Discuss the benefits of using energy-efficient products

Mechanical Measures

  • Clean, tune, repair or replace heating and/or cooling systems

  • Install duct and heating pipe insulation

  • Repair leaks in heating/cooling ducts

  • Install programmable thermostats

  • Repair/replace water heaters

  • Install water heater tank insulation

  • Insulate water heating pipes

Building Shell Measures

  • Install insulation where needed

  • Perform air sealing

  • Repair / replace doors

  • Repair minor roof and wall leaks prior to attic or wall insulation

Electric and Water Measures

  • Install efficient light sources

  • Install low-flow shower heads

  • Replace inefficient qualifying appliances with energy-efficient models

The Weatherization Process:

Phase 1 - Application and Eligibility:

The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) bases eligibility on income. It is the clients’ responsibility to fill out the application and provide all required documentation that is requested of them. The more complete the application and backup documentation the quicker and easier this phase will go. The Weatherization Admin team will work diligently to ensure this process goes as smoothly as possible. Each client will be assigned a WAP rank which will determine how quickly we can serve you, the client. The WAP rank takes into consideration factors such as age, whether you are on fuel assistance, have children five and under in the home, your income and whether any occupants in the home have disabilities. The higher the WAP rank the higher each home will be placed on the waiting list.

Phase 2 - Energy Efficiency Coaching:

Upon reaching the top of the waiting list, we will contact you to set up a coaching visit. Your coach will go over the process of weatherization with you, work through some paperwork with you and do an electrical energy audit of your home. At this phase you might be eligible for various electrical efficiency measures that will lower your electric bill. In addition, our coaches look for conditions that may slow down our ability to weatherize your home such as vermiculite insulation, lead paint, roof leaks, etc., so we can address these ahead of weatherization.

Phase 3 - Energy Audit:

Once the electrical efficiency measures are installed we now turn to looking at what heating/cooling efficiency measures can be completed. One of our energy auditors will call to make an appointment with you. The energy audit will take approximately 3  hours and the auditor will need access to all areas of your home from top to bottom.  After this visit, the auditor will write a complete scope of work to be completed by our installation crews. This work scope will be sent to you for approval. Once this is returned your home will be placed into the production queue. The auditor may also arrange to have your heating system inspected, cleaned and tuned.

Phase 4 – Production:

When your home rises to the top of the production queue one of our two production managers will call you to schedule a time for our crews to come weatherize your home. Due to a number of variables this could be short notice. It is imperative that you return any phone calls or emails from our staff to ensure your work does not get delayed. In most cases we are in your home 3-5 days completing the work. The work we are doing, primarily air sealing and insulating can be dirty and dusty. Our crews pride themselves on minimizing the disturbance as much as possible. They will respect your home and all that is in it like it was their own. That being said some things may get dusty and occasionally accidents happen but they will do their best to remedy them and leave your home better than they found it.

Phase 5 - Quality Control Inspection:

The majority of the work that is done to your home is done by the standards set forth in the State of Vermont Technical Manual. The program mandates that a final Quality Control Inspection is done by a certified QCI employee.  This final visit will take about 1 hour depending on how much work was done to your home. At this time all work installed will be inspected and some verification testing will also be done to ensure quality and safety. You will be asked to sign off on the work that was done as well so that we can close out your job and count it as a job completed.

 

We are a private Non-profit Weatherization program serving Northeast Kingdom. We receive funding through the Vermont Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).