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Energy-efficiency ‘sweep’

Pilot project aims to help Rose Village homeowners improve houses

By Libby Clark
Published: December 23, 2009, 12:00am
2 Photos
An electric heater in Temple Lentz's home could be a target for replacement under a new energy-efficiency pilot project.
An electric heater in Temple Lentz's home could be a target for replacement under a new energy-efficiency pilot project. Photo Gallery

When the winter wind picks up enough, Temple Lentz can feel the cold air blow straight through the walls of her 1920s Rose Village home. It’s a common, and chilling, experience for residents of the neighborhood with one of the city’s lowest average incomes and highest ratios of renters to homeowners.

“There are a lot of homes here that aren’t maintained as well as they could be,” said Lentz. “There are folks that care very much about their homes, but it’s the difference between feeding the family and putting in some weather stripping.”

But Rose Village neighbors may soon be warm and cozy again with a new community energy-efficiency pilot project coming to their neighborhood next year.

Starting in January, community organizers will breeze through Rose Village door to door offering free energy audits and energy-efficiency improvements to homeowners. The area is the first in Vancouver targeted for a community energy-efficiency “sweep” organized by Clark Public Utilities, the city of Vancouver and Clark County.

Previously: Clark Public Utilities has offered free home energy audits and incentives for energy-efficiency upgrades.

What's new: The utility has teamed up with the city of Vancouver and Clark County to start a pilot program that offers free efficiency upgrades to homeowners in Rose Village.

What's next: Starting in January, community organizers will begin recruiting Rose Village residents for the program.

Clark Public Utilities was one of eight recipients selected earlier this year for a total of $14 million in grants from Washington State University extension’s energy program and funded by federal stimulus dollars through the U.S. Department of Energy.

The $1 million grant will cover weather stripping, insulation, duct work and appliance upgrades up to an average of $6,000 in more than 100 Vancouver homes.

“We should be able to fully weatherize a home at no cost to the homeowner,” said Mike Piper, sustainability coordinator for the city of Vancouver.

The program comes in addition to Clark County’s $1.97 million low-income weatherization grant from the Washington state Department of Commerce, which covers improvements for homeowners earning less than $3,675 per month for a family of four. The community grant will target households just above the threshold of that program.

“There are a lot of folks like us who may not be wondering how we’re going to eat but we’re still living paycheck to paycheck and we fall through the cracks,” said Lentz, a political consultant who ran mayor-elect Tim Leavitt’s campaign. “(We) would definitely benefit from this.”

The grant builds on a broader revitalization effort in the Fourth Plain corridor, led by the city of Vancouver and the nonprofit Americans Building Community. If the program is successful, the city will seek additional money to add more neighborhoods and eventually take it citywide.

Previously: Clark Public Utilities has offered free home energy audits and incentives for energy-efficiency upgrades.

What’s new: The utility has teamed up with the city of Vancouver and Clark County to start a pilot program that offers free efficiency upgrades to homeowners in Rose Village.

What’s next: Starting in January, community organizers will begin recruiting Rose Village residents for the program.

“Many of these are older homes built during the war and many of the homes don’t have much insulation, if any,” said Mark Maggiora, executive director of Americans Building Community, which will help coordinate the city of Vancouver’s outreach effort in the neighborhood. “The cost for them to heat those homes is pretty significant.”

‘Concentrated effort’

Clark Public Utilities already offers a free home energy audit to help its customers identify improvements that would cut their electricity bills. A combination of utility, state and federal incentives covers some of the cost of the upgrades, but not all of it.

The utility will pay $2.50 per square foot, or up to $500 for new windows, for example, but the homeowner must pay the rest.

The cost has often prevented residents in the Fourth Plain corridor from taking advantage of the utility’s conservation programs over the years, said Mick Shutt, a spokesman for Clark Public Utilities.

“There are a lot of rental homes, and those are really hard areas to get people to make conservation investments in because the owner doesn’t see any return on it and the tenant can’t do it on their own,” Shutt said.

The pilot program will be a “concentrated effort” to bring as many energy-efficiency measures as possible to homeowners and renters in an under-served area, he said.

In the process, homeowners will add value to their homes and lower their utility bills without bearing the full cost.

“My belief is the Rose Village area is coming back but it’s been patchy. There’s not a whole lot of money in Rose Village,” said Peter Brown, a Rose Village homeowner. “But as I talk with more homeowners there’s quite a bit of community spirit and there’s a willingness there to improve the neighborhood.”

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