In an aging city, many houses in neighborhoods like North Philadelphia are in dire need of repairs. A new influx of stimulus money designed for saving decaying homes is giving these residents a chance to not only pay for some fix-it-ups, but also lower their energy bills.
The city’s housing development agency is getting $16 million, and a local group called the
Energy Coordinating Agency is getting $14 million to help residents in every section of the city “weatherize” their homes. Last year, the city received similar federal funding and 2,000 homeowners
replaced old, inefficient
boilers, caulked drafty windows and insulated water pipes.
According to local energy officials, at least 12 percent of Philadelphia’s occupied homes are “structurally inadequate,” compared to the national average of 6 percent. A much larger percent of homes require weatherization improvements that could save 35 percent or more in wasted energy.
The Energy Coordinating Agency said it will train at least 200 weatherization workers in the next year while the city’s housing development agency signed on 25 additional contractors creating roughly 75 additional jobs.
“These improvements are generating hundreds of dollars in annual energy cost savings for those Philadelphians who need it the most, and are helping us achieve our Greenworks goal of becoming the number one green city,” Mayor Michael Nutter said this week.
