Energy Audits & Grants
JOINT HOUSING GRANTS – REHAB LOANS THAT ARE FORGIVEN AFTER 15 YEARS.
LOANS UP TO $35,000 ARE NOT REQUIRED TO BE RE-PAID UNLESS THE PROPERTY IS SOLD WITHIN FIFTEEN YEARS.
ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES
Household size includes all residents of the household. Income limits include ALL in-come earned by ALL household members.
2008 INCOME LIMITS
NUMBER MAXIMUM INCOME
IN HOUSE TO BE ELIGIBLE
1 PERSON $41,450
2 PERSONS $47,350
3 PERSONS $53,300
4 PERSONS $59,200
5 PERSONS $63,950
6 PERSONS $68,650
7 PERSONS $73,400
8 PERSONS $78,150
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS PROGRAM, PLEASECONTACT THE
THE ATHOL OFFICE OF PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT AT (978) 575 0301
ENDORSED BY THE
PETERSHAM
SELECTBOARD
by calling or coming to the address listed in this brochure. All personal information submitted is confidential within the limits of public re-cords laws.
PROGRAM PROCEDURES
If eligible, homeowners will be visited by a pro-fessional home inspector for the purpose of developing a preliminary work list. All repairs will be performed by licensed and insured con-tractors, with contracts, inspections and pay-ments supervised by the grant administrator.
HOMEOWNERS ARE NOT
EXPECTED TO REPAY THE CDBG LOAN UNLESS THEY SELL THEIR HOME
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
CDBG (Community Development Block Grant)
Residents who qualify are eligible for funding as-sistance with health and building code repairs to their homes. Petersham recipients may receive a no interest loan that is forgiven over a 15 year schedule. Eligible repairs include septic & heating systems, lead paint & asbestos removal, door and window replacements and other repairs as
allowed in the CDBG
program guidelines..
An additional 0%
interest, deferred loan
program called Get
The Lead Out may
be incorporated to supplement the available CDBG funds, however this program requires non-forgiveness of their funds.
The U.S. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds are administered by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Com-munity Development (DHCD) for the benefit of Massachusetts residents who meet the income guidelines. Project funds will be administered lo-cally by the Athol Office of Planning and Devel-opment and their consultants.
HOW TO APPLY
Persons interested in applying for the Housing Re-habilitation Loans may request an application from the Athol Office of Planning & Development
PROFESSIONAL CONTRACTORS
& INSPECTION
SERVICES
PROVIDED
SAVE UP TO $2000 ON INSULATION AND ENERGY UPGRADES!
Save up to $2,000 on attic, wall and basement insulation and sealing air leaks. Additionally, 0%interest loans up to $15,000 for insulation, air sealing, high efficiency heating systems, windows and solar hot water systems are available.
Start by calling MassSAVE at 1-866-527-7283 to schedule your no-cost home energy audit and get an insulation proposal.
National Grid will fund 75% of the cost (up to $2,000) of insulation, air sealing, and other weatherization measures.
Call to schedule a free in-home energy audit. After viewing your home and talking with you in person, an expert will assess your current energy use, develop customized recommendations, and set up an appointment with a weatherization contractor. Don’t wait for oil prices to go up again. Schedule while there are no waiting periods.
The article that follows was in the Greenfield Recorder recently. It’s self-explanatory.
One year later, home energy audit pays off By CHASE SCHEINBAUM Recorder Staff
[Originally published on: Monday, March 09, 2009]
It was like a shoemaker’s child walking around barefoot, Marc Kaufmann says. A home heating consultant, he was living in a big, drafty post-and-beam house in Buckland — and paying oil bills that went through the roof.
But things have been different since an energy auditor visited his house last year. Kaufmann paid $75 to have a representative of Mass Save, a public-private energy-efficiency partnership, diagnose the leaks and inefficiencies in his insulation on behalf of his energy service provider, Western Mass. Electric Co. The auditor recommended sealing a bunch of cracks with caulk and adding some insulation to his walls — around $1,200 of work — as well as a contractor to do it.
And, Mass Save paid for half. That’s right: half. But that was last year. Now they pay even more. As of Jan. 1, Mass Save now pays 75 percent of the bill for contracts up to $2,000. Kaufman says he has since used 20 percent less oil and wood to heat his home. ”It’s pretty easy from a homeowner’s perspective,” he said. ”I recommend it all the time now because of my own experience.”
Kaufman says he saved enough money in heating costs in just one year to cover the audit and insulation work. ”Given the cost of fuel today, I think most people would find that they would save the money invested the first year,” he said. ”Even if you have a job that’s going to cost $4,000 or $5,000, you should make that money back in less than three years.”
The kind of audit Kaufmann got through WMECO is known as an advanced audit. The $75 fee is refunded to anyone who chooses to go ahead with any of the contractors’ major recommendations. Everyone, owners and renters alike, are entitled to a basic, free energy audit through their energy service provider. The advanced audit provides homeowners with a more thorough diagnostic test using something called a ”blower door” that assesses how easily your home loses heat. It also offers a greater scope of efficiency-boosting recommendations. ”When you invest in efficiency, you begin to save immediately,” said Alan Silverstein, director of Center for Technology, an organization that coordinates the audits. ”The audits are designed for people who really want to improve the efficiency of their homes,” he said. He stresses that people who want audits now can get them almost immediately, whereas audit requests were piling up and causing delays in the fall and early winter. And many contractors are available to do the work right away.
Low-income customers may also be eligible for free services through Community Action. Zero-interest loans are also available from participating lenders.
For details and more information, contact MassSave at (866) 527-7283, or visit them on the Internet at www.masssave.com.
