For more information, call Clean Energy Durham at (919) 323-3244 or e-mail Jeanne@cleanenergydurham.org or Jenny@cleanenergydurham.org
By KEITH UPCHURCH
kupchurch@heraldsun.com; 419-6612
DURHAM -- Someone knocks on your door, but you're reluctant to answer.
That's been a problem recently for a Durham program that aims to help residents make their homes more energy efficient. But there's no need to worry, they say, if the person is wearing a badge that says Clean Energy Durham. They're there to help you apply for the nonprofit's Neighborhood Energy Retrofit Program, which will help people with the four most common retrofits and repairs:
n Sealing air leaks in the attic and crawl space.
n Sealing air leaks in duct work.
n Installing a programmable thermostat.
n Adding attic insulation.
Federal stimulus money is helping pay for the program through the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
A total of 690 homes in Durham neighborhoods eventually will be served.
Phase one of the program, which has been signing people up, includes the following neighborhoods: Colonial Village, East Durham, Hillside Park, Lockhaven, Tuscaloosa Lakewood, Lakewood and Spring Valley, according to Lenora Smith, community outreach director for the nonprofit Clean Energy Durham.
The second phase, which begins soon, includes Trinity Park, Parkwood, Morehead Hill-West End, Fisher Heights and Northgate Park.
Volunteers, who live in the neighborhoods, will be knocking on doors to find out if people qualify for the program and help them apply, generally between 6 and 8:30 weeknights and in both the afternoons and evenings on weekends. Each volunteer will be wearing an identification badge and have a notebook that shows they're from Clean Energy Durham.
The program is in the application phase, and work is expected to begin in September on the first phase. It's open to rental properties, which would require permission from the landlord, and to owner-occupied homes. The residence must be one story and 2,000 square feet or less.
Smith said those who qualify can get $1,500 to $2,000 worth of work done, and will be required to contribute $200 to $300. The program targets those who don't qualify for the low-income energy program administered through Operation Breakthrough.
"This program is focused on building community and doing neighborhood organizing, and we're using energy efficiency as our tool," Smith said.
"We at Clean Energy Durham are interested in moving Durham toward being a clean and safer energy community. And by working with neighborhoods, that's one of the ways that we're promoting the energy efficiency message."
