About the Weatherization Assistance Program
Weatherization provides a lasting solution to high energy bills by addressing the cause through energy efficiency.
It's a fact: weatherization works! In the 3 decades since its founding in 1976, U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program has provided weatherization services to more than 6.2 million low-income families. It is a record of service to some of society's neediest citizens that also benefits our nation by reducing our energy dependency, improving the environment, and stimulating economic development in low-income communities.
Through this program, weatherization service providers install energy efficiency measures in the homes of qualifying homeowners free of charge. These are not expensive upgrades—the average expenditure limit is $6,500 per home—but they are effective, and energy savings pay for the upgrades within a few years. DOE documents the savings and compares them against costs, so that over the years it can determine the efficacy of these measures.
Weatherization has helped spawn an energy efficiency industry for residential housing. This industry today employs thousands of people who work in low-income weatherization alone, and many times that number work in companies that help homeowners increase their energy efficiency through low-cost measures. Many of the techniques that are today standard procedure in this industry were first developed and tested by the Weatherization Program. And through weatherization, DOE continues to develop and test in the field new advances in home energy science.
DOE provides funding and technical guidance to the states, but the states run their own programs and set rules for issues such as eligibility. They also select service providers, which are usually nonprofit agencies that serve families in their communities, and review their performance for quality. Together, this group of more than 900 agencies makes up a nationwide weatherization network.
For a complete list of program benefits, see the fact sheet published by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) titled Weatherization Assistance Program—The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (PDF 568 KB). Download Adobe Reader.