Chevy to Fund the Weatherization of 5500 Low-income Homes
Chevy realized the need to reduce our nation's carbon dioxide emissions and created a partnership with the Maine State Housing Authority to weatherize 5,500 low-income homes throughout Maine.
- (1888PressRelease) February 04, 2011 - Corporate responsibility is being witnessed in the weatherization movement. On January 27, 2011, Chevrolet, an auto-maker and distribution company stepped out of its auto industry boundaries and entered the world of weatherization. Chevy realized the need to reduce our nation's carbon dioxide emissions and created a partnership with the Maine State Housing Authority to weatherize 5,500 low-income homes throughout Maine.
"We've moved rapidly to get the carbon reduction investment process underway and we've selected an important energy efficiency project we can help make a reality," said Rick Scheidt, executive director of Chevrolet marketing. "Chevy is committed to reducing its environmental impact, and what better way to do that than to connect with customers and communities on carbon-reducing projects that directly benefit them. We are reviewing other programs like this that could positively influence change in cities across the nation."
Weatherization is a term many are unfamiliar with. The goal of weatherization is to help homeowners reduce their energy use by making their homes more energy efficient. A team of weatherization workers performs an assessment of a home by asking about personal energy use and analyzing the home using a blower door test and thermographic scan. Both the blower door test and thermographic scan reveal if the insulation of the home is working properly. The workers who conduct the tests are known as energy auditors. Before entering the home to perform the analysis, homeowners should make sure the energy auditors have been trained at an on-site weatherization training institute and received a weatherization certification.
After the energy auditor completes his or her assessment, air sealers use the blower door test and thermographic scan the energy auditors conducted to find where the insulation is that is not working correctly. Insulation that is not working correctly allows cold air to come into homes. The majority of homeowners turn on their heaters to feel more comfortable and warm during the winter time, not realizing that the problem is the improper insulation of their home. Repairing the insulation of a home is a solution to lowering energy bills.
Air sealers, who should have also received a weatherization certification at a weatherization training program prior to performing the job, have to know-how to correct the air leakage by sealing and insulating ducts, canned lights, attic hatches, crawlspaces, plumbing penetrations, top-plates and a variety of gaps, cracks and openings found in a home.
Chevrolet, a corporation investing in the future of weatherization, is taking responsibility to fund a project that will weatherize 5,500 low-income homes in Maine. By funding a project that will reduce 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, Chevrolet is also producing a market of job creation in the weatherization industry. Energy auditors and air sealers will be in high demand in the state of Maine because weatherizing 5,500 homes is not a simple job to take on with a restricted workforce.
During the recession when jobs are scarce, the weatherization industry is sure to grow given the support of corporations, such as Chevrolet, and the federal government. It is imperative to receive weatherization training and receive a weatherization certification in order to enter the weatherization industry.
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