With winter right around the corner, there’s no time like the present to make your home as energy efficient as possible. That’s what a local organization does a lot of this time of year.
Sometimes you have to spend some money in order to save money in the long run. That’s the case when it comes to weatherization.
“Misconception that it’s just caulking and weatherstripping when we actually do a lot more than that. So we’re just inviting our legislators, partners and anybody that wants to see what we actually do to come out and check it out,” says Ryan Peterson, Weatherization Director, Economic Security Corp.
As part of National Weatherization Day, members of the Economic Security Corporation weatherization team went to work on a home on North Moffet in Joplin. And the homeowner says she couldn’t be more appreciative of their efforts.
“They winterized our house, they put windows in, they did caulking, they did insulation; all I can say is thank you,” says Anne Kunkler.
The first part of the project involves an energy audit, what that audit finds determines what type of work gets done to the house. By sealing the house from the inside and using a blower to drive air out of the house, team members can determine where air is coming in from the outside.
“So this house is getting a heat pump system for heating and cooling and they’re getting floor insulation, and then we’re going to do general air sealing, wrap the hot water heater with tank insulation,” says Ryan Peterson, Weatherization Director, Economic Security Corp.
This is one of about a hundred houses in the four county region serviced by Economic Security that will receive the weatherization makeover. The program is also funded by the Missouri Department of Economic Development, Spire, and Liberty Utilities, Empire District Electric. Economic Security serves Jasper, Newton, McDonald and Barton Counties.
If you’d like to apply for the weatherization program, you can call 417-781-4437. You can also do so by logging on to their website, which we’ve provided a link to here.
