Council to offer free audits to low-income households

The swirling puff of smoke lingered briefly in the air before escaping outside through cracks in the base of the window.

The suspicions of John Semmelhack, who had just released from a miniature bottle a titanium compound that turns into smoke when it hits the air, had been confirmed.

“There’s a good amount of leakage here,” he said, turning to the homeowner, Julia Weissman.

Semmelhack was conducting a three-hour audit of Weissman’s home to identify ways to make the 47-year-old house more energy efficient. By fixing the windows, sealing the top part of the basement wall, plugging an attic hatch and insulating her ducts, Weissman could save thousands of dollars a year in energy bills, he said.

“A lot of the air leakages people have are pretty easy to fix and have a really great payback,” said Semmelhack, who recently began his own energy audit business.

Thanks to the City Council, Semmelhack and other auditors soon will offer their services at no charge to at least 25 low-income households in Charlottesville, helping them to not only save money but reduce their carbon footprints.

The city has given the Charlottesville Community Design Center $35,000 to provide energy assessments and to pay for

money-saving upgrades for some of Charlottesville’s poorest residents. The center has already overseen two such audits in the Fifeville and 10th and Page neighborhoods, and is talking with community leaders to find other worthy recipients.

The design center will pay the cost of the audit, which ranges from $250 to $500, and then up to $1,000 in renovations.

“From an environmental standpoint it is an important way to tackle big issues like climate change,” said Mandy Burbage, the project manager for the design center. “But in a community struggling with affordable housing, we can help homeowners lower their energy costs significantly.”

Councilors allocated the money earlier this year after picking this project from a pool of affordable housing initiatives. This program helps the city achieve two goals: cutting energy consumption and aiding those who have the least amount of disposable income, Mayor Dave Norris said.

By giving away the assessments, the design center hopes to educate residents in low-income neighborhoods about energy conservation.

“With the cost of fuel growing, a lot of people are feeling it in their pocketbooks,” Burbage said. “We are trying to raise the awareness that there are practical ways to tackle energy efficiency right away.”

Taking steps to make a house more efficient is not cheap — replacing windows and buying new heat pumps can cost thousands — but such moves pay off over the long run, those who have done it say.

Jason Halbert, who sits on the city’s environmental committee, has spent $8,000 to overhaul his 1940s Belmont house. But he’s already seen a big return on the investment, with a 35 percent drop in his energy bills.

“Monthly utility bills are only going up and houses that use less energy are going to become more attractive,” he said.