"One Home at a Time" in partnership with the Human Resource Council
The Human Resource Council - HRC - is our local non-profit agency that provides energy efficiency and weatherization for homes of low-income folks in this area. The HRC has the expertise, the work force, and very limited funding to do this work. Often their hands are tied because the bar is high for what projects their funding allows. It’s so limited that they have to pass on many good measures even when it saves the homeowner energy and money. So we’re stepping in to provide gap funding to accelerate energy efficiency, using carbon offsets that we broker - think of it as “last mile” support - so close and a boost will get us there.
Here’s how it works:
Low-income homeowners contact the HRC. Those eligible receive an energy audit on the home - both “stick framed” and manufactured homes.
The energy audit looks at what measures are needed -- from insulating ceiling and walls, to fixing windows, to providing more efficient hot water tanks, to caulking cracks and upgrading lighting -- and then they crunch the numbers. How much energy is saved and what is the cost of the measure?
Some things pencil out and are “a go”. But with relatively low cost of natural gas and even electricity, some measures that make a heckuva a lot of sense, don’t quite meet the threshold. (It all has to do with NorthWestern Energy and Federal funding allowances - which are ridiculously strict!)
All too often the HRC has to walk away from a project entirely or they can provide just a couple weatherization measures on a home, leaving others undone.
This is where Climate Smart Missoula and the new Footprint Fund come in. We have more flexibility on where funds are spent and what we can support. We are generous and willing to help. And we have the ability to crunch the numbers, so that we know not just the cost, but the energy benefit too.
What’s the end result?
Healthier, cozier homes, lower energy bills, less energy wasted, a lower carbon footprint for Missoula. We all feel good - the homeowners and the folks that supported this effort!
Here’s how it works:
Low-income homeowners contact the HRC. Those eligible receive an energy audit on the home - both “stick framed” and manufactured homes.
The energy audit looks at what measures are needed -- from insulating ceiling and walls, to fixing windows, to providing more efficient hot water tanks, to caulking cracks and upgrading lighting -- and then they crunch the numbers. How much energy is saved and what is the cost of the measure?
Some things pencil out and are “a go”. But with relatively low cost of natural gas and even electricity, some measures that make a heckuva a lot of sense, don’t quite meet the threshold. (It all has to do with NorthWestern Energy and Federal funding allowances - which are ridiculously strict!)
All too often the HRC has to walk away from a project entirely or they can provide just a couple weatherization measures on a home, leaving others undone.
This is where Climate Smart Missoula and the new Footprint Fund come in. We have more flexibility on where funds are spent and what we can support. We are generous and willing to help. And we have the ability to crunch the numbers, so that we know not just the cost, but the energy benefit too.
What’s the end result?
Healthier, cozier homes, lower energy bills, less energy wasted, a lower carbon footprint for Missoula. We all feel good - the homeowners and the folks that supported this effort!
This is where you come in!
Your offset purchase - a dollar amount per metric tonne of carbon-dioxide equivalent - goes towards this footprint fund and the HRC to further this important work. If this sounds like something you want to support, then click the button below and make a purchase!
Some photos!
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