Community Corner

Memorial Day Makeover Kickstarts New Home Program for Veterans

Local contractors and a northern Westchester energy-efficiency agency joined government officials on a makeover project kicking off a program to help veterans save money on home energy bills.



Veterans living in Westchester could qualify for a free home energy audit and guidance on how to obtain incentives to pay for any needed repairs.

This new program kicked off May 23 in Ossining as local members of the Building Performance Contractors Association swarmed over Lucille and Victor Paolantonio’s Somerstown Road home, installing new insulation, ventilation and a heat pump that should cut the couple’s heating bills in half.

Westchester County has teamed up with the Building Performance Contractors Association (BPCA) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to provide veterans with free, no-obligation energy audits.
Its formal name: the Veterans Home Performance Project. The driving force behind it: the BPCA Downstate Chapter. 

Three other veterans will also get makeovers as the project kicks off. The funding for these renovations comes from donations of labor and materials from BPCA member contractors, NYSERDA, and manufacturers’ donations of materials. 

The Paolantonios had high energy bills and the house, built in the 1950s, was still not comfortable. Mr. and Mrs P were talking with their children about leaving the house in great part because of the high heating bills—the thermostat was already set at 62 to save money, according to the BPCA website. They were picked for the "Memorial Day Makeover" energy audit and upgrade after they called Chapter President Vince Hannigan’s company, Bruno & Campisi about energy efficiency.
 
For its makover, the home was insulated and air-sealed, with a high-efficiency heat pump and ductless system installed and the home will be properly ventilated to ensure indoor air quality. Andrew Fischer of Bright Home Energy Solutions - one of the contractors who is donating time to this project - says “what we are doing is part of a full scale Home Performance with Energy Star assessment and upgrade. We expect to save the Paolantonios around 30% on overall energy bills, and closer to 50% on his oil. And make the house a whole lot more comfortable.”

If you know a veteran in Westchester County who owns a home that may benefit from a home energy retrofit, please reach out. To do so or to get more information, contact Vito Pinto, director of the county’s Veterans Service Agency, at 995-2145 or 995-2146, email Donovan Beckford at  DPB2@WestchesterGov.com,  visit www.home-performance.org or call Energize NY at 914-302-7300.

If you’re not a vet but are interested in saving money by saving energy, check out Energize NY’s website for information and resources. 

Energize New York, based in Yorktown, is a community-based energy efficiency program helping homeowners save money and live more comfortably. It has deep ties locally—its founders include the Northern Westchester Energy Action Consortium and local advisory groups. It has arms in Bedford, Cortlandt, Croton, Lewisboro, New Castle, Mount Kisco, Ossining, Peekskill and Somers. 

It’s good to find out how to keep your house from leaking heat in the winter and air-conditioning in the heat, points out its community outreach coordinator, Heather Flournoy. The average Westchester home could save $1,000 a year.


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