The Sustainability InstituteThe Sustainability Institute

WEATHERIZATION

The Sustainability Institute’s Weatherization Department provides no-cost services to homes that meet HUD’s FY 2024 income limits through two initiatives:

1. The Sustainability Institute’s Energy Assistance Program, which is offered to Santee Cooper customers located in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry Counties; and

2. Charleston County Critical Home Repair Program, which delivers services to eligible households in Charleston County.

Both programs address critical home repair concerns and help homeowners lower energy costs and improve comfort through structural repairs, energy audits, air sealing, insulation, HVAC upgrades, and safety enhancements.

We also offer free energy workshops that provide knowledge and tools to empower neighborhoods/ communities to make long-lasting improvements to their homes while enhancing energy efficiency, home comfort, health and safety, and sustainability.

The weatherization process for retrofitting selected homes consists of several stages that ensure program resources are applied in a prioritized manner to have the greatest overall impact on reducing energy bills for the family. After the homeowner submits an application, we perform a walk-through assessment to determine if there are any health and safety hazards or concerns.  These can include things like major structural damage, moisture damage, the presence of mold, or other situations that could be considered needing critical repair. Any critical repairs would need to be completed prior to starting weatherization work. As a first step after a home is approved, we conduct a comprehensive energy audit to determine the baseline efficiency of the building, to pinpoint the exact locations of where the home is leaking air (using performance testing), and to decide which actions and repairs will achieve maximum effect in sealing the building’s envelope and reducing bills.  When the audit is complete, we review our proposed scope of work with the homeowner and coordinate our weatherization project.

Click here to apply for SI’s Energy Assistance Program

Now accepting applications!

PROCESS STEPS

Before weatherization can begin on a home, an assessment and approval process must be performed.

WEATHERIZATION: THE NEED IS NOW.

THOUSANDS of low-income families face high energy costs that they cannot afford due to the inefficiencies of their home.

Many homes in our Lowcountry communities suffer from insufficient insulation in their attics and crawlspaces, outdated mechanical systems and appliances, inefficient HVAC duct systems, and general air leakage that results from age and disrepair.  Some homeowners we serve have no insulation at all, and many have inoperable HVAC window units that do not sufficiently cool the home.  These conditions can create critical safety concerns for families, especially when temperatures rise in the summer season.

Low-income families are often economically stifled by high, monthly energy bills and spend a disproportionate amount of their income on their monthly energy costs. The repair and “upgrading” of these homes have become a national cause and urgent priority for our local communities.

Testimonials

Ellen Smalls, Homeowner

“I knew I was cold but nobody else could feel it but me. Breezes were coming from the floors, the walls, the bathroom… everywhere in my house. My light bill was up there and I had to go get help from Human Services over and over…The amazing thing [was] that after I got this done, the first month my light bill went down to $134! It was like $300 a month [before]!”

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