KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Natalie Young lives in Knoxville. Over the last 13 years, she’s been in the same home.
She said there were problems with the home from the beginning but due to her fixed income, it took her a long time to look for funding programs that could help. She paid a high price to heat the place she calls home.
“I was paying over $200 a month for electric bills and my house is only, like, 725 square feet. It's tiny," she said. "I had a stroke. And I've been fortunate in that. I've recovered quite a bit. I was temporarily paralyzed on my left side."
Every time temperatures dropped, it was a struggle for Young to be outside – and when she went inside her home, she tried to keep things to a minimum.
"I would run my thermostat on, like, 66 degrees,” Young said. “So, I was always cold because I lived in fear of my electric bills."
Young asked the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee for help.
"If a house is sick, usually the resident is sick,” said Jeffery Vincent, the CAC director of energy and housing. “And so, if we can make better living conditions through weatherization, and of course home repair as well, then it will give the resident a much healthier home."
Billy Worthington is the weatherization supervisor for Krug and Son's Mechanical, and he said the duct system is the most common problem in homes. But there are solutions.
"It'll be very leaky, from just wear and tear or holes that's gotten into the ductwork from rodents or things like that," Worthington said. “The whole purpose is to save money on bills by air sealing, duct sealing, to keep the home conditioned and not the unconditioned space, you know, wasting energy."
These programs have income limits, and some people may not qualify. However, some people may not qualify, while also not making enough to be able to do repairs and fix their home's problems.
The CAC said it's best to give them a call so that a coordinator can guide them accordingly. They are available at (865) 546-3500, and they work alongside other programs, such as Weatherization Readiness Funding which kicked off earlier this year. It's available via the Department of Energy weatherization program.
The way they work, Vincent said, is once CAC can determine a person's need they audit their home to check what kind of repairs it needs. That's when they can come in for weatherization -- after they make those repairs.
"They created a separate pocket of money, which we're working with now," Vincent said. "And so we're going into the homes, we're doing roof replacements, we're doing floor replacements, a lot of, like, what is considered minor home repair. Although, a roof replacement is pretty major. So that then we'll be able to go back in and do the weatherization measures afterward, because we can't do, we can't weatherize a home with the roof leaking, for example."
Rebate services are also available through the TVA EnergyRight program, to help people save money.
Natalie Young said these changes have been a lifesaver, and feeling comfortable is what home is all about.
"My electric bills have come down at least $100 a month since they've done it," Young said. “Not having to worry about that huge electric bill coming in, that has been a godsend to me."