BURLINGTON, Vt. — Vermont is receiving $15 million in federal funding to weatherize homes across the state, making them more energy efficient.
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, who is running for the Senate, joined housing advocates, homeowners and technicians in Burlington Wednesday, mychamplainvalley.com reported.
“So many of our homes have been built years ago before there were standards that were efficient,” Welch, a Democrat, said. “The weatherization program changes that.”
The state has a goal of weatherizing about 90,000 homes by 2030 in a continued effort to combat climate change.
Every home that is weatherized reduces energy use by 30 percent, saving homeowners money while reducing carbon emissions, said Dwight Decoster, weatherization director with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity.
But more trained professionals are needed, he said.
“I’m doing the math that we need to do on 90,000 homes that we need to do by 2030, and my math based on the numbers of 115 hours per house, that’s over 5,000 crew installers in addition to what we have now to meet Vermont’s goals,” Decoster said. “And you know, the labor crisis, it’s a crisis. We do not have enough folks.”
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