Heath and Heather Curry needed a new furnace in their rural home just west of Gas and got an opportunity to get one a little on the cheap last fall.
She is a member of the City Involvement Task Force, along with City Administrator Judy Brigham. That’s where she learned about energy audits encouraged by the Kansas Energy Office. Making the procedure particularly attractive were 0-percent interest loans for following through on audit recommendations.
Audits today are a part of the Take Charge Challenge, the state’s energy conservation competition involving Iola and several other southeast Kansas cities. Each city garners “points” for efforts made toward energy conservation.
The Currys’ audit didn’t help Iola in the TCC, though, because it was done before the Challenge started on Jan. 1. But, with the Challenge running until Sept. 30 and open to anyone who buys any utilities from Iola, an audit now benefits the city’s efforts to win a $100,000 grant.
“There are several ways to accumulate points,” Brigham said, from having an energy audit and doing some or all of the measures recommended to exchanging incandescent for compact fluorescent lamp bulbs, one for one. Bulbs may be exchanged in Brigham’s office in City Hall.
There is more to energy audits than just identifying ways that a homeowner, or some small businesses, can cut energy costs through insulation, new windows and even new furnaces. A part of the program, making use of federal stimulus money channeled through the Kansas Energy Office, provides 15-year loans that may be repaid without interest as a part of the participant’s utility bills.
An enabling provision is that the cost of energy-saving measures are offset by money they save on utility costs. Also, a qualification is that a homeowner must buy at last one utiliyt from Iola.
“I didn’t suppose we’d be eligible,” said Heather Curry, until she learned that purchasing electricity from Iola was sufficient for participation.
Another facet of the program is that loans are attached to utility meters, meaning renters become responsible and if a house is sold the loan is transferred to the new owner.
Arrangements may be made for an energy audit at the city administrator’s office in City Hall or by contacting Becky Nilges, who is managing Iola’s participation in the Take Charge Challenge. A call to 365-4900 will get direction.
“We’re in third place — Chanute is leading — in the Challenge right now,” Nilges told the Register Thursday, but “we have quite a few things planned to get points. We’ll have a ‘kick’ before the race is over.”
Other competitors are Parsons, Pittsburg and Fort Scott.
HEATHER Curry said the audit done of their home last fall was thorough and gave them a range of options of things they could do to improve its energy efficiency. Fortunate for them, a new heating system was among the options.
“It was a very detailed report,” she said.
The assessment, done by Energy Tax, an independent contractor hired by the state, also listed insulation of the attic and floors, air-sealing around windows and doors and an air-tight threshold at the base of the basement door as things the Curries could do.
Brigham said that measures recommended are prioritized and must be exercised starting with the top money-saver.
“If there are 10, you can do however many you want, but they have to start with No. 1, then No. 2 and so on,” she said.
All recommendations fit into the rationale that they can be paid for over 15 years or less through utility savings. A second consideration is prices contractors bid to do the work.
Curry said their selection was limited some by estimated costs being less than those bid. Brigham said participants may select a contractor with a higher bid price, but must make up the difference to keep the cost-to-savings ratio intact.
Curry said it was too early to determine just how close cost and savings were running in the projects they selected, but that it appeared it was working out as projected.
“I wish we could have applied our audit to the Take Charge Challenge to get Iola points, but it was done too early,” Curry said.
She hopes others do, for the good of Iola’s efforts to win the Challenge grant and to save themselves money by making their homes more energy efficient, and more livable.
“That’s what this is all about,” said Brigham, “giving Iola-area people an opportunity to make their homes more comfortable and save money at the same time.”
