The State of Connecticut has established the ambitious goal of weatherizing 80% of its households by 2030. Efforts as part of this goal have reached several shoreline towns, now including Essex.

Sustainable Essex has created the volunteer outreach campaign EnergyWise Essex to implement energy efficiency programs and educate residents on available solutions to weatherize and save money on their homes. The program is supported by a Community Partnership Initiative grant awarded by EnergizeCT, and at its center, Essex homeowners are given the opportunity to schedule a Home Energy Solutions (HES) assessment with contractor New England Smart Energy.

While members of the Sustainable Essex Committee cite several benefits to HES assessments, health and safety can be delivered upon the first appointment.

“Before a HES contractor will perform an assessment, they do a few safety checks,” said member Lindsay Tomsheck. “One of the first things they do is they look for gas leaks, and also they look for any signs of mold.”

Then comes a two- to four-hour assessment that includes weatherization analyses and on–site improvements to a home’s insulation. In looking at improving the comfort of a home, a HES assessment will look at ways to improve energy flow in a way that is “going to allow heat to escape less and also cool air to also escape less,” said Tomsheck.

According to Sustainable Essex, homeowners can save an average of $180 per year by making the initial appointment, preceding safety checks, and ensuing weatherization work.

The first HES appointment can be greatly beneficial to homeowners even before going forward with future appointments according to member Deb Herskowtiz.

“It’s on the spot some of these corrections [that] are made or any additions,” Herskowitz said. “It’s not that they’re just going to leave and come back. They’re handled at the time of the assessment.”

During an assessment, homeowners will learn from New England Smart Energy about the multiple incentives and rebates through EnergizeCT. These include rebates on water heater upgrades, 75% to 100% off the cost of recommended insulation, up to $25,000 in heat pump rebates, and a variety of tax credits, according to Sustainable Essex.

“The contractors are working really hard to educate people about these programs and get the information into their hands,” said Tomsheck.

While it may be convenient to “go online and do a Google search of ‘heat pump tax credit,’” Tomsheck said it is “really great to have somebody who is actually providing you with the information and documentation, and walking you through what the savings and rebates look like for implementing these measures,” at an in-person HES assessment.

These advantages can be beneficial to multiple income brackets, but especially for the income-eligible, said Tomsheck.

“I think that this impacts market rate and income-eligible people at the same rate, but I think that income-eligible people who are able to realize additional savings on their electricity bills, especially as electricity rates continue to climb the way that we’ve seen them climb in the past few years - it certainly is more impactful for their bottom line.”

Herskowitz said even Essex residents who recently acquired their homes can still reap several benefits from the program, even through minor changes.

Committee chair Kalyn D’Occhio said the HES assessment could be a “good education for all of us” and that “hopefully that will spark something in us and the other homeowners that get these assessments” to consider future changes to improve the efficiency of their homes.

On the financial side of things, D’Occhio said “In the long - run, doing these things will help them save money on their household expenditures and utilities.”

While HES assessments can “help everyone’s bottom line,” they could “particularly impact those that are in the lower income bracket,” said D’Occhio. In the context of HES, the latter is referred to as the income-eligible population, which can receive a HES assessment at no cost. Households are determined as income-eligible if the occupants’ combined gross annual income is at or below Connecticut’s 60% income median, as defined by the state. For example, a household of four people with an annual income of $75,052 qualifies as income-eligible, as does a household of two people with an annual income of $51,035.

For non-income-eligible residents, a $75 copay is required for an appointment. Tomsheck made a point of this being a significantly affordable payment than “actually costs on the real market,” marking another benefit to homeowners in a process meant to make their lives more economical.

To schedule a HES assessment, call New England Smart Energy at 203-292-8088 or visit https://sustainableessex.com/energywise.