Weatherization Plus Health

Weatherization Plus Health is a statewide program that effectively doubles resources to make the homes of low-income people more affordable, efficient, and healthy. Not only do these investments save families money on utility bills, they also create local family-wage jobs, reduce carbon emissions, and enhance quality of life for residents.

Here are just a few reasons Weatherization continues to be an excellent use of state funds and worthy of ongoing support:

• Housing affordability through efficiency: Weatherization brings immediate energy transition benefits into communities that have the highest energy burden. Home energy use is reduced by 25% on average in weatherized homes, which helps low-income families save over $300 a year and frees up other utility assistance resources to serve more households.

• Getting upstream to promote health and educational equity: The Plus Health innovation allows for services like flooring replacement and ventilation retrofits that promote accessibility, prevent slips, trips, and falls, and reduce asthma, and COPD. Weatherization Plus Health’s multi-pronged strategy makes positive physical health impacts that in turn reduce family stress and increase children’s long-term educational outcomes.

• Statewide benefits: The program is built on cross-sector partnerships in all 39 counties. These partnerships create and sustain contractor jobs across the state, in addition to outcomes in affordability, efficiency, health, and other benefits.

• Leverage additional investments: By requiring a one-to-one match from partners, Weatherization doubles the state’s investment by leveraging additional funds from communities, utility resources, rental owners, and other sources. We are also anticipating ambitious investments in Weatherization through President Biden’s American Jobs Plan, which will renew conversations about dramatically increasing our state’s contribution to the program in future budgets.