John Graves points out the new insulation installed recently in the basement of his South Hill home. Photo by Jes Wickham.
John Graves and his wife used to struggle with a cold home in the winter and an overworked AC in the summer due to the house’s poor insulation. But help from Smart Energy Choices, as well as state assistance, was able to get him the insulation he needed, helping them stay comfortable all year round.
John’s house on South Hill in Ithaca was built in the 1840s, so it was bound to have issues with insulation and energy efficiency.
“When we first moved in about 35 years ago, none of the windows had been updated except for the kitchen and the back door,” he said. “And slowly over the years, we rebuilt the kitchen. And within that rebuilding, we made access to the basement, which was outside to begin with. So, I did update the doors and all of the glass in the kitchen. And upstairs, we added an upstairs bedroom that had updated windows too. So, that was our extent of improvements on the energy side.”
Even though John was able to make those improvements on his own, the basement crawlspace still needed attention, having no insulation.
“That made it very uncomfortable in the winter because our crawlspace is below the living room, and there's literally about 12 to 18 inches’ worth of difference between the floor and the dirt,” he said. “So, from the beginning, we've been trying to figure out how to take care of that.”
Luckily, John found his solution when he went to a talk at the local library about recent green energy advancements and assistance programs. One program mentioned was Smart Energy Choice’s Cozy Basements program. Cozy Basements entails training a group of people on environmental and energy efficiency topics, and then those people go into local homes and insulate rim joists.
Interested, John contacted Cozy Basements, and that led to a few of the trainees coming in to insulate the rim joists in the basement. But there was still more work to be done, so Smart Energy Choices gave him a call afterward. Community Energy Advisor (CEA) Jack Wright connected John to resources and information about EmPower+, a state program that helps residents make energy-related upgrades to their homes.
John said he was very grateful for Jack’s help.
“It was wonderful because … I had known about all kinds of projects that were happening, but nobody could put them all together,” he said. “And I told him, ‘You are a wonderful asset.’”
A look inside John Grave’s basement
crawlspace since the moisture barrier was
installed. Photo by Jes Wickham
Jack helped John apply for EmPower+, and he was approved not much later. Through EmPower+, John got a free energy audit done on his home, which identified gaps in his insulation and provided a plan to address it. He ended up working with a local contractor, who installed a moisture barrier in the basement’s crawlspace, insulated the attic, and air sealed other areas of the home — all at no cost to John.
John said he’s seen a real difference since the improvements were made. Before, “that was a constant thing in our mind — to get that insulation done,” he said, but now, he can rest easy knowing his home is much better insulated. While it’s too early to say whether he’ll see a difference in his heating bills, the improved insulation is helping his AC perform better, as hot air isn’t leaking in and counteracting the AC’s cooling.
Now that their biggest headache is over, John and his wife are looking to explore even more energy efficiency improvements, including upgraded heating systems and solar power.
Looking back, John said the advisement Smart Energy Choices gave him was invaluable. He said CEAs act as crucial connections to state programs and information, allowing him to learn about programs he hadn’t heard of before and navigate the application process with ease.
“What was the most surprising [is] that it's available, you can actually do this, and it's based on your income,” he said. “So, you don't have to be wealthy. You can get this stuff taken care of that's going to save you money in the long run.”
To learn how Smart Energy Choices can help address your energy challenges, visit smartenergychoices.org/get-help.
You can also find this story on our Success Stories page.