Condo weatherization saves energy and money

By Catherine Crawley | Stowe Energy Committee

Stony Brook condos and the weatherization team, from left, homeowners Pete Engle and Jill Appel. The project to button up the condos has shown reductions from 23 to 55 percent in air leakage; six units saw reductions in leakage measuring over 50 percent.

STOWE — When Jill Appel landed in Stowe in 2015 to purchase a second home, little did she know that she would soon be applying the same passion and ingenuity to energy efficiency projects here that she had used back home in Concord, Mass., to help that community go green.

As a member and chair of Concord’s Sustainable Energy Committee from 2013 to 2018, one of the initiatives Appel helped design and run was Green Your Heat, a program that weatherized — air-sealed and insulated — 160 Concord homes, saving involved homeowners a total of about $50,000 per year and reducing carbon dioxide pollution by an estimated 500,000 pounds every year.

Today, Appel owns one of the 82 condos at Stonybrook on Luce Hill Road. The condos were built in the 1980s and 1990s when building energy standards were much lower. Lower energy efficiency means both drafty condos and higher operating and maintenance costs for both homeowners and the homeowners association.

In July 2019, she and another homeowner, Pete Engle, a retired energy engineer, formed the Stonybrook Energy Committee, and together they proposed a weatherization program for the condos.

“We knew we could get a win all around — fuel cost savings and more comfortable units for homeowners and their guests, reduced building maintenance for the association, and less carbon pollution for the earth,” Appel said.

To test the potential savings of the program, Efficiency Vermont conducted airflow reviews of three of the condos. The results were convincing — weatherization could reduce air leakage by an estimated 28 percent.

The first step in weatherization is the energy audit to analyze the condo’s performance and potential for savings. Thus far, 43 condos have had audits. Only two of the aging condos passed muster; the rest were recommended for energy upgrades, in particular air sealing and new insulation for leaky attics.

The total number of weatherized units, to date, is 18. Weatherized units have shown extraordinary reductions in air leakage from 23 percent to 55 percent, with six units measuring over 50 percent.

Plans are to weatherize 15 to 20 more units in the spring.

The cost to button up the condos varies based on the work needed. Each homeowner bears the cost and reaps the savings on energy bills and improved comfort. Rates of return on the weatherization projects are estimated to be between 10 percent and 15 percent.

Homeowner Heather Lavoie achieved one of the highest air leakage reductions in her unit. “I used to need a space heater in the master bedroom because it didn’t get warm enough in there in the winter. Now the space heater is gone and it’s so warm, I need to turn down the heat,” she said.

For those interested in learning more about weatherizing, Appel and Engle said that they are happy to offer advice or guidance to other communities interested in taking on a similar weatherization project.

This piece by Stowe Energy Committee member Catherine Crawley was submitted by Waterbury LEAP energy committee. The groups produce and share occasional columns on energy efficiency topics with readers in both communities.