During the cold winter months, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is a proven, results-driven initiative that helps hard-working American families afford essential heating and cooling services. LIHEAP ensures energy security and prevents utility shutoffs. It is one of the vital services that Community Action СŷƵ provides to vulnerable households with low incomes, particularly those that have a high home energy burden (the percentage of income that goes to heating and cooling bills) including seniors, veterans and families with young children.
LIHEAP is a fiscally responsible investment that prevents costly energy-related emergencies, reducing the need for emergency assistance programs. LIHEAP payments go directly to local utility companies, ensuring that businesses remain stable while keeping families focused on building financial independence.
When a person’s heating system stops working or they have another home heating issue, CALV’s Weatherization Department provides emergency repairs for the low-income residents of Lehigh and Northampton counties. Every year, about 200 families have their heating system repaired or replaced by one of CALV’s seven HVAC subcontractors.
During bitter cold winter months, CALV staff handles a wide variety of issues, ranging from leaking oil tanks, broken or unsafe heating systems, faulty electrical service, broken/frozen heating system water pipes and radiators, disconnected or missing ductwork, and crumbling chimneys. Our auditors make every attempt to contact the participant and perform a site visit within 48 hours after receiving the referral. We also provide electric space heaters for the participants so they have some form of heat until the necessary repairs can be made.
The housing stock in this area has many homes from the early 1900s and these homes generally do not have enough, if any, insulation, making them very drafty and expensive to heat and cool. Homes weatherized with federal Department of Energy funding generally save an average of $283 per year with an18% reduction in annual heating consumption costs and 7% in electric consumption costs. In fact, for every $1 invested in weatherization, $1.72 is generated in energy benefits and $2.78 in non-energy benefits. Our auditors use specialized equipment, such as blower doors that can measure exactly how drafty a home is and infrared cameras to help locate the air leakage points in the home.
Once the work is completed, the home is inspected by a quality control inspector to ensure the work was done properly. Once a home is complete, our surveys have shown that more than 90% of our participants have been more comfortable and have saved money on their energy bills. For a low-income family, it is critically important to have extra money for food, rent, medicine, etc.
If these programs were to go away, many low-income families would be left in dangerous situations without any safety net. The cost of replacing a heating system can be more than some of our participants make in an entire year and even if they can find a company that will offer financing, the terms are often outrageously expensive. For a family that is struggling to get by, replacing a heating system may not be possible and even if it is possible, the added interest will ensure that the family will continue to struggle financially.
LIHEAP really does save lives. During our initial visits after receiving a crisis referral, we have found active gas leaks, blocked chimneys with heating systems and water heaters venting into the home, high levels of carbon monoxide, unsafe electrical wiring and other issues. People who can’t afford heating oil or repairs to their heating system often use electric space heaters or potentially dangerous unvented kerosene heaters. The risk of a fire increases with the use of space heaters as the main source of heat, especially in older homes that may have outdated electrical wiring. The risk of carbon monoxide poisoning increases with the use of unvented combustion equipment, such as kerosene heaters.
Recent cuts to and layoffs within the LIHEAP Program were led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and leave $378 million in cooling and emergency assistance funds in limbo. LIHEAP, which assists approximately 6.2 million low-income American households, is crucial for ensuring safe housing temperatures during extreme weather conditions. The benefits of LIHEAP are valuable and the loss of the program could be a matter of life and death to the most vulnerable members of our community.
This is a contributed opinion column. Michael Austin is the weatherization director at Community Action СŷƵ. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author, and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication. Do you have a perspective to share? Learn more about how we handle guest opinion submissions at themorningcall.com/opinions.
