LITCHFIELD — After negotiating a discounted group rate for energy audits, the town is hosting a workshop Wednesday to try to interest residents in weatherization.
Organizers hope to get homeowners’ attention with $300 audits, which is about $200 less than the average cost.
“What we’re trying to do here is create a community conversation,” said Beth Nagusky, a Litchfield resident and former state director of the office of energy independence and security. “There’s a lot of inertia out there and we’re hoping to overcome that.”
The talk is set for 7 p.m. at the town office.
Nagusky said she, the town manager and one selectman interviewed auditors and contractors and chose to work with energy auditor Gerry Smith and contractor Bo Jespersen with The Breathable Home company.
No other town in Maine has tried an approach to weatherization quite like this, she said. They want to make it easy to learn about the benefits, the low-interest loans available and the $300 or $400 coupons toward work offered by the Efficiency Maine Trust.
“Generally, the average weatherization job is about $8,000, that’s if you do everything,” said Nagusky, who had her own home done several years ago. After tightening up her house, she said it has felt cooler in the summer and she’s burned less heating oil in the winter.
The town is offering door prizes and raffling off two energy audits Wednesday.
“I’d like to start by filling the room and doing some homes this summer and getting a buzz going,” she said. “If we can prove this is a sound model,” they’d be happy to have others follow Litchfield’s lead.
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