On an unseasonably warm day in February, I flew up to Fairbanks to meet with families at the Fairbanks Native Association (FNA) Head Start program. Angi Thomas, FNA’s Head Start family wellness coordinator, had reached out to REAP the prior November to see what education we could provide to help families struggling with energy bills. As the Education Director at REAP, I jumped at the chance to share the resources we’d developed on the topics of energy efficiency and weatherization.
In addition to extending the better-known solar investment tax credits, the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has made several energy efficiency and weatherization incentives available to homeowners and renters alike. If you pay for an energy audit on your building, you’re eligible for a $150 tax credit. Install a new door? Up to a $250 tax credit. Make an investment in insulation and air sealing to reduce your overall energy use and you could be eligible for up to $1,200 in tax credits! Yet with all these benefits, it can be hard to know where to start. That is why REAP Educators have been expanding our adult educational offerings made available through the AK EnergySmart (AKES) program we administer for the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC). A major part of my job is to manage the AKES program, and I was excited to work with Angi and share our courses to help FNA Head Start families.
We started with two virtual sessions in January, and I followed up in-person in February. The local electric utility cooperative, Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA), generously donated $1,000 worth of efficiency supplies, including window insulation kits, LED bulbs, and weather stripping. And thanks to funding from AHFC and the Office of Naval Research, I was able to provide free electricity monitors, caulking materials, and printed resources for all the participants. An additional 30 families received materials after the event. Photo above shows one participant with some of the materials she took home.
Twenty-five families attended our workshop at FNA, where I demonstrated how to caulk (photo above), how to use an electricity monitor, and the power of an infrared camera. I also showed attendees how to sign up for our new “Home Energy Efficiency” course, which is available for free online. The course walks folks through how to use resources that we’ve developed for AK EnergySmart, like the Home Energy Assessment checklist, electricity use calculator, and the Home Maintenance Checklist. It also provides links to helpful resources from organizations like Energy Star, Cooperative Extension, Rewiring America, and Cold Climate Housing Research Center.
REAP inspired FNA Head Start 0-5 participant families to plan for home energy management. We learned the importance of how regular maintenance addresses poor insulation, inefficient lighting, appliances, and HVAC. Regular maintenance schedules will only benefit families’ energy efficiency and household income.
Unfortunately, rising electric rates and expensive heating bills are burdening folks in many other communities across our state right now, which is why we’re committed to sharing these resources as widely as possible. You can register for the course and learn how to take advantage of these resources and rebates by creating an account with AHFC’s Apex and registering for the Home Energy Efficiency class under the “AK EnergySmart Classes” tab. Follow the prompts to start learning online at your own pace! More detailed instructions for registering are available for download here.
We currently have five modules available (on the topics of efficiency, home systems, heating, and more), with an appliances module in development and more planned for topics like residential solar.
We hope you’ll check out the Home Energy Efficiency class and spread the word to others who would like to get started on their efficiency and weatherization journey and save precious dollars on their heating and electricity bills!
Want to schedule a virtual or in-person class for your organization or community? Contact Colleen Fisk at education@realaska.org.