Weatherization effort is good for everyone

I am mystified by the logic in your editorial of March 6 concerning lack of need for the weatherization program. To start with, counties administer the federally funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which means that the counties have a list of everyone who receives these federal grants. If a homeowner, many of whom are seniors who have lived in their homes for many years meet the income requirements of LIHEAP, there are three things that are true for 80 to 90 percent for these homeowners: (1) Most of the homes are not energy efficient, (2) The homeowner cannot afford to much weatherization and (3) the homeowner is getting all or part of the energy bill paid.

Rather than carping about the weatherization program, DuPage County Board Member Paul Fichtner should be setting up a program paid for by the weatherization program to hire building inspectors to do a quick energy audit of the LIHEAP homes. Replacing a 20-year-old furnace with a 90/95 percent efficient model will save at least 25 percent on fuel use. Insulation and caulking are quick to return their cost and windows can be real energy hogs. The counties should not view these funds as something that can wait until someone asks for them, they need to push the LIHEAP recipients to participate.

It seems that the weatherization program does three things: (1) it puts people in the hard hit construction field back to work, (2) it, if properly administered by the counties, will cut future LIHEAP costs and (3) it will reduce demand for natural gas which will reduce the cost of gas for everyone since natural gas is what the economist call an commodity with an inelastic pricing characteristic. A little decrease in demand results in a large decrease in price and a small increase in demand results in a much larger increase in price.

Leonard F. Perkins

Arlington Heights