State weatherization program supports local woman 110321

Photos and Article by Mary Alice Murphy

On Nov. 3, 2021, various elected officials, along with New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority representatives highlighted energy-efficient retrofits to a Silver City home, owned by Joani Amos.

The MFA and its partners in the effort, including the New Mexico Department of Energy, PNM, New Mexico Gas Company and the Central Valley Co-op, brought the improvements to the house free-of-charge to the family.

MFA Executive Director Izzy Hernandez led off the remarks from officials, including Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, Silver City Mayor Ken Ladner, Sen. Siah Correa-Hemphill and Rep. Luis Terrazas.

Hernandez said the MFA manages 30 programs from beginning assistance to the homeless all the way up to home ownership. "Last year, we assisted 18,000 people through more than 200 partners. This program saves money and helps with health and safety issues for the homeowner. Most are saving an average of 27 percent on their utility costs, but this one will save 75 percent. We weatherize 600-700 homes a year. We have about 3,000 on the wait list, but we estimate there are more than 200,000 that we could help."

"The programs are funded with state and federal funds," Hernandez said. "We are a non-profit and invest our own funds into the programs. We also receive private money and help from PNM, New Mexico Gas, and El Paso Electric."

Clyde Woods, Harvest Baptist Church pastor, gave the invocation.

Morales spoke and said he grew up with Amos and her kids at Glad Tiding Church. "I am grateful to be here. There are about 3,000 people on the waiting list for these weatherization projects. I want to thank Izzy Hernandez for this project."

He also recognized Silver Consolidated Schools Superintendent William Hawkins and Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments Executive Director Priscilla Lucero."

"This is an opportunity to make things better for everyone," Morales continued.

Hernandez said Mrs. Amos had lived in this house her whole life. "It was first in Santa Rita and then was moved from there when the mine company moved the dwellings off the site, and it moved to this land just outside Silver City."

Silver City Mayor Ken Ladner said he has lived 42 years in Silver City, "because I love the people there."

Correa-Hemphill thanked Hernandez for all the work he does. "My mom benefitted from the weatherization of a 134-year-old house. She has spent the past 30 years taking care of children in her home care facility."

Terrazas thanked everyone for attending. "I thank everyone for helping the elderly. May God bless you for your work."

Hernandez introduced Lucero and said: "Priscilla Lucero does a wonderful job for advocating for her communities."

She, too, said she has benefitted from the Mortgage Finance Authority. "I am a homeowner thanks to the MFA. In 1997 I became a part of the MFA. It's about our area being represented. I serve on the weatherization committee. Every day, we wake up as public servants. We make a difference in many people's lives."

Bruce Ashburn representing PNM said. "I am honored for us to be in a position to be a good neighbor." He noted the company is open for grants for non-profits. "And I can't get up here and not say how important it is to have community partners. Priscilla is always the first one we call when we need help."

Troy Cucchiara of the weatherization program said it started in 1973, as the result of a crisis from looking at a home in need of insulation. "Sometimes, we could insulate from the bottom. In 1976, the federal government allocated $26 million for the whole country. We also put in attic insulation, and seal holes and cracks. In the 1980s, the Department of Energy started putting in money for weatherizing houses. How do we know it works? Now with energy modeling software, we're able to prove that it saves energy. We also use what we call a blower door. We go outside the house and blow in air, or we can pull air from the house to the outside. In 1993-94, they realized that a house is a building for living. What about the things like the water heater and the refrigerator? A homeowner can save money all year round. The program ended in 2021-13, when they saw that problems are not the same across the country, so they created some standards. A person can certify and can go anywhere to work. In 2021, we're all on the same page."

Hernandez said that Troy is nationally recognized. He introduced Dimitri Flores, who is program manager for weatherization.

Flores said he is in the process of getting the energy auditor designation. "To get the auditor designation you need at least 1,000 hours of experience with six months of 40 hours a week. After you finish the energy auditor course, you take two exams. The first is multiple choice and the second is a field exam."

Amanda Hatherly is the director of the weatherization training center. "It's not easy. You can start as an installer, move into crew leader and then quality control inspector and then energy auditor. We fund the classes. Weatherization is a fabulous career ladder. We do training for a lot of other states, too. We have created an online course and 2,500 people have taken it. Now, we're switching to new technology with the electric heat pump."

Hernandez said three partners were working with them on this project.

One is Isaac Stevens from the Central Housing Authority. Stevens said he has been in the program for 20 years. "My dad was in it for 43. He started in the program."

Larry ParozAis with ICAST, International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology. "We have our own team. We do the modeling. It's a one-stop shop. We take care of the contracting. We are not involved in this project, but we're glad to be here."

Veronika Molina handles the southern part of the state's housing authorities in the Southwest Regional Housing Authority. "I'm so grateful all of you are here. I give glory and honor to God. Thank you, Joani, for allowing us to be here at your home. We are grateful you gave us the opportunity to serve you. I want to thank the MFS. Due to Covid, we haven't interacted much. I thank the partners. Thanks to PNM, Joani has a new refrigerator."

"I know we are helping people very day," Molina said. "I couldn't do it without my team. We are a toddler in weatherization. We were established in 2001. All of my staff members have a passion for affordable housing. I am from Mexico. We didn't have electricity. We had no toilets, no running water. We jumped into the river for baths. We had serapes for windows. But I was adopted into a home in 1970. It had water. This is what I want for my cousins in Mexico. That has grown as my passion. It's not a job; it's a career. Priscilla is a mover and shaker. Every year, we have a refrigerator from PNM to install. We serve the southern part of the state. ICAST serves multi-family buildings. We are an extension of our funders. We are people in the field getting things done. We are instruments in God's hands. We have a self-help program out of Deming, with funding from the USDA. It helps people become mortgage ready. We are pre-approved underwriters. The people put in the sweat equity. For our home rehabilitation program, we need licensed electricians, plumbers and contractors. Our bread-and-butter is the weatherization program. It is the best of all our programs. It is very detailed. Fourteen of us work out of the weatherization program. Come visit our trailer," which she pointed out. "The clients we serve have to made choices every day about what to pay for, whether to pay the electric bill or buy food. Mrs. Z, after her home was weatherized, she called us every day to say: 'Thank you. I slept warm last night.'"

Brian Moore said he's been doing the job eight or nine years as a crew member. "Now we have more people. I became an auditor and a quality control inspector. We make sure when we leave the house that it's a safe place and we make sure the work lasts. These guys work as hard as they can for everyone else. I brought a camera that shows infrared to find cracks."

Larry Martinez, energy auditor, said he audited the house. "She used to use propane space heaters. Not only are they dangerous, but also not cost effective. Our first phase audit showed the propane and also showed that the attic and the crawl space needed insulation. Future audits will show the savings with an electric heat pump. The last audit is based on the first one. It shows the savings to show it's cost-effective. We'll cut her propane bill of $275 a month by 75 percent with the electric heat pump."

Joani Amos, the owner of the house, spoke: "I thank God for everything. I thank all of you. This will be life-changing for me. It's an eight-room house, but in the winter, I would basically live in two rooms. I am so thankful and grateful. The crew members are so helpful and respectful. The last time I had a crowd like this on my property was for my dad's funeral. I already sit in a warm house. The insulation has made a huge difference. This is in so many ways a new life. I was so depressed over my house. I love you all and thank you for everything you do."

The demonstrations began. At the tour of the work trailer, Luis Molina said they sanitize the trailer, the homes, the shelves every day. They also carry medical kits in every trailer. Molina explained the trailer on site was for three crew members. Two crews have three people each. "I'm the crew leader for Team 2."

Cucchiara showed how the blower worked with a fan to push or blow air into the house. He said the blower was a trainer, so that crew members didn't have to practice in a house. He also explained the heat pump, which he said works to heat a house as long as it doesn't get below minus 4 degrees Farenheit. He said a two-zone unit, costs about $3,000, and a four-zone unit is priced at about $4,500.

Travis Moore operated the machine to blow in insulation.

Brian Moore, field manager and quality control inspector, demonstrated the infrared camera to Ladner and explained it detects temperature changes.