Money to Save You Money

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By Stacy Lilienthal

Story Published: Jul 14, 2009 at 11:13 PM PDT

A number of places in the area are ready to save you money on your home's bills now that new state and federal money has come to town. All you need to do is get your house tested to see if you qualify, and that's just a phone call away.

Workers are pressurizing houses to find out where they're leaking energy. "There's definitely a huge need in the community," HopeSource Energy Services Coordinator Ben Eckley said. He's been testing houses in Kittitas County.

If you have low income, and a house with a certain level of need, state and federal grants will pay to fix it. Then you'll see lower energy bills. "It's not unusual, once the weatherization teams have gone in, for families to realize a two hundred dollar a month savings in energy alone," said HopeSource CEO, Susan Grindle.

You can call one of a number of places in the area with money ready to remedy anything from a leaky faucet to a duct system. HopeSource in Ellensburg, The Benton/ Franklin Community Action Committee, the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic and the O-I-C of Washington in Yakima all got thousands of dollars.

You may be surprised at some of the areas leaking energy. Places like closets could be trouble spots. HopeSource most commonly fixes duct systems to boost energy to bring down bills. "Every dollar we put out there has to pay for itself in energy savings," Eckley said.

So if you fit the need, they can test your house. Then you might qualify for free money that aims to save you money.

If you don't fit the income need, but still want to save money, the department of energy has a web-based energy auditor for you. Just copy and paste this address into your web browser:

http://hes.lbl.gov/

Upload directly from your mobile device.

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