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How to Apply for Weatherization Assistance

What is Weatherization Assistance?

Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) assists low-income households in lowering their energy costs by making their houses more energy efficient. The money is used to upgrade the energy efficiency of homes for low-income households, using the latest in testing equipment and methods. Funding for the program is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to individual states, U.S. territories, and Indian tribal councils. In exchange, these governments give funding to a system of local community action agencies, nonprofit organizations, and local governments that provide weatherization services to residents of all fifty states, the District of Columbia, all U.S. territories, and among Native American communities.

What is the Florida Weatherization Assistance Program?

Low-income homeowners in all counties may apply for funds via the Weatherization Assistance Program to pay for energy-saving renovations to their houses through community action organizations, local governments, Indian tribes, and non-profit organizations. Each household may receive a maximum of $2,600 in grants based on a formula that takes into account demographic and climate statistics. Insulation, weather stripping, water heater covers, and reducing air penetration are all examples of the kind of precautions that may be taken. Air conditioners and heaters may be serviced or replaced if necessary. Each house has to have an energy audit and diagnostic testing done. The house data is entered into a computer software program and a printout is provided. After analyzing the printout, we may advise the customer on what steps they should take to minimize their energy use and, in turn, their electricity bills.

The Florida Counties Low-Income Residential Energy Efficient Grant Program is being funded by the state energy program (SEP) to the tune of $1 million. This money is being channeled through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Office of Energy (FDACS OOE). The initiative aims to improve ventilation, insulation, and inefficient equipment in homes in order to minimize the burden of high energy cost expenditures, which are intimately related to housing and health. Low-income single-family and multifamily buildings in Broward, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Sarasota Counties may apply for grants to help pay for energy efficiency upgrades.

Who is Eligible for Florida Weatherization Assistance Program?

You must be a Florida resident to be eligible for this benefit program. Preference may be given to the following:

People above the age of 60
Families with one or more disabled individuals
Families with children (in most states)

If you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), you are immediately qualified for weatherization assistance under DOE rules.

To be eligible, your yearly household income (before taxes) must be less than the following amounts:

Annual Household Income Limits (before taxes)
Household Size*	Maximum Income Level (Per Year)
1	$27,180
2	$36,620
3	$46,060
4	$55,500
5	$64,940
6	$74,380
7	$83,820
8	$93,260

*For households with more than eight people, add $9,440 per additional person. Always check with the appropriate managing agency to ensure the most accurate guidelines.

Types of Weatherization Assistance

Address air infiltration with weather stripping, caulking, thresholds, minor repairs to walls, ceilings and floors, and window and door replacement
Install attic and floor insulation (floors in northern Florida counties only)
Install attic ventilation
Apply solar reflective coating to manufactured homes
Install solar screens
Repair or replace inefficient heating and cooling units
Repair or replace water heaters

Why You Need Weatherization for Your Home

Reduced air leakage is a cost-effective technique to save heating and cooling expenses, enhance durability, boost comfort, and create a healthier indoor environment. Caulking and weather-stripping are two basic and efficient air-sealing treatments with rapid returns on investment, generally in less than a year. Caulk is often used to seal gaps and holes between fixed house components, such as around door and window frames, while weather-stripping is used to seal moving components, such as doors and operable windows. Window Replacement Group® can help you weather-strip and caulk your windows to increase efficiency, and if you live in the Florida area, your windows might do well to be installed with impact glass.

What is Weather-stripping Windows?

This is a standard approach to making windows more winter-proof. When you install weather-stripping around your window frames, it prevents air leaks.

Foam strips, rubber tubing, and rigid gaskets are all forms that may be used as weather-stripping. No matter which kind you choose, these materials will act as a protective barrier against the chilly weather.

Foam with an adhesive backing is a form of compression weather stripping. Foam seals up cracks and drafts when a window is closed on it. The product may be applied with a simple peel-and-stick motion.

Before applying the glue, make sure the area surrounding the inside of the window is completely clean. Foam weather stripping with an adhesive back should be installed along the bottom edge of the lower sash and the top edge of the upper sash of double-hung windows.

Weather-stripping may be applied to the sill below the lower sash and the head jamb above the higher sash if you choose not to apply it to the sash itself. The foam acts as an effective draft stopper after the sash is closed and latched. Attach the foam strip with the adhesive on it to the sash’s vertical edge if your windows slide or open inward.

Similar to adhesive-backed foam, but shaped like a hollow rubber tube, tubular rubber-gaskets are used to seal up gaps between two surfaces. The sash will compress the tubular weather-stripping, causing it to adapt to the area and effectively shut off drafts.

Some tubular gaskets have an adhesive backing that can be peeled off and stuck in place, while others include a flange made of metal or wood that has to be fastened with nails or screws. Foam-filled tubular gaskets, in contrast to their hollow-core counterparts, are able to maintain their original form due to the presence of a spongy foam core.

Spring V-Seal: This is a resilient plastic or metal strip that comes folded into a V-shape. The V shape springs open to create tension between the sash and window frame, thereby sealing up the gap between them.

Plastic V-seal can be cut with scissors and has a peel-and-stick backing. Copper, aluminum, bronze, and stainless steel are all available metal options for the V-seal. It has to be fastened down.

Double-hung windows have two potential installation locations for V-seals: along the vertical side rails and at the horizontal meeting rail. V-seal is applied to the vertical side jamb of casement or sliding windows at the point where the sash shuts.

Felt is one of the earliest forms of weather-stripping still in use today. Common packaging includes a roll with or without an adhesive backing. The metal mounting flange may be purchased separately.

Double-hung, casement, and sliding windows all employ felt as compression weather-stripping around the inside. It is cheap and simple to set up, but it won’t keep the elements out for very long. Every four to six years, you’ll need to get a new one.

Let Us Help You Access Florida’s Weatherization Assistance for Your Home

Weatherization has the potential to enhance or sustain respiratory health, mental health, physical safety, and wellbeing. Weatherization increases temperature control and interior air quality. Homes that are too chilly in the winter or too hot in the summer increase the likelihood that people may get sick. Poor indoor air quality or asthma triggers in the home increase the risk of disease. A weatherized house will benefit everyone. People who have pre-existing medical illnesses such as asthma, emphysema, or Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are likely to benefit even more. Seniors and those who are sensitive to severe temperatures can benefit as well. People report having fewer poor health days and fewer doctor or emergency department visits after having their house weatherized.

Discomfort in your home is an indication that it is not properly weatherized. Weatherization is likely to benefit your home if you are experiencing unmanageable temperatures, uncomfortable indoor air conditions, or excess moisture. A window with condensation between the glass panels is an example of something that has not been properly weatherized. Another example is a furnace that cannot maintain a comfortable indoor temperature. Another example would be a drafty door or window. A leaking roof is a solid indicator that your property needs to be improved.