WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that more than 300,000 low-income homes have been weatherized under the Recovery Act, putting the country more than 50 percent of the way toward meeting the president’s goal of weatherizing approximately 600,000 homes under the Act. The weatherization program is designed to help families save money on their energy bills by improving home energy efficiency with upgrades like insulation, air-sealing, and more efficient heating and cooling systems.

“Today marks a major milestone for the weatherization program and shows once again that we are on pace to meet the goals of the Recovery Act. This program has already benefitted 300,000 low-income families and put thousands of people to work,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “Through the weatherization program, we are laying the groundwork for a broader efficiency industry in the U.S. that will help grow our economy while saving money for American families.”

Through November, the network of state offices, local agencies, and weatherization providers completed 300,000 homes. Of that total, more than 100,000 were completed in the last four months of that time period, a significantly accelerated pace. A state-by-state breakdown of the homes weatherized through November is available at the Energy Efficiency section of Energy.gov.

According to DOE, weatherization assistance reduces energy consumption for low-income families on average by 35 percent, saving families on average more than $400 on their heating and cooling bills in the first year alone. Nationwide, the weatherization of 300,000 homes is estimated to save $161 million in energy costs in just the first year.

For more information, visit the Weatherization Assistance Program website at www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/wap.html.

Publication date:02/07/2011