Weatherization services are now available for qualified Rappahannock residents.

Weatherization services are now available for qualified Rappahannock residents.

These services are being offered by Telamon, a private non-profit corporation, which for 25 years has been dedicated to the economic upgrading of the poor, especially migrants and seasonal farmworkers.

Telamon administers a wide range of educational, manpower, housing, weatherization, and supportive services. Offices are established throughout the state, and a coordinative network is established with other agencies and service providers to assure high level support to client groups while avoiding duplicative efforts.

Both renters and homeowners may have their homes weatherized. To qualify for this free service a household must provide proof of ownership of property, must not have had previous weatherization (winterization) and must meet income guidelines.

Weatherization procedures begin with a heating system inspection, focusing on system safety and efficiency. Other weatherization procedures which may be implemented are furnace cleaning and tuning, air leakage detection and sealing, minor roof repairs, dense pack sidewall insulation, insulation of attics and crawl spaces, window and door repair or replacement and insulating ducts, pipes and wrater heaters.

A pilot study was conducted by the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the winter of 1989-90.

The study was to determine the effectiveness and energy savings achieved by implementing the above-mentioned weatherization techniques.

Forty-three site-built and 16 mobile homes, located in Virginia, were weatherized. Heating system inspections were conducted on 44 of these homes. Serious safety problems (such as fuel leaks and hazardous concentrations of carbon monoxide in the living area) were detected in 30 percent of the homes. Cleaning and tuning the furnace was done in 10 of the homes, resulting in an average steady-state efficiency improvement of 5 percent.