page 2- more stimulus money to be spent in hot states m

Stimulus funds spent to keep Sun Belt cool

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As Florida’s weatherization money climbs to $176 million over the next couple of years, from $5 million this year, the scene that played out recently at Jessica Langston’s double-wide mobile home in Crawfordville is likely to become more common.

A large truck, parked by a palm tree in the front yard, was pumping fiberglass insulation into small holes bored in the corrugated metal roof. Glaziers were sticking tinted film to the windows to dull the sun’s heat. And cool air was streaming through the floor vents, much stronger now that the metal ducts beneath the floor had been sealed tight and the air-conditioner unit outside had been serviced.

“Before, it would just be hot, unbearably hot,” said Ms. Langston, 27, who had covered the windows with tin foil and taped a leaky window shut when she moved in last summer, pregnant with her third daughter. Her monthly electricity bills can top $400.

Officials here say that the program has cut electricity use and costs. A review of the utility bills of nine Floridians whose homes were recently weatherized showed varied savings. A couple of bills were halved, with monthly savings of up to $178; most customers saved $13 to $44 a month, and one customer saw her electric bill rise as she consumed more electricity after her house had been weatherized.

Norm Gampel, who manages the program for the Florida Department of Community Affairs, said new training tailored to Sun Belt states had helped. Florida workers now use infrared cameras to pinpoint leaks, along with blower doors, large fans that suck the air out of a house to measure how airtight it is.

Putting people to work
There is no doubt that the program will have its intended effect of putting people to work: nine people worked on Ms. Langston’s house. Robin Dias, the weatherization coordinator here for Wakulla County, said that he was preparing to expand to six crews, from two, to handle the additional work and that he was having no trouble finding workers since the housing market went bust.

“When everything was going so good, I couldn’t hardly get nobody,” Mr. Dias said. “But since the drop — oh man, I’ve got a list of contractors.”

Mr. Gampel said he was convinced that with the increased financing, the program would prove its worth in hot states.

“This is our chance to shine,” he said. “Or, we’re in the spotlight, however you want to look at it.”

This article, "Stimulus Funds Spent to Keep Sun Belt Cool," first appeared in The New York Times.