CITY OF HOUSTON, CENTERPOINT ENERGY SHOW $68K IN TOTAL SAVINGS FROM PLEASANTVILLE WEATHERIZATION Scott Terrace and Lindale Expected to Receive Weatherization Services Next
October 23, 2006 - Mayor Bill White, Councilmembers Jarvis Johnson, and Ada Edwards, and CenterPoint Energy's Tom Standish today touted the success of the Pleasantville Community Weatherization Program, improving energy efficiency and even reducing some energy costs for a total of 641 participating residents. Equal to a total savings of $68,541 and a median savings of $160, the net energy reduction totaled 428,382 kWh, assuming that all residents are on the "Price to Beat" rate (0.16/kilowatt hour).
"Pleasantville residents who participated in this program see real dollars in savings simply by being more energy savvy. All Houstonians can take these same steps to reduce energy consumption in their own homes and have more money in their pockets," said Mayor Bill White. "I want to thank CenterPoint Energy for their hard work at no cost to taxpayers."
Energy consumption was documented for summer months of June through August 2005 and 2006. Analysis is based on a sample of 427 homes which participated in the program. Outlying data points were eliminated in which year over year consumption differential would indicate vacancy, or would suggest inaccurate information.
The total energy consumption in 2005 for the 427 homes measured 2,475,854-kilowatt hours (kWh) and in 2006 measured 2,047,472kWh. The median household consumption decreased from 5585kWh to 4661kWh, with the median savings being 810kWh or 14.5%. Weatherized structures consuming greater than 8,000 kWh (73 observations) showed an average consumption savings greater than 20%.
CenterPoint Energy has agreed to participate in weatherizing two other Houston communities: Scott Terrace and Lindale subdivision. Both neighborhoods can expect to begin the weatherization program in January 2007.
"We are pleased that we are able to work with the City of Houston to apply our expertise and conservation funds as part of this successful energy efficiency project," said Tom Standish, group president of CenterPoint Energy's regulated operations. "As the results indicate,
making homes more energy efficient by adding insulation, caulking and weatherstripping leads to lower utility costs. As the winter season gets in full swing, we encourage all Houstonians to take an active role in making their homes more energy efficient."
The pilot for this program began in the Pleasantville community where a total of 1,393 homes were built since the 1950s. This weatherization initiative is designed to reduce the energy consumption of an entire Houston neighborhood through several improvements to homes, including installing weather stripping on windows and doors, c aulking windows, and installing additional insulation in the attic and on exposed hot water piping.
