Ms. Betty Lou Thomas returned to her home in the Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans, LA, after Hurricane Katrina to find the exterior intact, but the interior totally destroyed. She used insurance money to start the repairs for her home. Before she moved back in, thieves had stolen her copper plumbing and electrical wiring. In one case, a contractor demanded money for work left unfinished. Four years and three contractors later, she was finally able to move back into her home.
Ms. Thomas was paying upwards of $200 a month on her electricity bill before the storm. After renovating her house, the bill was between $300 and $400 a month.
Ms. Thomas called Global Green’s Build it Back Green (BIBG) program for help. The technical team scheduled a trip to her home for a home energy assessment and made a subsequent visit to perform an energy audit. After conducting a blower door test to find leaks in the house and a duct blaster test to find leaks in the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the team found the house had several gaps where unwanted air easily entered and conditioned air could easily exit. Ms. Thomas participated in finding all the areas of infiltration while her home was being depressurized, “I couldn’t believe all the air that was coming through,” she said.
Following the initial diagnostic tests, the team purchased necessary air sealing materials and performed a series of weatherization upgrades over the course of four days.
When the upgrades were complete, the BIBG Team performed final diagnostic tests. Based on the results, Ms. Thomas’ house and HVAC system leak less air than before. Additionally, the house is now more comfortable with decreased drafts.
Ms. Thomas was asked about Build it Back Green’s weatherization services and she responded, “I’m proud to have come this far with Global Green.”
