Midtown couple wins SHINE Home Energy Makeover contest

The City of Atlanta residential weatherization program that has provided thousands of dollars in rebates for qualifying home energy efficiency improvements has awarded a “home energy makeover” to one lucky Atlanta family.

SHINE – Sustainable Home Initiative in the New Economy – launched a Home Energy Makeover contest in July 2011. Contracted through SHINE partners SawHorse, Vis Viva and Georgia Air Contractors, the work to be done on the home is valued at more than $22,000 and is projected to save the family more than $1,000 in annual utility costs.

Homeowners Lance St. Clair and Celise Kalke, together with their young daughter, are deserving winners in that they are a one-car family and clearly try to live an environmentally-sensitive lifestyle. “We love the historic character of our house, but have been looking for ways to improve its energy efficiency since we bought it four years ago,” said St. Clair in a release. “We heard about SHINE and were excited when we learned about the contest, knowing it was a great opportunity to really transform our home.”

The Midtown residence was chosen from a pool of more than 500 entrants due to the high energy bills and reported comfort problems. “Many homeowners in Atlanta, particularly in the older neighborhoods, live in homes that are uncomfortable or have poor indoor air quality,” said Aaron Bastian, Communications Manager for the Office of Sustainability, in a statement. “These issues are often overlooked because homeowners are not aware of the home improvements made possible through simple, cost-effective upgrades. By offering rebates, SHINE and our partnering contractors are trying to encourage people to learn more about what is available in home energy performance.”

In addition to the contractors who are donating their time, Amana, Green Building Resources and AVI Marvin are donating all the supplies for the upgrades. As a result, the winning home will receive a new HVAC unit, a front door and water-saving devices, as well as upgraded insulation, weatherstripping and air sealing.

“Through this contest and its rebate program, SHINE is promoting the ‘whole-house’ approach so that homeowners learn precisely where their home is losing energy and are provided recommendations to improve the efficiency and comfort of their home,” said Matt Hoots, lead contractor for the home energy makeover. “We’re happy we are able to do the work and leverage relationships with our vendors to award Lance and Celise these much-needed improvements.”

The benefits of improved home energy efficiency are numerous: improved indoor air quality (less pollutants and allergens), more consistent temperatures between rooms (less drafty), reduced air contaminants (reduction in carbon monoxide and other dangerous pollutants), and reduced energy bills.

SHINE is a federal grant-funded program offering City of Atlanta homeowners the ability to get up to $3,500 towards air sealing, insulation improvement, weatherstripping, caulking, and the replacement of leaky doors and windows. Since the fall of 2010, SHINE-approved contracting firms have completed more than 260 energy efficiency improvement jobs awarding nearly $370,000 in rebates to Atlanta homeowners. Find more information here.