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From Drafty to Dandy: Prairie Five wins at weatherization!

June 2024

Story by Joel Haskard
West Central, MN

Weatherization service providers are out across Minnesota doing amazing work! Making homes safer, more comfortable, and more energy efficient, all while reducing energy costs for the residents. That includes Prairie Five Community Action in west central Minnesota! 

Prairie Five is a non-profit that provides a variety of services to help improve quality of lifeA foyer inside a home. A brown wooden front door with a large oval window is propped open. A large red piece of plastic is covering the doorway. The cover is casting a red glare throughout the foyer. Near the floor, there is an opening in the cover that holds a circular fan. To the right of the door sits weatherization electrical equipment. for residents in five counties: Big Stone, Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift, and Yellow Medicine. In addition to programming like food assistance and transportation, Prairie Five offers energy assistance and weatherization services. 

Weatherization is the process of making homes more energy efficient through means of diagnostic testing and improvements. Providers seek out spots where individual homes could be better protected from the elements and find solutions. To gauge effectiveness, providers typically measure how much air is entering or escaping a home by performing a “blower door test” before and after their work.

Recently, the Department of Commerce presented the first annual Reducto Award for "best average air leakage reduction." Prairie Five won, with an average of 50% reduction! The competition was significant, with nearly all agencies showing improvement, and multiple agencies above a 40% average reduction. Way to rock it, weatherization friends!

CERTs connected with Bob Hoium, Housing / Weatherization Inspector at Prairie Five, to learn more.

CERTs: Bob, please do a very un-Minnesotan thing... Brag a little bit about how Prairie Five won the first annual Reducto Award!

Hoium: Thank you for the opportunity. We received this award by doing what we do the best. However, weatherization is a joint effort by all involved, starting with a thorough energy audit, setting aggressive targets, and having a contractor with the knowledge and skill set to find and address the issues at hand.

CERTs: What are some of the typical things that happen when you weatherize a home?

Hoium: In regards to infiltration reduction, the priority areas are determined and assessed with blower door diagnostics. The type of housing stock also plays a big factor on known construction defects for the type of home.

Top priority always is sealing attic bypasses properly, followed by dense packing insulation in the walls, band joists and closed cavities. Lastly is the obvious leakage, including windows, doors, envelope penetrations, and rim joists.

Weatherizing a leaky attic

A light brown wooden staircase stretches from the bottom of the image to the middle. The top of the staircase is blocked off by a red and pink piece of foam insulation. On either side of the staircase and foam are unfinished sheetrock walls. 

An unsealed entrance to a home's attic allows air to escape in and out. This causes the home to lose precious warm air in the cold months and cool air in the summer months.

A close up shot inside the attic of a home. A black cord feeds into a piece of brown wood and the entrance point is surrounded by white foam. Around the wood is dusty insulation bits and more interior wood.

Other common leaky spots are located around chimneys, ceiling light fixtures, heating ducts, kitchen and bath exhaust fans, plumbing, electrical wires, dropped ceilings and cracks in plaster. 

A close up shot inside the attic of a home. Three light brown wooden planks run vertically, surrounded by gray, dusty insulation fragments. Between the planks are white, flat, foam, insulation panels. Around the perimeter of the panels is white foam, sealing the edges. The image is grainy with dust particles refracting light.

Properly sealing attic leaks can help save money on heating and cooling, increase the efficiency of heating and cooling equipment, and create a more comfortable living space within the home.

CERTs: ‌For a homeowner or renter not sure if they are eligible for energy assistance and weatherization services, where would you direct them?

Hoium: The Prairie Five Weatherization Program takes referrals and discusses the Weatherization Assistance Program and Energy Assistance Program with interested applicants. We also direct them to our website for information on enrolling in Prairie Fives Energy Assistance Program.

CERTs: We have to ask, what exactly is the award made of!?! Where will it be displayed?

Hoium: The award is a beautifully handcrafted piece, which consists of a solid wood base with a foam gun and a caulk gun displayed. I was told the award was designed, engineered, and assembled by our friends at the Department of Commerce.

The award is currently being displayed at the front desk of our weatherization department.

CERTs: Well, congratulations on creating and measuring some sweet, sweet energy savings!

Hoium: Thank you! I also want to say, the results we achieve are obtainable by any agency. This is a traveling trophy so the challenge is on! COME GET IT!!!

Three men standing shoulder to shoulder smiling. In his hands, the middle man holds a trophy. The trophy has a solid wood base with gold foam gun and a gold caulk gun displayed.

Hoium (center) and fellow Prairie Five Community Action staff show off the glorious Reducto Award trophy!

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