Above, a video by the New England Regional Council of Carpenters documents the work of volunteer carpenters helping to prepare a Dorchester home for weatherization improvements last month.

New Englanders worth their rock salt know that as the temperatures drop, houses need to bundle up as much as people do – but with thick drywall and insulation instead of mittens and scarves.

Dorchester homes face their own pre-weatherization issues, says Keith Wrightson, special projects coordinator for Community Labor United.

Many were built around the turn of the century, before modern insulation was invented. Their old windows can only survive so many winters before succumbing to strong winds, and the more houses settle, the draftier they become. Heating poorly insulated homes is expensive, but not as pricey as sealing cracks and replacing windows can be.

“It’s important to stress that unfortunately we don’t control the price of energy, but we can help with the consumption of energy,” Wrightson said.

Renew Boston Residential, a city program launched in August, will cover most or all home weatherization expenses for eligible residents, starting with a free energy audit. “The rebate is so huge that essentially these costs would be free for the project for any resident,” Wrightson said.

Bostonians who live in a single or multi-family building with up to four units and make between 60 and 120 percent of the median state income ($59,137 to $118,274 for a four-person household) can apply.
The $20 million program is funded by $6.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, and contributions from utilities NStar and National Grid.

Since almost 65 percent of Bostonians are tenants, not homeowners, the city has been pitching these incentives to landlords, said Jim Hunt, chief of Boston’s Environmental and Energy Services. About 100 landlords representing 500 housing units attended an informational meeting in Codman Square last weekend, he said.

“For every dollar we invest in energy efficiency, we get $3 back in savings,” he said. “It’s a no-brainer to help people lower costs, improve their homes, reduce environmental impact, and stimulate the local economy.”

Community Labor United, a non-profit working with labor unions and community group, launched an initiative called the Green Justice Campaign in December 2008. With about 50 member groups, the campaign promotes the greening and weatherization of low-to-middle-income families’ homes.

During a recent Dorchester project, for example, workers covered existing thin horsehair plaster with new sheetrock, replaced an old door, removed a few inches of dirt from the basement floor, and sealed cracks in the home. All the work was done by volunteers, Wrightson said, except the removal of asbestos from the basement.

Now, Wrightson is trying to get the word out: While on the job in one house, he said, workers and CLU members will knock on doors around the neighborhood and sign residents up for a free energy audit.
“You start to do one thing on your house, and maybe that sets other people off,” Wrightson said. “I think we’re creating a culture around energy consumption, energy leadership work.”