Elevate Energy (home energy efficiency grantee)
A highlight of our trip was visiting three Peoria households that had received free home weatherization and safety upgrades through an Edwards settlement grant to Chicago-based Elevate Energy, which works in partnership with co-grantee METEC and local contractor Green Homes.
Homeowner Keith Skaggs, a retired worker, suffers from COPD and is caring for a spouse who’s hospitalized with cancer. Elevate Energy and Green Homes improved the energy efficiency, safety, comfort, and value of his home by adding air sealing, insulation, and ventilation; upgrading his furnace and central air conditioning unit; and adding a whole-house air purifier and water filtration system to improve water quality and safety. Skaggs was effusive about these improvements and said Green Homes’ husband-and-wife team Kevin and Kathy Johnston treated him “like gold.”
Homeowner Elaine Walker, a retired great-grandmother, received a new furnace, heat pump air conditioner, and water heater, along with HVAC and electrical upgrades to support the new equipment and improve the safety of her home. Walker said the Johnstons “explained everything step-by-step, and it went smooth as glass. There were no issues; every question was answered, and they educated you on everything.”
Homeowners Larry and Joyce Cooper live on a fixed income in a high-crime neighborhood. Before Elevate upgraded them to a modern heat pump air conditioner, Joyce Cooper had trouble sleeping because she was so worried about people breaking in by removing one of the couple’s window-mounted units. Elevate also replaced the Coopers’ water heater, which was releasing hazardous carbon monoxide into their home, with a new energy-efficient model.
We felt honored to meet these proud members of the Peoria community and see firsthand how investing in healthy homes uplifts people, nurtures health, and helps alleviate poverty.
