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Community Toolkit > Energy > Energy Conservation > Neighborhood Energy Efficiency > Weatherization "Raisings"
Weatherization Program
What Are Weatherization Barn-Raisings?
Home weatherization barn-raisings are modeled after “barn-raisings,” and the tradition of neighbor helping neighbor. Sponsored by the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET), a Cambridge, MA-based energy co-op, the idea is simple: a group of people get together to help neighbors winterize their homes. In the process, everyone learns something, while each host gets a jump start on energy saving measures for winter—installing pipe insulation, switching to a programmable thermostat, and so on. The Cambridge Energy Alliance says that the goal is to work together to make neighborhoods more energy efficient. The Alliance is also “exploring possibilities for district energy systems in which neighbors share renewable local energy.”
How to Start Weatherization Barn Raisings in Your Community
The following steps are useful to municipal/neighborhood actors interested in replicating these barn-raisings:
- A core organizing team is created to coordinate weatherization barn-raising actions. These individuals were identified following a presentation to form a local energy co-op.
- A core of team leaders is created to lead individual barn-raising events (e.g. delegate tasks to volunteers onsite). These individuals have technical skills and were identified through a combination of active recruitment, and interest expressed at various events and e-mails promoting weatherization barnraising activities.
- The CEO for the Cambridge Energy Alliance CEO, Josh Hassol, appeared. This provided the project with additional credibility and a public relations boost.
- The organizers made a conscious choice not to limit numbers of participants for the first kick-off event, as they wanted to immediately drive interest and attain as many stakeholders as possible. This was a successful kick-off event, with 39 attendees, and an additional 10 indicating they would attend future sessions. According to event organizer Steve Wineman, “even 39 attendees was not excessive by any means”, as the participants tended to rotate in and out during the three-hour timeframe. Furthermore, e-mails were received from six communities interested in initiating their own weatherization barn-raising activities.
- Actions performed on the first day included insulating pipes and weather-stripping doorways.
- They posted one person to great newcomers, and had one person delegate tasks.
- Food (generally pizza, although other items are being discussed) is provided by the host.
- After the event, a barrage of e-mails among the core group of team leaders was sent. These mainly concerned how to better complete future projects, and ideas include the possibility of a longer timeframe.
- They real key to the success of the day, Wineman asserts, was the number of skilled team leaders they had, which subsequently allowed for 6 different working teams simultaneously.
- Event organizers note that areas of challenge include:
- Having enough skilled leaders.
- Figuring out the range of tasks suited to the skills of participants.
- Scope of activity (e.g. how many neighborhoods should initially be targeted?)
- Time of duration (the first Weatherization Barn-Raising lasted for 3 hours; the organizers are debating whether to make future sessions longer)
Benefits
- In addition to energy savings, benefits of these weatherization barn-raisings include:
- The sense of camaraderie amongst participants. Event organizers noted the “festive atmosphere” of the entire day.
Participants frequently noted the pleasure in “Sensing that we’re doing something important.”
Attendees are not required to host their own event, but hosts are requested to attend several other barnraisings.
Details
Contact
For additional information or questions, contact Steve Wineman at: swineman@gis.net
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