Help My House

Statement of Activities

Help My House, administered by KW SAVINGS CO., a South Carolina nonprofit organization (“KW Savings”)[1] is a program to assist South Carolina homeowners served by participating electric cooperatives by providing upgrades to the high-efficiency HVAC, air sealing, duct sealing, and insulation in a home (the “retrofits”). Typically, the retrofits are financed by the homeowners via zero-down, low-interest loans.  KW Savings will use the Housing Preservation Grant funds to pay for the cost of the audit, developing software, and providing the retrofits to the homes.  This is a homeowner assistance program. At this time, the participating cooperatives are Aiken Electric Cooperative, Inc. (“Aiken”), Black River Electric Cooperative, Inc. (“Black River”), Santee Electric Cooperative, Inc. (“Santee”), and Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc (“Tri-County”).  Together, these electric cooperatives serve the following counties: Aiken, Barnwell, Calhoun, Clarendon, Edgefield, Florence, Georgetown, Greenwood, Kershaw, Lee, Lexington, McCormick, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda, Sumter, and Williamsburg. Of these Barnwell, Clarendon, Lee, Orangeburg, and Williamsburg are persistent poverty counties.

On average, Aiken retrofits 40-50 homes per year, Santee retrofits 25-30 homes per year, and Black River retrofits five homes per year. Tri-County does not operate this program every year, however, it is willing to retrofit homes. The employees at the cooperatives administering Help My House serve in a variety of roles and the lack of resources is a barrier keeping more homes from being served.

To qualify for Help My House, a homeowner reaches out to its local participating cooperative and inquire about a lower electric bill.  Aiken, Santee, and Tri-County advertise Help My House on their websites, and the program is also advertised on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s website.  The applicant must have a history of paying electric utility bill on time.  For homes to benefit from the Housing Preservation Grant Funds, the electric cooperative representative will also ask a few other screening questions, including income verification requirements to comply with the Housing Preservation Grant requirement that the participant be low- or very low-income (as provided here).  The representative will also verify the applicant lives at an eligible address, as defined by the United Stated Department of Agriculture, Rural Development.  The homeowner must also provide proof of ownership of the home and proof of homeowners insurance.

KW Savings will also obtain a flood certification on the homes to determine whether they are in a floodplain, wetland, or other restricted area.

After determining initial eligibility, as 125-point BPI audit of the home is conducted. The auditor visits the home to test for air and duct leaks, evaluates the condition of the heating and air conditioning systems, and checks insulation in the attic and crawl space. From the assessment results and 24-month historical energy use of the home, computer software generates a list of recommended improvements and projects how much energy and money they will save the homeowner each month. If projected savings are greater than the estimated monthly loan payment for the improvements, the home qualifies for a Help My House retrofit.  Homeowners are presented with a list of recommended energy upgrades including cost and projected energy savings after installation.

Help My House works with local contractors to provide the retrofits.  The contractors not paid until the work is completed and the post-construction BPI audit on the backend is complete and the home passes. It takes approximately a month from the time of the BPI audit until the end of the retrofit.  In this month, the participating cooperative and the homeowner are discussing the work to be completed, terms of the loan, and then the contractor is completing the work.  

The cost of a retrofit to a home varies, however, many retrofits cost between $7,000 and $12,000. The way Help My House is currently structured, the maximum loan amount is $15,000.  The homeowner must pay out-of-pocket for any retrofits in excess of $15,000.  As a result of the retrofits, the average savings on a monthly savings on an electric utility bill range from 23% to 34%. 

When possible, KW Savings also works with HomeWorks of America, Inc., a South Carolina nonprofit corporation (“HomeWorks”).  HomeWorks provides the non-energy related improvements to a home such as constructing a new roof or access ramp into a home.  HomeWorks repairs homes in homes and other necessary repairs to insulate a home from the outside environment.  KW Savings could purchase materials on behalf of HomeWorks as part of the program.

Currently, the homeowner is responsible for the cost of the audit.  There is one auditor who will perform an audit for $250, however, KW Savings struggles to find BPI certified auditors for that price. On the low-end, the average cost of an audit is closer to $500.  As the homeowner is responsible for the cost of the audit, it is a barrier to participating in Help My House.  KW Savings is requesting a grant of $1,150,000 to support Help My House for a  period of two years.  Of this, $1,000,000 will be for the direct cost of repairing or replacing electrical wiring, insulation, heating systems, and water/wase disposal.  When partnering with HomeWorks, the funds will also be sued for repair or replacing roofs and providing handicap accessibility features. KW Savings estimates it will provide $10,000 in direct repair costs to the qualifying homes under the Housing Preservation Grants. 

Over a two-year period, this will allow KW Savings to serve 100 homes.  The remaining $150,000 will be for the administrative costs of audits (approximately $50,000 to serve 100 homes), so that the cost of an audit is not a barrier to entry, and for developing software to better track the retrofits provided, energy savings, carbon reduction, and the reduction to an electricity bill.  KW Savings intends to request lump-sum grant funding rather than monthly or quarterly draws. Tracking energy savings provides a better source of the effectiveness of the retrofits because the price of electricity varies throughout a day and month.  The energy savings is the means of determining the effectiveness of the grant funding. The funding to develop software will also allow for a better tracking of the effectiveness of the program. Currently, each participating cooperative tracks the energy savings for its members and the information is not readily available to aggregate and evaluate. The cost of developing the software will be between $50,000 and $100,000 dollars.

If granted funding, KW Savings will continue to pay for the cost of personnel and benefits.  The administrative costs it is requesting is limited to the cost of audits and developing software. Currently, KW Savings employees a Chief Operating Officer and contracts with an administrator and attorney for support.  However, the Chief Operating Officer, the contractors, and the employees at the individual cooperatives administering Help My House have been developing and administering the program since its launch in 2011. The participating cooperatives expend approximately $40,000 in resources each year to administer Help My House.

Currently, KW Savings utilities Rural Energy Savings Program funding to provide the low-interest loans to homeowners.  KW Savings intends to use any Housing Preservation Grant funding to provide grants to homeowners.  However, any cost for a retrofit in excess of $10,000 would be financed by the homeowner utilizing RESP funds.  These loans are unsecured lines of credit tied to the electricity meter at the home.  The participating cooperative has the ability to turn off the power to the home if the homeowner does not pay its electricity bill.  The participating cooperatives hold the promissory notes on behalf of KW Savings. 

The participating cooperatives, on behalf of KW Savings, will use their accounting software to track the cost of the retrofit and the payment of any contractors.  The individual cooperatives will report to KW Savings how each federal dollar is spent. 

KW Savings has discussed Help My House with Congressman James E. Clyburn on numerous occasions, as well as White House Officials.  The Housing Preservation Grant funding will provide an invaluable resource to serve low- and very-low income individuals in South Carolina.

Please send any feedback or comments regarding this Statement of Activities to HMH@ecsc.org.