Volunteers, conservationists weatherize veteran's home

WEST ASHLEY (WCSC) - Volunteers and energy conservationists spent the day weatherizing the home of a late Navy Veteran.

They installed insulation, sealant, and made repairs to the heating and a/c unit.

"This is such a big issue for our community because there are so many families out there dealing with high energy bills," Sustainability Institute director Bryan Cordell said.

"We hope that after this project the homeowner will receive a 20-30% reduction on their power bill monthly," US Green Building Council Lowcountry Chair Katherine Fishburne said.

The changes are meant to cut energy costs. It's all part of a program to give back to military veterans.

"Veterans in our community have given so much to us and this is a small way we can thank them," Cordell said.

The home they weatherized belonged to Navy veteran, the late Nathan Bennett, Sr. He was selected by the organization for the weatherization weeks ago, but his funeral was just last week. His daughter and son-in-law live at the house and are thankful for the continued support.

"He just passed away so we going to do what he asked us to do, keep the house up," Robert Newton said. "We couldn't do it ourselves."

Typically the materials to weatherize a 1,000 square foot home is up to $1500. So far this is the third home of a veteran that the organizations have weatherized. It is all being paid for through grant money.

Projects like these are an ongoing service by the US Green Building Council and the Sustainability Institute. To qualify you must be a veteran with a power bill of more than $400 a month. You can visit usgbcsc.org for more information.