ECO Healthy Homes Program

Overview

The ECO Healthy Homes Program is part of a collaborative Environmental Protection Agency grant-funded project called Healthy Homes and ECO Neighborhoods.

In partnership with Sherman Park Community Association and Clean Wisconsin, our goal is to help residents learn more about how to maintain a healthy home and to connect them with programs and practices that can be used to make home repairs, energy efficiency and other environmental improvements that provide cost savings, improve comfort, and make your home and community a healthier place for you and your family to live.

Other partners include Green Homeowners United and Weatherization Services, LLC, who are approved contractors providing energy assessments through the program.

Eligibility Requirements

The property MUST be:

• Located in thes zip codes: 53210, 53216, 53208, 53206, 53209, 53204, 53207, 53215
• Owner-occupied
• Single-family home (Eligibility for multi-unit homes will be available soon) 

The owner MUST:

• Have an active account with their utility provider and access to at least 9 months of utility usage history
• Be current on the home’s property taxes or be on a tax payment plan
• Be current on the homeowners insurance policy

NOTE: You are NOT eligible for the program if your home already had an energy assessment with a Focus on Energy Trade Ally Contractor completed after 2022.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is a Resilience Ambassador?

A: A Resilience Ambassador is someone who has been hired by community-based organizations to help educate and connect residents to climate change adaption and mitigation strategies and resources that support our individual and community-level climate resilience. Resilience Ambassadors play an essential role in helping Milwaukee achieve its climate and equity goals.

Q: What is an Energy Audit?

A: A home energy audit helps you pinpoint where your house is losing energy and what you can do to save money. A home energy auditor will also assess health and safety issues that might exist in your home. The audit involves three parts: a walk-through assessment of the inside and outside of the home, testing for airtightness of the home, and a computer software analysis providing the recommended improvements.

Q: What is a Healthy Homes Assessment?

A: A healthy homes assessment is an observational assessment of the inside and outside of your home completed by the auditor during your energy audit. This helps identify additional home environmental health hazards like mold, pests, safety concerns and more that can create unhealthy and unsafe living conditions in your home. Before the assessment, a Resilience Ambassador will meet with you and your family to discuss your primary home environmental health concerns.

Q: Why Should I get an Energy Audit & a Healthy Homes Assessment?

A: There are many solutions for increasing the health and safety of your home, and making energy-saving improvements is one of them. For example, improving the ventilation of your home can involve low-cost options like changing your furnace filter every three months to keep it clean and effective. It can also include moderate-to-higher cost options like installing or upgrading your bathroom and kitchen fans or swapping your gas stove for electric. All of these strategies and more can increase your home’s ventilation, which improves the indoor air quality and energy efficiency of your home, making it a healthier, more comfortable environment while saving you money.

Program Steps

1: Eligibility Screening

• Email [email protected] to request an eligibility screening.
• We will review your request and a Resilience Ambassador will follow up with you for a formal eligibility screening. Takes about 15 minutes.
• If you are eligible to participate, the Resilience Ambassador will schedule your first home visit after we have received your program documents.

2: Income Qualification

• Complete the Home Efficiency Rebates Program Income Qualification Application to see how much energy saving rebates your home may be eligible for.
  • The homeowner must complete their application to qualify for the federal home efficiency rebate programs. Our Resilience Ambassadors can provide some technical assistance with your application.
• Send your income qualification confirmation to the Resilience Ambassador.

3: Healthy Home Interview (In-Person or Virtual)

• The Resilience Ambassador meets with you in your home to discuss your primary concerns about the health and safety of your home and the strategies you use to address them. The visit takes about 1 hour.
• The Resilience Ambassador will schedule your energy audit and healthy home assessment at this visit or after we have received notification that your Home Efficiency Rebates Income Qualification Application was approved.

4: Energy Audit and Healthy Home Assessment (In-Person)

• The energy auditor will come to your home to conduct the energy audit and healthy home assessment. First, they will perform the energy audit where they will inspect and test the home for energy saving opportunities. Next, they will do an additional assessment to identify any environmental health hazards. The visit takes about 2-3 hours.
• After your visit, the Resilience Ambassador will call you to schedule your final home visit.

5: Resources Referral (In-Person or Virtual)

• At your final home visit the energy auditor will share your energy audit report, which provides detailed information about the energy saving opportunities within your home. It also includes information about different financing programs you can take advantage of to make your improvements more affordable.
• The Resilience Ambassador will share additional recommendations and program referrals to address any other environmental health hazards identified during the previous visits. The visit takes about 1-1.5 hours.

Home Visiting Process

To ensure we can provide you with the most relevant information and resources about the environmental health and energy efficiency of your home, the ECO Healthy Homes Program involves 3 home visits that take place over the course of about 3 weeks. Below, Steps 1 & 2 are done online, with Steps 3-5 occuring in-person.