Horace Lee, Jr. is from Mississippi, but moved to Fort Wayne when he was 21 years old, settled down, and began to raise a family. In 2012, he moved into the house on the south side of Fort Wayne where he now lives. The house was inexpensive to buy, but it had lots of problems.
“The house was in pretty bad shape,” he says. A couple of the windows were out, the doors were no good, and there was a buckle in the floor. He was getting a divorce and needed a place to live, so he bought it and fixed what he could.
After living in the house for a while, Horace was complaining to his brother about how high his heating bills were. At his brother’s suggestion, Horace went to Brightpoint for energy assistance. Soon, he found out that his house was eligible for the weatherization program.
In March 2017, Brightpoint completed the weatherization work on Horace’s home. He got an on-demand water heater; a high-efficiency furnace, which replaced the draft hood furnace that had been heating the house; and insulation was installed in the walls, attic, and basement. At 63 years old, and on a fixed income since he is now disabled, Horace says all the work that was done would’ve taken him ten years to complete on his own.
“I still have a little work that I need to do, but energy-wise, it’s perfect.” His energy savings have been significant. In the first year following the weatherization, he had an annual gas savings of about 60%.
Horace noticed the difference in the comfort level, too. “Before the work, I slept in my thermal underwear with two or three blankets on me. Now I can sleep any way I want to because the house is comfortable for me.”
Horace is grateful for all that Brightpoint did for him. “This is one of the best things that could have happened to me in this house. I’m a very blessed man.”