On its blog, Preservation Nation, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, has singled out Baltimore's $15 million weatherization program as a good use of federal stimulus funds citing the city's decision to use the money for everything but replacement windows.
Here's an excerpt:
There's encouraging news for advocates of historic windows, energy efficiency, and sustainability from the City of Baltimore. The city is helping qualified residents with high utility bills save on energy through a federally funded weatherization program. Baltimore projects that the $15 million in weatherization funds will help 700 families per year lower their monthly energy bills. The program provides energy audits as well as building improvements such as fixing malfunctioning furnace and water heaters and adding insulation to areas where energy is commonly lost like attics. Baltimore's program is using stimulus dollars to support preservation objectives, create jobs and save energy � a central message of the ongoing Perfect Storm effort .
Importantly� what the program will not do is use the funds for replacement windows. The city has found the energy saving benefits of replacement windows to be misleading. Michael A. Lafferty, a city Department of Housing and Community Development buildings superintendent, says, "It takes 90 years on average to pay back the cost of a replacement window."
Read more here.