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New Hampshire News

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CAP Agencies and Contractors at Work

Feb 14, 2023

energy efficiency

“It’s very fulfilling work. It’s not glamorous, and safety is really important, but it makes a difference on costs for customers,” Mike Turcotte, founder of Turn Cycle Solutions shared. “It really makes an impact on their lives.” Turcotte’s company has been engaging with Eversource and the NHSaves program for over 14 years. One of the weatherization contractors that works with New Hampshire’s CAP agencies and the NHSaves utility partners, Turn Cycle Solutions shared their perspective on the important work they do. And the best part is, they’re not the only ones.

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The Weatherization Director for the Tri-County Community Action Program (TCCAP), Nathan Mills, described the organization’s staff as caring, sympathetic, and fundamentally comprised of individuals who want to help people. This often means going above and beyond the typical parameters of their energy efficiency programs to help in any way they can. Similarly, as one of the TCCAP weatherization contractors, Ted Dickinson of Newell & Crathern highlights that good work ethic, loyalty, and a willingness to get along with everybody are some of the qualities he looks for when building his own team.

Here’s what New Hampshire’s weatherization workforce does for lower income communities

Contractors like Newell & Crathern and organizations such as TCCAP work with Eversource and the other NHSaves utility partners to deliver important weatherization services to residents across New Hampshire. The energy efficiency solutions they commonly deliver include:

  • Insulation for walls, attics, crawl spaces
  • Spray foam insulation and air sealing
  • Safety improvements

The NHSaves utility partners, including Eversource, work together to provide programs and funding that enable organizations like these to do their important work, and Newell & Crathern, TCCAP, and Turn Cycle Solutions had numerous examples of providing valuable insulation and weatherization services to some of New Hampshire’s homes that need it the most. And all three followed nearly every example with a story.

There was the woman who lived by herself, facing a home in disrepair, much of it due to her husband’s dementia in the last years of his life. With no family and few resources, she was living off the land in a home that lacked even basic heating and plumbing needs. Beyond the weatherization strategies, the Newell & Crathern crew performed additional work to fix major parts of this woman’s home and dramatically improved her quality of life.

Then there was a home whose resident was upset with the work performed of them. Unsure where the dissatisfaction was coming from, the TCCAP crew on the job took the time to sit down and listen to this person’s complaints. Offering a listening ear revealed a root cause for being upset about the work – this person was facing a family member’s illness and the conversation showed TCCAP where the worry stemmed from. As Mills explained, “There is usually an underlying issue.” A greater understanding of the problem led the team to not only offer this person effective solutions, but also hold a sympathetic conversation during a difficult time.

On a larger scale, the Turn Cycle Solutions team was tapped by a developer who ran an elderly care facility. Recognizing that his clients didn’t always have access to appropriate housing, he decided to develop a property for this purpose. Turn Cycle implemented significant weatherization updates, including the replacement of over 300 windows and full insulation for all exteriors and attic space. With conditions described as “horrible” before this project, the housing facility is now both weatherized and beautified, making it a “nice, welcoming place” for its residents to call home, shared Turcotte.

The collaboration of the workforce – contractors, CAP agencies, and NHSaves utility partners like Eversource – is the keystone to stories like these. We’ll consider this impact further in the final post upcoming in our series on weatherization programs and the efficiency workforce in New Hampshire.