September 28, 2010

Two local homeowners have been selected as the winners of the Charlottesville Home Energy Makeover Contest and will receive up to $10,000 each in home energy improvements.

The Kruse Family, of Charlottesville, and the Brooks Family, of Albemarle County, were selected from a group of 10 finalists – all of whom received free home energy performance assessments in recent weeks – and originally from a pool of more than 1,100 entries.

“Congratulations to our two winners, our 10 finalists, the 1,100 entrants and the entire community,” said Cynthia Adams, Executive Director of LEAP. “There is clearly strong momentum for home energy efficiency in the Greater Charlottesville region, and sharing the experiences of these winners we hope will further inform and inspire action by all homeowners.”

The initial 1,100 were narrowed down to 100 entries, 50 from the City and 50 from the County, based in part on a ranking system of energy use per square foot. LEAP then looked up assessor data and made phone calls to many of the semi-finalists to get a better understanding of the age, shape and size of their home and how the people who lived inside interacted with it. Based on that information, LEAP selected 10 finalists from whom the winners were selected based on their audit results.

Through LEAP’s Home Performance with Energy Star program, local homeowners have the tools and resources to save energy and money and enhance the comfort of their homes. Additionally, the program puts local contractors to work enhancing the community’s livability.