State promotes home energy improvement loans
Share with others:
CAMP HILL, Pa. -- It looked like a new reality TV show, but it wasn't.
Nearly 30 outsiders, including several top state officials, one state legislator and a gaggle of reporters, photographers and staff aides, crammed into the suburban Harrisburg living room of David and Jen Schlegel and their three sons to congratulate them on replacing their old oil-burning heating and cooling system with a new geothermal system.
With videotape rolling and shutters clicking, state Environmental Secretary John Hanger, state Treasurer Rob McCord and Rep. Sheryl DeLozier praised the Schlegels "for doing the right thing both environmentally and economically" by going with an alternative energy system.
Mr. Hanger said the family will save serious dollars over the long run, while doing their part to lessen America's dependence on foreign oil.
The staged event was used to highlight the new Keystone HELP plan, or Home Energy Loan Program, funded with $16 million from the treasurer's office and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Authority. It was included in a law passed last July, the Alternative Energy Investment Fund, a $650 million program.
Mr. Schlegel said much of the $16,000 needed to drill deep into his front yard and extend tubing nearly 200 feet into the earth came from a low-interest state loan, which can vary from about 5 percent to 7 percent in interest. The rest of the money came from a bank loan.
The house, in which the family has lived since 1997, had good double-pane windows and a good roof, but the oil heating system was old and had to be replaced. The family looked at a new oil system and a natural gas system, but in the end decided to be progressive and go with geothermal.
The tubing deep into the earth keeps the house at 55 degrees all year around, but an electric system augments the cooling in summer and the heating in the winter, Mrs. Schlegel said.
With oil costing about $2.50 a gallon, Mr. Schlegel said he's already saved at least $1,800 by switching to geothermal and will recoup his investment in about 10 years, or sooner if the price of oil rises.
"We wanted a good return on our investment and we wanted to do something that was environmentally friendly," he said. "It seemed like a good idea and it's worked well."
Mr. Hanger encouraged more Pennsylvanians to do the same. Loans at reduced interest also are available for energy efficient appliances, as well as for installing new windows and doors, insulation and whole-house energy improvements.
More information is available at www.keystonehelp.com.
First Published March 2, 2009 12:20 pm
