As part of the Verde Community Project, an effort with initial funding by the City of Santa Fe, young people from YouthWorks are learning how to weatherize homes.

Training was held last week, December 6-8, at Santa Fe Community College and included a tour of the EnergySmart Academy Lab and Manufactured Home.

Students got an introduction to the tools and materials used in weatherization and instruction in on-the-job safety. During the course of their training, they got demonstrations and gained experience in hands-on installation in these areas:

  • Measuring electricity consumption
  • Carbon Monoxide and smoke alarms
  • Sealing air leaks with caulk and spray foam, weather-stripping
  • Water heaters – general operation and insulating electric and gas units
  • Calculating water flow
  • Installing low-flow show heads
  • Insulating water pipes
  • Installing window insulator kits

Following completion of the training, these young people will be working in teams under the supervision of crew leaders from Proscape, a local landscaping and maintenance business that has volunteered its supervisory services as a way of contributing to the community.

The crews will focus on weatherizing forty homes of local residents who cannot afford to take these energy-saving steps on their own.