Case study

Project Name: Alaska Innovative Weatherization Support Project

Project Leader(s): The Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc. (RurAL CAP) 

Partner(s): Alaska Housing Finance, Native Villages of Elim and Koyuk, Rural Energy Enterprises, Current Electric LLC, Hardy Heating Inc., Department of Energy (DOE)

Stage of Completion: In-progress; the grant received for the project is a three-year grant. In the first year, heat pumps were installed.

Construction Type: Existing Buildings

Building Type: Single-family and manufactured homes

Total Number of Units Targeted: 45

Total Number of Units Completed: 15

Tenant Structure: Owner occupied

Target Audience:

• RurAL CAP’s Weatherization Team will bring homes in the Alaska Native communities of Elim and Koyuk, Alaska, into the weatherization pipeline. The project will target high energy burden, stove oil households and support low-income individuals and families. 

• The Elim and Koyuk communities were selected because they have not received energy service awards and retrofits in a long time.

Full/Partial Electrification: Partial - will still keep a stove oil appliance there for backup and secondary heating use.

Existing Heating Fuel Type: Stove oil, propane 

End Uses Electrified: Space heating

Specific electric appliances installed: Air source heat pumps, energy recovery ventilators 

Total Project Funding: $1M from DOE E&I Grant

Amount or % of Project Cost Covered per unit: 100%

Source of Funding: DOE E&I Grant

Motivation for electrification: The purpose of the program is to implement energy-efficient technologies in homes across remote communities in Alaska. The goal is to improve the quality of life for low-income Alaskans while reducing energy burden. RurAL CAP hopes to prove that heat pump technology and products work. The goal of this project is to confirm that heat pump technology can work and work well in this environment to increase the number of people who adopt the technology. 

Additional Measures Implemented:

• Client education opportunities, assess the needs of homes, perform whole home pressure diagnostics, develop an energy rating, calculate the Savings to Investment Ratio of proposed improvements, perform improvement activities based on SIR, address health and safety issues, install deep-energy retrofits, perform quality control inspections, and develop a post improvement energy rating

• Minor weatherization repairs and energy recovery ventilators

Workforce Development/Green Jobs Component:

• The project will generate a total of six new local jobs.

• Jobs will be created in Native villages when possible.

Next steps: The project should be completed in August 2025

Source: Project Summary