Dallas Whole Home Program Promotes Energy Efficiency

Days after a bitter cold snap that tested insulation in North Texas homes, the city of Dallas Monday rolled out the Whole Home Dallas program to help homeowners with the up-front cost of weatherization and energy efficiency.

More information on the Whole Home Dallas program can be found here.

“Dallas residents are seeing more extreme weather and we see it every day with either droughts or heat or like just last week, the cold snap that we experienced,” Dallas City Council Member Paula Blackmon said.

“We’ve seen that vulnerable members of our community experience the effects of climate change at a more intense rate and they are the least equipped to rebound after an extreme event.”

The new program is especially aimed at lower-income residents who qualify to help guide them to programs that already exist, such as Dallas County’s home weatherization support or assistance offered by utility companies.

“The Whole Home program is really about leveraging the resources that are out there through the private sector and the public sector,” Dallas City Council Member Jaynie Schultz said.

South Dallas resident Janet Jackson recently had some new insulated windows installed on her century-old home at her expense.

“With the insulation, it made a world of a difference. I stayed much warmer this winter. My bill wasn’t as astronomical like 2021 when we had the rolling blackouts,” Jackson said.

But her home needs more new windows and neighbors who need them, too, may benefit from the new program.

“I think that would help out for the homeowners and the people in the community, that would help out a lot. We need that assistance,” Jackson said.

The city also announced a green job skills training program Monday to help prepare more workers for the weatherization and energy efficiency efforts.

“One of the goals of the city of Dallas is to become a center for the green jobs industry, many of which we are often told is jobs that have not even been invented yet,” Schultz said. “This initial step is toward existing people in the building world.”

Southern Dallas resident Mike Page Monday added antifreeze to winterize his mother's car, a timely step after last week's temperatures.

"Absolutely, yes. It was very cold," Page said.

He did so outside his home, which recently received all new insulated windows in complete reconstruction after a fire.

"We definitely wanted to be as efficient as we could and smart about rebuilding," Page said.

Several homes in his newer neighborhood have solar panels, which could also be Whole Home upgrades.

Page said the new Dallas program could help families in his area, too.

"Anything that would help people have less strain in life, I think that definitely would be a winner," Page said.

Council Member Blackmon said she wants follow up information on how many families actually receive support.