Energy efficient home makeover for Seminole family donated by Progress Energy

SEMINOLE, Fla. - Stacy Attwill and her family moved into their house in Seminole two years ago. The house was built in the 70s and in need of energy efficiency upgrades.

"This summer our air conditioner couldn't keep up. We couldn't keep it cool enough in the house. It was running constantly." said Stacy.

Stacy bought the house with help from a United Way home ownership program and they chose her to receive an energy efficiency makeover, all for free from Progress Energy. First, they did an efficiency audit that showed her A/C return was too small, she needed new ducts, and some parts of the house were missing insulation.

"When your duct work is leaking you're spending all of your money to heat and cool your attic," said Suzanne Grant, a spokesperson for Progress Energy. "And that's not where we live, so by fixing the duct work, you make a great impact for little money."

After the repairs and upgrades are done, Progress Energy's auditors estimate the Attwills will save $500 a year on their power bill. They also decorated the house with new energy efficient LED Christmas lights. 10 strands cost less than $6 of power for the entire holiday season.

Both Progress Energy and TECO offer all their customers free energy audits and rebates on some of the repairs or upgrades. An upgrade in insulation could save the average customer about a hundred dollars a year. And just sealing the ducts in your home can save about $280 a year.

Stacy is now making plans on what to do with the extra money.

"I'm excited, savings like that will really help me focus on other projects that need to get done."