Weatherize

We were interested in finding out if we could save money and, given the attention that weatherizing was starting to get, I figured it could also make for good column fodder.

The money will allow Illinois to triple the number of homes it weatherizes: it expects the stimulus money will pay to insulate, seal leaks, and add more energy-efficient equipment to some 26,933 homes of people with low incomes.

The reality about wind turbines, however, is they regularly operate in frigid conditions and can be weatherized to perform in wintry extremes. That's why they work in places like Sweden, Antarctica, and Iowa (over 40 percent of Iowa's electricity comes from wind).

It’s great fun, not just because it’s an extremely complex topic, but also because the best approach for many people is also the simplest and cheapest: weatherizing their homes.

State lawmakers replaced the entire ERCOT and PUC leadership in the months after the storm; the Legislature passed a law requiring power plants to weatherize.