 Cobwebs in your home? Don’t EEK – seal that air leak!
Cobwebs are more than just festive decor this time of year. Spiders are nature’s air sealing inspectors! They build these webs to catch their next meal in places where air flows between the outside and inside of a house, often through cracks that are difficult for people to perceive. Cobwebs are a sure sign that your home needs air sealing and more insulation.
If you see cobwebs in your home, call a contractor who can help you determine how much insulation and air sealing you need. Iowa City's Green Iowa AmeriCorps team also can help locate air leaks and weatherize a home as part of the free home energy audit program.
Current building practices recommend a higher level of insulation than was used in homes built under older codes. Insulation can also degrade over time, increasing what you pay to heat and cool your home.
Pairing air sealing with attic insulation can be a powerful duo in lowering your energy bills and keeping those critters outside! It also helps fight climate change, since energy use in buildings is the largest source of emissions in Iowa City. The City of Iowa City has grants available to cover the cost of increasing attic insulation for income-qualified homes. Visit icgov.org/insulate to learn more.
 The City offers $1800 grants to builders who obtain a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating of 52 or better, to encourage energy efficient construction in new homes.
As noted by participating builder Steven Christopher in a video about the program, "Ninety per cent of the energy used in a building's life cycle is with heating and cooling. The more energy efficient the building, the less energy it will use...therefore reducing carbon emissions."
Getting a HERS rating typically costs between $500-600, so the City's grant program triples that investment. And builders can tout the HERS rating when it comes time to sell the home!
Recently, a townhome joined the ranks of Iowa City homes to have earned a score of 52 or better, the first multifamily project in Iowa City to qualify for the grant. It was built by Andy Bockenstedt of Bedrock Builders, joining other HERS award recipients Advantage Homes, ICH, Navigate, and The Housing Fellowship.
For more information about HERS grants, visit icgov.org/HERSgrant.
 Zach Haralson
Climate Action Commissioner
 How do you take climate action?
I like to integrate my climate action with my hobbies and other things that I already have to do anyway. For example, growing my own food at my Community Garden plot, choosing an electric vehicle for my commute to work, and making sure we’re careful with our trash so that organic matter gets composted instead of going to the landfill to create extra methane. Also incorporating climate action into home upgrades as they are necessary—we’re electrifying our old home as our large gas appliances need replaced, to reduce carbon emissions and utilize all the wind power generated here in Iowa.
What can others do to take climate action?
There are so many things you can do, and it can be overwhelming, so pick an area that interests you, and start taking one step at a time. Then, you can add to it when that becomes comfortable.
A good place to start, and to get some amazing help, might be in your home. Whether you’re a renter or a homeowner, take advantage of Green Iowa AmeriCorps’ free Home Energy Audits to see how efficient your home is and get some free advice and upgrades. From there, homeowners can take advantage of so many great programs from the City and current tax incentives to do all sorts of efficiency improvements.
I love house projects— but whatever you’re passionate about, start by thinking about how it impacts the climate and take just one step toward minimizing that impact.
Why is it important to take climate action?
I want to work on making things better for the next generation—my nieces/nephews and someday my kids and grandkids, not to mention everyone around the world who will have it worse than we will. We’re all in this one together, and if we act now we CAN mitigate the worst of the impacts of climate change!
Iowa City’s Climate Action Commission meets monthly
The Climate Action Commission will meet on October 7 and November 5, and the public is invited to attend. Access upcoming and past meeting packets at the Climate Action Commission web page.
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