Customer Spotlight
Marge Nitschke - Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Insulation teaches old house a new trick; reduces energy bill
Eighty-year-old Marge Nitschke has lived in her Mayville, Wisconsin home since 1966. She’s learned thing or two about energy efficiency as she continues to keep her 130-year-old house up and running.
Over the years, Marge helped oversee:
Marge’s latest energy-efficiency project was implemented by utilizing Focus on Energy’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® program. Marge hired Blaze Insulation, a qualified contractor through Home Performance, to visit her home last January during one of the coldest stretches of the winter, to do a thorough home energy evaluation.
As part of the evaluation, the home was reviewed as an entire system and the heating equipment safety was checked as well. Marge knew her home was a bit drafty and when the consultants used fans to see where air was escaping and coming in, it was determined that her hunch was right and that the home needed extensive insulation.
Over a three-day period, insulation was added throughout Marge’s house including the attic and the basement. Marge says she spent around $3600 on the project and received about $1100 in Cash-Back Rewards from Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s statewide resource for energy efficiency and renewable energy. The drafts are gone and there has been a significant reduction in her energy bill as well.
“I certainly feel this is a wonderful program and I tell other people all the time about it,” she added. “It just makes sense to become more energy efficient and save money while you are doing it.”
Her best advice for her friends, neighbors and other homeowners is to get motivated and move forward with that first project. “A lot of people talk about energy efficiency and know it’s a good idea, but they don’t end up following through. It’s always a good time to get started on saving energy and saving money.”
