What is the current status of this program?
North Carolina:
The Weatherization Assistance Program is currently open in NC through local community action agencies. Orange and Chatham counties are waiting for providers to open their applications.
In September 2025, NC DEQ announced a $10 million Home Repair Weatherization Readiness Program to supplement North Carolina’s existing Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). The new funding covers counties damaged by Hurricane Helene and identified as “Most Impacted and Distressed” under the State of North Carolina Action Plan. This funding was awarded to the Western Piedmont Council of Governments and several WAP providers throughout the state.
Additionally, the 5-year Weatherization program, funded the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is unpaused and will weatherize an additional 6,000 homes in NC. There are currently 4 providers for that program.
South Carolina:
The Weatherization Assistance Program is operating across SC through community action agencies, which can be found here.
What does this funding get me?
The Weatherization Assistance Program:
- Provides household energy savings after weatherization assistance
- Educates clients about safety and energy efficiency
- Professionally evaluates single-family dwellings, multi-family dwellings, and mobile homes for safety and energy efficiency
- Tunes, repairs, or replaces heating and air systems as needed
- Insulates attics, floors, and walls as needed
- Makes minor repairs to homes for health and safety reasons
- Installs smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
- Performs base load and general heat waste measures
What do home inspections include?
- Testing for gas leaks, carbon monoxide, and other health and safety issues
- Checking combustion appliances such as stoves, furnaces, and water heaters
- Tuning, repairing, or replacing heating equipment
- Sealing air infiltration sites; installing attic, wall, and floor insulation; sealing leaky ducts, adding ventilation
- Installing fire and carbon monoxide detectors
- Installing base load (compact fluorescent lights) and general heat waste measures (water heater installation blanket, pipe insulation, low-flow shower heads)
Am I eligible?
North Carolina: See eligibility requirements and “How to Apply” here.
Families with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines or those receiving cash assistance payments under Work First or Supplemental Security Income are eligible for weatherization services.
To be eligible for this benefit program you must be a North Carolina resident and you must need help with home energy costs.
If you receive Supplemental Security Income or Aid to Families with Dependent Children, you are automatically eligible to receive weatherization services.
Those receiving cash assistance payments under Work First or Supplemental Security Income are eligible for the Weatherization Assistance Program.
South Carolina: See eligibility requirements here.
To be eligible for this benefit program you must be a South Carolina resident and you must need help with home energy costs. Preference is given to:
- Elderly – 60 years of age and older
- Disabled – Families with one or more members with a disability
- Households with children under age 18
If you receive Supplemental Security Income or Aid to Families with Dependent Children, you are automatically eligible to receive weatherization services.
How can I access the money?
North Carolina: The Weatherization Assistance Program is administered through the Community Action Agencies. Applications must be made with the designated local service provider for the county in which you live. Start the application process by contacting the appropriate designated local service provider.
You will be required to provide proof of income for everyone in your household. Examples of the documents needed are pay stubs and social security payments for the past year. The local service provider may ask for additional documentation. When applying, you will need annual income verification for all occupants, energy bills or a printout from your utility company, and proof of ownership of the property to be weatherized (or written permission from your landlord). You do not need to own your home to apply.
South Carolina: Weatherization is administered through the Community Action Agencies in various counties. See this web page for Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, Greenville, Lexington, Orangeburg, and Richland counties (or contact Murray Pieters, 839- 746-5270). For Chester, Fairfield, Lancaster, Union and York counties, contact Cedric Halley, Weatherization Coordinator, Carolina Community Actions, Inc.: 803-817-9818, challey@ccainc.org.
See map here to find Community Action Agencies for all counties within South Carolina or email program manager Matthew Melton at Matthew.Melton@admin.sc.gov.
What is the timeline?
No deadline to apply, but each county is allocated a certain amount of money per year, so contact your local agency for more detail.
What other incentives could I use to help me accomplish my goals?
If you qualify, all associated costs are covered. But you can check the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) for additional incentives that may be offered by your state, local government, or utility, as well as important federal, state, and local policies. For questions regarding DSIRE, contact Justin Lindemann (NC Clean Energy Technology Center) at jplindem@ncsu.edu.
In the South Carolina counties of Berkeley, Horry and Georgetown, weatherization services are offered by the Sustainability Institute. Contact Mitch Houck at mitch@sustainabilityinstitutesc.org for more details.
Check out our (non-exhaustive) list of non-federal funding from other sources that may fit your energy and cost-saving goals.
Where can I get more information?
North Carolina: Contact information for all Community Action Agencies appears at the bottom of this page.
South Carolina: Contact information is here.
The Office of Economic Opportunity and the SC Association of Community Action Partnerships may also be able to assist.
Rewiring America’s Personal Electrification Planner helps homeowners and renters see what funds may fit their individual needs. In less than five minutes, the Personal Electrification Planner will generate a customized plan to help users go electric based on their unique home, lifestyle, and priorities. Check out the Planner HERE. *Due to Rewiring America’s changed privacy policy, any data you input may be sold to third parties.
For more information or other questions, please contact Robin Smith at info@energyfundsforall.org.
Testimonials
Check out the videos below to hear from two Winston-Salem households that received funding to upgrade their homes to be more energy efficient, provide healthier air, and save money on bills: