Background: The Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee (CAC) has served the community since its inception in 1964. CAC is locally governed by citizens who represent the people served by CAC and is committed to helping people and changing lives.
In 2024, over 22,000 households were served by CAC. Annually, CAC weatherizes over 100 homes. Weatherization services are funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program). CAC also utilizes other funding streams, such as funds provided by a local utility, to ensure homes receive a wide range of energy efficiency measures.
Community Need: In 2023, CAC completed a comprehensive needs assessment of the community and determined low-income households “who did not live in public housing were less likely to live in weatherized homes because they could not afford the cost.”
The National Weather Service provides a forecasted risk of heat-related impacts, ranging from no risk to extreme risk. Knoxville continues to experience multiple days of high heat that pose a moderate to major impact on the community. This is especially true for vulnerable households that are at greater risk for these impacts. As temperatures increase, utility bills will increase as Knox County residents rely on air conditioning to maintain safe temperatures inside. One way to mitigate the impact of extreme heat is to provide weatherization services to ensure households can afford to safely cool their homes.
Customer Impact: CAC provided services to a senior citizen homeowner with a high-energy burden in Knoxville, TN. CAC conducted a comprehensive energy audit, determining cost-effective energy efficient measures specifically for their home. Those measures included attic insulation, water heater pipe and tank insulation, duct and air sealing, and installation of smoke alarms. Once installed, these cost-effective measures continue to reduce utility bills for the homeowner for years to come. A comparison of energy consumption from May to June 2024 as compared to May and June 2025, post weatherization, indicates a reduction of kWh usage of 15 percent.
In the words of the homeowner, “It means so much to me to know that my house has been prepared to be more comfortable and less expensive to heat and cool. I can already tell that the add-on in
the back of the house is cooling better than it ever has. Since I stay in that room most of the time, I can keep the air conditioning at a higher temperature now.”
“Everyone involved was so knowledgeable and professional, from the weatherization specialist who first contacted me, to Dennis and Lucio and his team. Thank you so much for the tremendous work CAC does for homeowners such as I. I know others benefit and I am so glad we have this service in Knoxville.”
