ROC Resident Saves Money with Energy Solutions

March 24, 2026

Soluciones de Eficiencia Energética Formación e información de ROC,ROC-NH

After a record-breaking cold and snowy winter, you might be surprised to find out that Goffstown resident Len Stuart used less propane to heat his home than during the previous winter.

He couldn’t have predicted the weather — but he did plan ahead.

In 2025, Len was able to access weatherizing funding through NHSaves — a statewide program that helps homeowners make efficiency improvements to their homes — with coaching from the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund.

Now, we’re launching an Energy Solutions educational program to help more manufactured-home owners in resident-owned communities (ROCs) be informed about beneficial energy solutions and access existing resources like NHSaves.

ROC-NH Team Launches Energy Solutions Educational Program

We’re focusing our energy solutions initiative on opportunities for households in ROCs to weatherize their homes, such as NHSaves and the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), which are financed by local utility partners and federal grants, respectively.

Recognizing that weatherization assistance programs can be challenging to navigate, we’re looking forward to helping homeowners every step of the way so they can submit successful applications and ultimately lower their bills.

We want to remove barriers for residents to save money with weatherization assistance by building trust and countering misinformation. Stories like Len’s will be key to building trust and countering misinformation.

“Sharing real stories about members in ROCs who have utilized the NHSaves and WAP programs may help others to trust that these programs are real,” said Elise Foerster, energy project specialist for ROC-NH. “We also learn from hearing member experiences about how we might be able to advocate for residents to improve the process for them.”

It was a chilly fall morning last year when Len Stuart welcomed Elise to his home that he shares with his wife at Medvil Cooperative in Goffstown, a resident-owned community.

Built in 1981, their retirement home has a tidy yard, navy shutters, and an American flag flying near the baskets of mums at the front door. Len and his wife purchased the manufactured home seven years ago after they decided to downsize their space and expenses while remaining near their children.

Elise was visiting to learn more about Len’s experience weatherizing his home with NHSaves. NHSaves is a collaboration of New Hampshire’s electric and natural gas utilities working together to provide customers with information and incentives on energy efficiency.

Len relies on propane for heating and hot water, occasionally supplementing with an electric space heater. Since moving in, the bills increased as he became less tolerant of colder temperatures due to health issues.

“I'd been, shall we say, not happy with the house being cold in the winter,” he explained. “It was cold after I had some heart medications... I was even colder than previously, which was why I started to look for how to make this better.”

When he learned about the opportunity to audit his home for energy savings from an insert with his electric bill in spring 2025, he was excited about the potential benefits.

He quickly applied online and then submitted his previous couple of years of utility bills to qualify.

“I found as long as you have the records, it was very easy,” he said.

After the audit, which was scheduled a few weeks after his application was accepted, he received an itemized list of recommended upgrades and the name of a contractor who could complete the work, which totaled around $9,500. He also was offered the option to select his own contractor.

That was when he reached out to Elise.

“I was looking to make sure the prices being quoted were market rate,” he said.

As a former member of the Medvil Cooperative board, Len received training from ROC-NH on best practices for hiring vendors and managing infrastructure, including getting multiple quotes to compare vendors.

Elise was able to verify the costs and the reputation of the contractor.

“ROC-NH has been working closely with trusted partners to promote weatherization in resident-owned communities,” Elise said. “As we gain knowledge about how this process works, we often refer to these partners when we have questions, so I reached out to Resilient Buildings Group to have them review his quote. They swiftly responded, affirming that these were reasonable cost estimates and reassured us that all the NHSaves approved contractors can be trusted.”

Another barrier facing many homeowners is the cost.

Len received a $6,000 grant from Eversource (his electric utility), reducing his out-of-pocket expenses to $3,500. He paid $1,500 and then secured a two-year, 0 percent-interest loan through Eversource to pay for the remainder of the work.

“The finances worked out, and I said, ‘Okay, it's worth going for,’” Len remembered.

The work, which was completed at Len’s home in August over two-and-a-half days, included the installation of a new dryer vent system with insulation, adding caulking around air conditioning vents in the ceiling, and blowing an additional 6 inches of insulation into the underbelly of the home.

“My wife has already said that she's seen significant differences in the drying time,” from the upgrade of the dryer venting, he said.

Len was already eager to spread the word to his neighbors about the benefits of weatherization.

“I'm trying to push people here,” he said.