Joel and Molly Wimbiscus bought their Vic-torian home on Clinton Avenue in 2006 because they loved the old pine floors and views of Lake Erie. Yet they soon found out that the cold winds whipping off of the lake in December made the entire house whistle like a tea kettle.

“It was horrific,” says Joel Wimbiscus, who works as a Project Manager for LAND Studio. “We could have the furnace at 68 and it would be 58 in our bedroom. There was nothing between the plaster and the outside walls. We had a back room on the first floor, but we couldn’t use it four to five months out of the year.”

Earlier this year, Joel and his physician wife undertook a massive renovation of their century-old home to make it more energy-efficient, comfortable and useable for their growing family. The six-month project included the transfor-mation of a damp, dingy basement with a dirt floor into a dry, useable space, the addition of new insulation and a new well-insulated roof. Matt Berges was the contractor on the project.

Today, the “three-season room” off of the kitchen is a cozy, eat-in nook that stays toasty and warm all winter long. There’s also a big cir-cular table there that seats the entire family.

“Instead of having ice cold feet when I walk into the kitchen, it’s nice and warm,” says Joel, who has a seven year old son, a four year old daughter and six month old boy twins.

During the renovation, the Wimbiscuses added two additional bedrooms (they now have four) and a second bathroom by creating a more efficient layout and building an attic addition.

The home renovation was made possible in part by the Cleveland Energy $aver program, a citywide initiative that offers energy audits, rebates on energy efficiency improvements and technical assistance through the rehab process.

“We wouldn’t have been able to tackle some of these items without CE$,” says Joel, who adds that the basement might never have gotten done.

The Cleveland Energy $aver program is a partnership between the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Housing Network, Cleveland Action to Support Housing, LAND Studio and the U.S. Department of Energy. The program was launched this year as a pilot project, and organ-izers now plan to continue it next year as well.

To find out more about CE$, call 216/672-3535 or visit www.clevelandenergysaver.com.