DAPHNE, Ala. — The Community Action Agency of Baldwin, Escambia, Clarke and Conecuh counties will have approximately $3 million available from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to be used to weatherize low-income households’ homes, officials said.

“We are looking at doing close to 400 dwellings and this is based on an average cost per house of $6,500,” the agency’s Executive Director Cassandra Boykin said.

The program’s funding will come in two parts. The first — $1.8 million — is already available; the remaining $1.2 million will be delivered upon the agency’s meeting federal guidelines and service quotas.

“All of that is contingent upon the number of homes that are done,” Boykin said of funding.

Weatherization projects can allow low-income families to save money by making their homes more energy-efficient, which can result in average savings of 32 percent for heating bills and savings of hundreds of dollars per year on overall energy bills, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Web site, www.energy.gov.

Boykin said 857 applicants have filed for the weatherization program, though some were surprised to learn participation is based on a prioritized scale. Determining factors include: low incomes; senior citizens; families with small children; and disabled people.

“We are now well positioned to deliver services to low-income communities in crisis,” Cynthia Burton, president of the Community Action Association of Alabama and executive director of Community Service Programs of West Alabama. “We have trained contractors on federal guidelines as well as weatherization techniques, executed contracts with the state and cut through a lot of red tape.”

Last year, the federal government mandated weatherization programs be updated to meet newer, more stringent guidelines.

Program guidelines include:

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, poverty threshold levels are as follows, based on the size of the family unit:

— 1: $10,830

— 2: $14,570

— 3: $18,310

— 4: $22,050

— 5: $25, 790

— 6: $29,530

— 7: $33,270

— 8: $37,010

Weatherization techniques include:

“Across the country, it seems the expectation seems greater,” Boykin said of the perceived demand for residents who need help lowering utility bills. “But the process seems slower than usual because it’s a new process, so we have to scrutinize a little closer.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed by Congress in February 2009, is an economic stimulus package worth $787 billion, including federal tax cuts, increased unemployment benefits and domestic spending on education, health care and infrastructure, according to www.recovery.org, the federal government’s official stimulus package Web site.