For the past four years, Ivy Byers and her family of nine have lived in a century-old little house in Norfolk’s Bruce’s Park neighborhood.
“The house is never quiet,” Byers said.
And there’s a tenth family member on the way — Byers is due to give birth to her second son in about seven weeks.
But a big family and old house come with challenges, like high electric bills.
The family was behind on their power bills. When they contacted Dominion Energy about help, Byers said the company showed up — and it wasn’t just to grant them an extension on their bill.
Dominion employees and volunteers swarmed the Byers home Tuesday, installing a new air conditioning unit, insulation in the attic and sealing windows.
Armed with bubble wands, the Byers kids ran around their yard, dodging workers coming and going from their house. The youngest, who’s five, held the door open for everyone walking in and out.
Dominion’s Nikki Taylor runs the EnergyShare program. She said the program usually focuses on efficiency, but this time, the company is giving the whole house a once-over.
“The goal here is to make the home more energy efficient,” Taylor said. “Hopefully the homeowners or the residents will be able to save on their energy bills in the long term.”
A new fence is going up around the front yard, shelves are going up to organize clothes and the kids’ room is getting a fresh coat of bright blue paint.
“This is their request,” Byers said. “They want it in blue with clouds. So we're going to see how that turns out.”
Dominion is also giving the kids new beds — an “amazing” addition, said Tikeia Greene, the oldest of Byers’ children.
Dominion also surprised the family with passes to this year’s Something in the Water festival. Byers said her family loves activities at the Oceanfront.
“To go down the strip and be able to see all the stuff and just hear music — it’s wonderful,” Byers said.
