Stripping for a cause

Weatherization will save us all 6

drafty houseDoug Letterman via flickrPop quiz: What saves money, saves energy, creates green jobs, fights climate change, can fix the economy, will make America great again, and is both a floor wax and a dessert topping?

Answer: It’s weatherization! And both the U.S. government and the European Union are embracing its potential.

In a report released today, Joe Biden’s Middle Class Task Force (which, hello: still a terrible name) recommends steps toward a national retrofit program, citing a potential $21 billion in annual energy savings and 40 percent cut in energy use. Specific proposals include: an Energy Star-style labeling program for existing homes; a national home energy performance measure; municipal financing that attaches retrofit costs to homeowners’ tax bills; and national standards for workforce training and certification.

“These recommendations can pave the way for a self-sustaining retrofit market, a market that can reliably cut energy bills while also creating good green jobs and saving consumers money,” says the report. Hear that? Weatherization will save us all.

Next step? Another task force! Yesssss. The interagency Energy Retrofit Working Group will submit an implementation plan to Biden in thirty days. At which point he will create a subcommittee to ... oh hell, just go add some insulation to your attic. We’ll let you know when the good stuff comes.

Meanwhile, across the pond, a draft EU report recommends retrofitting 15 million buildings in Europe over the next decade as part of an “energy efficiency action plan” aimed at cutting energy use by 20 percent. The European Building Initiative would generate about $19.7 billion in savings and could create 300,000 jobs a year, the report estimates: “Investing in energy efficiency in buildings can play a key role in the EU’s economic recovery.”

Hear that? Go on, repeat after me: Weatherization will save us all.

 

Katharine Wroth is a senior editor at Grist.

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  1. Andrée Zaleska's avatar

    Andrée Zaleska Posted 11:34 am
    19 Oct 2009

    Argh! The JP Green House will be ten years old by the time any of this "weatherization" money trickles down to us! It does not pay to be in the vanguard!

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  2. Joel W Posted 12:55 pm
    19 Oct 2009

    Despite the terrible name, it's a great idea. (Why is it only a Middle Class Task force?) That said, many a great idea has been killed by committee. The best thing to do would be to subsidize the materials and the labor today, and then reap the rewards tomorrow.

    Weatherization isn't a new idea though, just ask the cave people of Southern Spain.

    http://greenexplorer.ovi.com/getinspired/europe/a-field-of-sun-for-the-cave-dwellers/

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  3. vbstenswick Posted 5:54 pm
    19 Oct 2009

    I think someone should integrate this with studying the costs of putting up more wind turbines and utility grade batteries. The reason I say this is I heat my house in a Minneapolis suburb with a geothermal heat pump. I buy all of my electricity from our local utilities "WindSource" program. I tracked my electrical usage fairly closely a few years back, and I used 7600 kwh to run the heat pump for heating, and 1400 kwh for cooling. My heating bills would be under $400 for the winter except for the extra for wind energy, which last year was an extra $50 for heating. I am fairly energy conscious, but I am sure my house could be made more tight. However, I question the payback on retrofitting my double pane windows with triple pane windows. It might be more cost effective on many houses in cold climates to put in geothermal heat pumps and put up more wind turbines. In more temperate climates, use air-source heat pumps.

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    1. Energy Audit Missouri Posted 4:52 pm
      22 Oct 2009

      VB, Tighten your house first. An energy audit performed by a certified BPI or RESNET energy auditor is a low cost investment that can show exactly where your home is losing energy and with energy modeling software can prioritize recommended retrofits with a ROI or SIR. By first reducing your load, a smaller, less expensive system can be installed. The slight gain in R value in triple pane V double pane windows will not be a cost effective retrofit with probably in the range of a 25-30 year payback. A cost effective system after weatherization and load reduction could be solar thermal with new evacuated tubes in the 75% efficiency range with new tubes soon coming in the 90% range. Hot water is normally 25 - 30% of your energy bill. The new double wall evacuated tubes even work well in cloudy conditions! Residential Solar Absorption Chiller AC is just around the corner.
      BTW, I am a BPI Building Analyst Professional and Own a Renewable Energy Co.

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  4. Chris Pratt Posted 7:44 pm
    23 Oct 2009

    I am one of the few people in the business of retrofitting old windows to make them more energy efficient. I am in the business of saving energy in existing homes and avoiding the costly and unecessary step of replacing existing windows with new ones that are not as good, don't last as long and cannot be repaired. I sure could use some help scaling up my operation, with money to do more testing, advertising, incentives to make it more affordable to low income households, etc. So far the only ones who know how to get these government handouts are the corporation who sell windows and insulation. We will see if this bill really benefits the middleclass. So far it is one bright idea after another and talk talk talk.

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  5. nicolejc9 Posted 12:44 am
    27 Oct 2009

    Thank you for this wonderful resource and keeping us posted on these latest happenings and conversations on the matter.

    I ask you to please check out my family, who have been working on energy efficient upgrades in their home NONSTOP over the past 3 months. I am very proud of them. You can vote for the Casanova family in a Texas Utilities contest for the Texas family who has put the most effort to save energy here : http://psc.gotxu.com/vote. It takes seconds and we’d really appreciate it. They have already made it to top 3 in Texas! Thank you so much.

    Here is the NBC Dallas news story on the contest and my family if you are interested: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/green/Power-Play-Could-Earn-Family-25K-64577297.html

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