The Green Journey Starts at Home ™

With Congress struggling to find consensus on most issues, Reps. David McKinley (R-W.V.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today found common ground by introducing bipartisan energy efficiency legislation that will create jobs, save homeowners money and benefit the environment.

The Home Owner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) Act will provide rebates to homeowners who invest in energy efficiency improvements. Homeowners who demonstrate a 20 percent energy savings will receive a $2,000 rebate. For every 5 percent in additional energy savings, they can receive another $1,000 – up to a total of $8,000 or 50 percent of the project’s cost. The legislation is modeled after the Welch-authored Home Star Energy Retrofit Act (H.R. 5019), which passed the House with bipartisan support in the 111th Congress.

Embodied energy is the amount of energy that goes into the manufacture and shipping of various building materials.  Cellulose insulation is amazing in that it has the lowest embodied energy of all other major insulation and building materials.  Cellulose has only 3002 BTU’s / cubic foot, whereas fiberglass consumes 9 times the energy to make (26996 BTU’s/cubic foot).

Synthetic carpeting….holy cow!  It takes 2.3 million BTU’s/cubic foot.  Aluminum is 13 million BTU’s /cubic foot.   It is no wonder why aluminum smelters are located where electrical energy is cheaper, like Columbia River or Iceland.

Reading about embodied energy in cellulose makes me pleased that this is what we have been recommending to most of our clients.  Not only is cellulose great for sealing air leaks, its healthier than other insulation and the lower energy required to make it lowers our carbon footprint.

The greatest barrier to adoption of “green” retrofits is arguably the cost. Homeowners want proof that their investment will return a high yield in the future. Cash for caulkers will hopefully be the impetus for change…

Passed just last month by the House of Representatives, the “cash for caulkers” bill provisions $6 billion for energy-efficient or “green” retrofits. It is expected to fund renovations for 3 million families, create 168,000 new jobs and save consumers $9.2 billion on energy bills over the next 10 years.

In order to cash in on upcoming rebates, homeowners and contractors will need to do their homework.. There are 13 types of retrofits eligible for funding. Each retrofit has unique eligibility requirements and set rebate amounts.

Software Advice, a website that reviews software for mechanical/HVAC contractors, recently put together a thorough report on cash for caulkers. Their post includes an easy-to-read table that outlines the 13 retrofits, along with their requirements and rebate amounts. To learn more, visit: Cash for Caulkers – The Definitive Guide To The Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010

This afternoon, the House passed the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 (H.R. 5019) with a vote of 246 to 161!  The bill passed with bi-partisan support – 12 Republicans voted in favor.

Let’s see how our Minnesota representatives voted:

• Bachmann, Michele, Minnesota, 6th – Nay
  She likes the ‘Drill Baby Drill’ approach and evidently does not have much use for conservation.  In the aftermath of the BP spill you would think that she would see that there needs to be smart alternatives, to drilling our way out of our energy challenges.
• Ellison, Keith, Minnesota, 5th – Yea
  Smart man!  He earned your support.
• Kline, John, Minnesota, 2nd – Nay
  Kline writes on his site that “Any legislation designed to revive and renew our economy should help American families and small businesses by preserving and creating more jobs in America. Americans should be able to keep more of their hard-earned money – to save, spend or invest. Legislation based on those principles would put America on a direct road to economic recovery.”

  If Kline really believes in his words, that we need to create jobs and help people save money, there is is no good reason from him to vote Nay.  Remember this folks when he is up for reelection.

• McCollum, Betty, Minnesota, 4th – No vote
• Oberstar, James L., Minnesota, 8th – Yea
  Another smart individual who deserves your support.
• Paulsen, Erik, Minnesota, 3rd – Nay
  What is Erik thinking??
• Peterson, Collin C., Minnesota, 7th – Yea
  Thanks Collin.
• Walz, Timothy J., Minnesota, 1st – Yea
  Tim understands energy conservation and deserves your support.

This is a major milestone for Home Star, but work still remains. First, the Senate must follow up and pass their version of the Home Star bill. Additionally, today’s vote was an authorization, so it must be matched with an appropriation bill. An appropriation bill will actually allocate the $6 billion dollars to the program.

Cellulose has a distinct advantage over other insulation types.  Please see this controlled experiment that compares the advantages of cellulose in a fire.

Xcel Energy has asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) for permission to increase its electricity rates by $156.065 million.  Residential kilowatt hour rates are anticipated to rise.  The rate increase asked for will be in the summer (June-September) from 6.755¢ to 7.628¢ per kilowatt hour, an increase of 12%.  In the winter the rate increase asked for will be from 5.807¢ to 6.628¢ per kilowatt hour, an increase of 14%.

The proposed rate increase is outlined in this document from Xcel.

On a more positive note, some interesting rebates are available from Xcel for doing energy conservation work in the home.  You can see up to a $350 rebate for improving the insulation in your attic.  See this link for more details.  These rebates are in addition to Federal tax credits of up to $1500 available to you.

Between the expected rise in energy cost and the rebates and incentives available, the time has never been better for improving your homes energy performance with more insulation and air tightening.

For an interesting article on Energy Conservation please see the March edition of National Geographic.

The New York Times provides an interesting video on thermography and energy loss detection —  see this link.  NYTimes editor Tom Zeller has written  an article on having an energy audit performed, the recommended improvements and the results of the improvements.