Skip to main content

Actions to Build a Strong Home Energy Retrofit Market

At a Middle Class Task Force event today, Vice President Biden announced a series of federal actions designed to lay the groundwork for a strong, self-sustaining home energy efficiency retrofit industry. These actions include a new Home Energy Score program that will help homeowners make cost-effective decisions about home energy improvements and a new retrofit financing program called PowerSaver. The Vice President was joined by Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy (DOE); Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor (DOL); and Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“The initiatives announced today are putting the Recovery Through Retrofit report’s recommendations into action – giving American families the tools they need to invest in home energy upgrades,” said Vice President Biden. “Together, these programs will grow the home retrofit industry and help middle class families save money and energy.”
 
DOE has developed a voluntary new Home Energy Score program that will help homeowners make cost-effective decisions about home energy improvements. Trained and certified contractors will be able to use a newly developed energy software tool to generate  a Home Energy Score between 1 and 10, which will be presented as part of a simple graphic that will help homeowners understand their home’s current efficiency level and how it compares to other homes in the area, and will provide an estimate of how much money could be saved by making energy retrofits.

DOE will launch the Home Energy Score this Fall through a pilot program in select regions across the country before making the voluntary program available everywhere. For those pilots in rural areas, USDA Rural Development will partner with DOE and rural electric cooperatives to increase participation and improve home energy efficiency in rural America. To see a sample Home Energy Score, click here.
 
Other initiatives include Workforce Guidelines for Home Energy Upgrades, and Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades.
 
The Small Business Association will offer a new online course, Green Business Opportunities: A Small Business Guide, that will provide training for entrepreneurs who are looking to enter the home energy retrofit market.  The course provides free business counseling and information for those seeking to launch a new business or expand an existing business in the energy efficiency market.  This training opportunity is free and available on SBA Office of Entrepreneurship Education’s website  
 
More information is available on the above initiatives by clicking here.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In wake of the Zika virus, travel, spring break still O.K.

Representatives from the CDC and the NIH were on hand at the White House during Monday's press briefing to update the public and address concerns over the Zika virus that has caused some babies to be born with deformities. Dr. Anne Schuchat from the Centers for Disease Control and Dr. Tony Fauci from the National Institutes of Health told reporters that a vaccine is in the making.   The pair also said they are particulary concerned about women who are pregnant, or plan to get pregnant, who have either traveled to or plan to travel to areas of South America and the Carribean known to have the Zika virus. Despite those bold statements, the doctors said there is no wide-spread concern and that Americans should continue to travel, including during upcoming college spring breaks --  when college students travel to warmer climate destinations to escape winter weather. "Travel to Zika-affected areas is very common among Americans, and we don’t think that needs to stop&quo
Post a Comment
Read more

President Biden's EV Agenda

  Electric Vehicles   President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is Unleashing a Manufacturing and Clean Energy Boom and Accelerating the Production of Affordable Electric Vehicles   As part of President Biden’s goal of having 50 percent of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030, the White House is announcing the first set of public and private commitments to support America's historic transition to electric vehicles (EV) under the EV Acceleration Challenge.   These commitments are part of President Biden's  Investing in America  agenda to spur domestic manufacturing, strengthen supply chains, boost U.S. competitiveness and create good-paying jobs. Because of President Biden’s leadership and historic investments, electric vehicle sales have tripled and the number of publicly available charging ports has grown by over 40 percent since he took office. There are now more than three million EVs on the road and over 135,000 public EV chargers across the country.     President
Post a Comment
Read more

President Biden discusses America's economy during July 4th address to military families.

"Our Economy is the strongest in the world."  " . ..  Our economy is growing, but not without pain.  Liberty is under assault -- assault both here and abroad.  In recent days, there's been reason to think that this country is moving backward, that  freedom  is being reduced, that rights we assumed were protected are no longer.  A reminder that we remain in an ongoing battle for the soul of America, as we have for over 200 years.  4th of July photo courtesy of - the Internet. I know it can be exhausting and unsettling.  But tonight, I want you to know we're going to get through all of this -- for all that we have faced, that we are going to get through this, and look how far we've come.    We're reclaiming our way of life in a pandemic.  Vaccines are nearly available to every American, restrictions lifted, the Fourth of July together again at the White House.    And for all the challenges, America has the strongest economy in the world.  More people are wo
Post a Comment
Read more