$452 m eco-refit program

Despite a recent U-turn on offshore drilling President Obama has always presented himself as a greener, more environmentally conscious president and as such, the White House has promised $452 million worth of eco-retrofits for homes in 25 communities across the country.

The plan is all part of the new ‘Retrofit Ramp Up’ program that Vice President Joe Biden announced as the first part of his five days of Earth Day tour. As well as creating greater energy efficiency in US homes, it is hoped the project will create more 'green collar' jobs, save millions in utility bills and help America cut emissions.

A startling fact about carbon emissions is that almost 50 percent of total emissions come from buildings – not just in how they are constructed, but how they are run. By potentially refitting every home in the US (100 million homes) with measures such as insulation and recycling waste water, the country could potentially save $21 billion a year in energy.

As such, the government plans to invest $80 billion into clean energy. During his tour, Vice President Biden said of the scheme, “what we're really talking about here is simple. It's about making our homes and our office buildings more efficient and more comfortable and more affordable, replacing windows and doors.”

In order to encourage people to make their homes more environmentally friendly, by installing solar panels and even roof-bound turbines, the government is also offering homeowners up-front rebates of up to $3000 for their eco-efforts.

There are of course drawbacks; there are concerns that the large-scale drive to install green features correctly would see the relatively small number of skilled workers put under pressure, but then this would no doubt see over time, a large number of green jobs created. Also, in order to make the most of the $452 million investment, a large effort would be needed to convince entire neighborhoods to retrofit their homes in order to bring down costs.
If a contractor was to retrofit one home it would be much more expensive than a plan to retrofit the entire block.

Facts

• Building use 33 percent of the world’s energy
• Green buildings use 85 percent less energy, 60 percent less potable water and send 69 percent less waste to landfill