$452m eco-refit program for US homes

Obama: Eco-warrior?

Despite a recent U-turn on offshore drilling, President Obama has always presented himself as a greener, more environmentally conscious president and as such, as well as in celebration of Earth Day, 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 neighbourhoods 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.

Sustainable building design

Of course, a sure-fire way to cut emissions is to make buildings sustainable from the get-go. The construction of a building uses a huge amount of resources that can drastically impact upon the environment.

General construction work uses an inordinate amount of energy, water and raw materials and more often than not, generate large amounts of waste and potentially harmful atmospheric emissions. As a result, companies are facing demands to make environmentally friendly and eco-efficient buildings, whilst at the same time minimising their actual impact on the environment. As such, sustainable building design is becoming more and more important, with designers and construction firms finding the most eco-friendly ways to get buildings made.

Lessening the impact on the environment can range from deciding to retrofit a building instead of building a new one to actually coming up with a way of making more environmentally friendly bricks. There is also an interest in taking a 'synergistic approach' to building design, ensuring that the scheme "supports an increased commitment to environmental stewardship and conservation, and results in an optimal balance of cost, environmental, societal, and human benefits while meeting the mission and function of the intended facility or infrastructure."

Either way, it is good to see The White House addressing the issue, even if it does 'conveniently' clash with Earth Day.

Relevant articles:

Is sustainable design purely political? | US hydro-power gets a boost | Walmart's eco-ambitions

Timon Singh

Timon Singh is a graduate of Liverpool University where he received a degree in Social and Economic History. He has previously worked for BBC Magazines on BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, the publication for the popular genealogy show.

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