Whiplash: Home Energy Efficiency News from June 7-12, 2009

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By Peggy - June 15th, 2009

Houses save the day? Our homes got us into this mess... and now they might get us out. Much of the recent talk about energy efficiency has focused on the pay-off not only for homeowners who save money on utility bills, but on the economy as a whole. A University of California, Berkeley study of California's expected future demand for energy and and potential for job creation in clean energy found that money saved by consumers on energy efficiency is the most potent local economy stimulus. A dollar taken off the energy bill will be spent on other things that will equal from 10 to 100 dollars in wages for new workers.

Efficiency and Jobs go together. This house-as-recovery-tool theory received an added boost from ACEEE and others in the wake of the Waxman-Markey Bill. "ACEEE estimates that approximately 250,000 jobs will be created by the energy efficiency provisions in H.R. 2454 by 2020, with a total of 650,000 jobs generated by 2030..." During a time of job insecurity and financial worry, these provisions and figures consistently garner heated debate.

"Standards should be Federal." The Washington Post published an impassioned rebuttal to a previous editorial denouncing Federal standards increasing efficiency in new buildings. Roger Berliner of the Montgomery County Council noted that 2/3 of carbon emissions in Washington come from buildings and argued that voluntary efforts are not sufficient:

The June 7 editorial "Buried Code" questioned the wisdom of a federal requirement for higher energy efficiency standards for new buildings, one of the efficiency measures in the Waxman-Markey climate-change bill before Congress. It shouldn't have. As the lead member for energy and the environment on the Montgomery County Council, I think this is one "matter of local concern," as the editorial put it, that should be federalized.

Do it Now. TreeHugger chimed in on the building standards debate. In 5 Building Code Changes that Cannot Wait, Writer Lloyd Alter raises the often noted and valid point that buildings last a long time, so the cost of cutting corners sticks around for while. "Buildings built now, unlike cars, will most probably still be around in 2030 and a few years after that. Aiming for carbon neutrality by 2030 is way too late, especially since we know how to do it now." Lloyd Alter proposes five building code changes that cannot wait.

Dance Dance Revolution... and Passivhaus. Reality Check. Even with strong building standards, we aren't keeping up the the Joneses. Or at least not the German Joneses as EcoGeek notes in a blog on passive houses titled, "A House You Can Heat With a Hairdryer. "Passivhaus blows even LEED Platinum out of the water, requiring 70% less energy for heating than a LEED certified home. Most days of the year, you can literally heat your home with body heat...if you play enough DDR."

Yes... Google PowerMeter will bare all. Google PowerMeter announced through its lead engineer Ed Lu that it will open its APIs as soon as feasible to allow developers to chime in on the process and keep it moving forward. Lu also appeared to trim expectations about appliance measurement, indicating that the focus will be on whole house information, rather than appliance specific data.