What are the smart decisions to conserve energy and fight climate change?

By Richard Crume

Are homeowners making good choices when it comes to reducing home energy consumption? Do they make decisions about improving energy efficiency based on the best advice of experts, or are decisions driven by popular trends and the latest advertising campaigns? If our nation is to make progress toward the goal of energy independence, we need to understand whether homeowners are making rational decisions about conserving energy when remodeling their homes, upgrading their appliances or simply replacing light bulbs.

President Obama’s New Energy for America plan makes efficient use of energy a national priority. Calling energy efficiency the “cheapest, cleanest and fastest energy source,” the president wants to cut electricity demand by 15 percent from projected levels by 2020, saving consumers an estimated $130 billion in utility costs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Under the president’s plan, more efficient energy use will be required across all segments of American society — in our factories and businesses, on our roads and in our homes.

Energy efficiency in the residential segment is particularly important because houses consume so much energy — nearly 21 percent of total U.S. energy production. Many homes are old and poorly insulated, and their owners cannot afford to make necessary improvements. Acknowledging this problem, the president’s energy plan sets forth a national commitment to weatherize at least 1 million low-income homes each year for the next decade. With simple improvements like sealing around windows and doors, fixing leaky ducts and installing insulation, the energy plan estimates home energy bill reductions of at least 20 to 40 percent. And by upgrading the furnace and adding energy-efficient lighting and appliances, a homeowner can achieve even greater savings.

What are homeowners doing right now about energy efficiency? A recent survey by building products manufacturer Johns Manville (jm.com) helps answer that question. When homeowners were asked about energy upgrades made in the past year, 54 percent reported taking some action in their homes to conserve energy. The most popular action was putting in energy-efficient lighting, followed by caulking and sealing and then by installing energy-efficient appliances. Just 16 percent of respondents invested in attic insulation, a suprising outcome given that this may be the single most effective means for conserving energy in many older homes. (According to the U.S. Department of Energy, roughly 80 percent of older homes are poorly insulated.)

An interesting survey outcome concerns what motivates homeowners to conserve energy. Asked about the best reasons to increase home energy efficiency, homeowners gave these responses:

• Reducing home heating and cooling costs — 64 percent
• Reducing home contribution to global climate change — 19 percent
• Home comfort — 11 percent
• Increased resale value — 5 percent

The most popular response — reducing heating and cooling costs — is predictable when so many homeowners these days are strapped for cash. Predictable, too, is the nearly one-fifth of homeowners identifying climate change as a reason for energy efficiency, a response that highlights the growing public awareness of this global crisis. (Far fewer homeowners would have responded this way just five years ago, when climate change received much less attention in the news media.) Only 5 percent of survey respondents identified increased resale value as a reason to improve home energy efficiency, suggesting a need for more homeowner education about this important benefit.

Are homeowners making wise decisions about energy efficiency? For the most part, yes. Here are the facts:

• Insulating, air sealing and replacing lighting are highly effective in reducing energy consumption at a modest cost. Taken together, these techniques can save more than 20 percent on a homeowner’s utility bill.

• Replacing furnaces, appliances and electronics is also effective, but the costs are much higher and the payback periods (investment costs divided by annual energy savings) can be long. On the other hand, if these devices have worn out and are going to be replaced anyway, the incremental costs for upgrading to energy-efficient equipment is quickly offset in most cases by the energy savings.

• Although not identified by the survey respondents, solar water heating can be an attractive option, now that tax credits are available nationwide. At locations with an abundance of sunny days, solar water heating can provide up to 75 percent of hot water needs and save 10 percent on a home utility bill.

• Lifestyle and good habits can also make a difference — turning off lights when leaving a room, washing clothes in cold water and adjusting the thermostat when not at home. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Energy Star program reports that a programmable thermostat can save about $180 annually on home energy costs.

• Another low-cost option is to seal off any rooms that are seldom used and block the heating and air conditioning vents in those rooms. Depending on house size, the most effective option of all may be to just sell the house and downsize to a smaller one; heating and air conditioning bills will fall in proportion to house size.

When deciding what energy improvements to make to an existing house, homeowners need to take into account increased resale value — often cited as up to $20 for every $1 reduction in annual utility costs. Using this formula, if an annual utility bill is cut by, say, 30 percent (around $600 for a typical house), the resale value would increase by $20 X $600 = $12,000. This figure is in line with other estimates putting the increased value for an energy-efficient house in the $10,000 to $15,000 range. Keep in mind that this is a ballpark estimate; for any specific home, the actual resale value after energy improvements could be higher or lower.

State and federal tax credits can also help homeowners justify and afford energy improvements. Many states offer energy and solar tax credits, and the federal Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 extends tax credits for (1) energy-efficient windows, doors, roofs, insulation, heating and air conditioning and non-solar water heaters; and (2) solar energy systems and fuel cells. (See the Energy Star web page, energystar.gov, for a good summary of federal tax credits for energy efficiency.)

The Johns Manville survey found another incentive for making home energy improvements: indoor air quality. Sixty-two percent of homeowners reported taking some action to improve the air they breathe at home, including upgrading furnace or heating system components. Perhaps even more homeowners would take action if they realized that indoor air pollution can be a serious problem, even worse than outdoor air pollution for some older and poorly ventilated homes. Since many Americans spend 90 percent or more of their time inside a building (between work and home, about 22 hours per day), the quality of the indoor environment is an important consideration in making home renovations.

Energy efficiency is not just about saving money on utility bills — it is also about reducing global warming gas emissions. Nobel laureate Al Gore’s plan to Repower America includes a nationwide effort to address climate change by retrofitting buildings with better insulation, energy-efficient windows and improved lighting. Using existing technologies, he believes that household and commercial building efficiency can be increased 30 percent while saving the average homeowner $450 on utility bills.

Major metropolitan areas are also acting to reduce energy consumption as part of their broader climate change initiatives. Chicago’s Climate Action Plan calls for retrofitting 400,000 city homes with new and improved insulation, tighter windows and doors and Energy Star appliances. The city hopes to reduce energy consumption in 65,000 homes and apartments each year, achieving efficiency savings of 30 percent.

The New York City Housing Authority is concerned about climate change, too. With assistance from the Clinton Climate Initiative, New York is implementing a multi-phase energy conservation and retrofit program. Already nearly 10,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs have been installed in public housing, reducing greenhouse gases by 1,400 tons per year and cutting electricity costs by 17 percent. The Clinton Climate Initiative has also begun a similar energy retrofit partnership with Arkansas.

Under the EPA’s Sustainable Skylines Initiative, Dallas plans to increase energy-efficiency awareness among residents by promoting the purchase and use of energy-efficient household items, and Kansas City is looking at installing solar panels on schools and city buildings. Through public-private partnerships, the goal of the EPA initiative is to reduce air emissions in urban areas by integrating transportation, energy, land use and air quality planning.

With so many American homeowners interested in energy efficiency, are there enough workers to get the job done? A recent Wall Street Journal report (“Green Gap,” Nov. 17) concluded there will be a shortage of skilled workers as new-home sales plummet and green homes penetrate a larger percentage of the market. There currently is no lack of building contractors, but relatively few are familiar with green technologies and environmentally sound construction methods.

For builders, the stakes are potentially huge. Rising consumer interest and a raft of new government regulations are driving green building forward, even as the larger real-estate industry craters. Builders who aren’t familiar with eco-friendly construction methods may be at a big disadvantage in this new market, experts say.

In the past two years, the number of building professionals certified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program has doubled to more than 60,000, but this is still a small fraction of the U.S. building industry, according to the Journal report. To help address this growing concern, the American Institute of Architects recently passed a continuing education requirement for four hours of sustainable-design coursework per year. Also, some builder associations like the Associated General Contractors of America have begun offering LEED courses.

Homeowners have many options for reducing energy consumption, some more effective than others and some more expensive. Improving insulation, sealing around doors and windows and installing energy-efficient lighting are smart choices for cutting home energy bills with a modest investment. Replacing worn-out heating and air conditioning equipment, appliances and electronics with energy-efficient models also makes sense, and installing solar water heating may be a viable option for many homes. Tax credits and manufacturer sales and rebates can make energy upgrades even more attractive.

Home energy improvements have other advantages — reducing global warming gases, increasing resale value and improving indoor air quality. More education of the American public about these advantages may help promote energy conservation and encourage upgrades in existing homes. And, with good planning and training programs, the supply of skilled and experienced green builders will keep up with demand.

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About the survey: The Johns Manville survey was conducted by Forrest W. Anderson Research July 21–23. It was based on a national representative sample of 1,022 U.S. homeowners age 18 and older and had a sampling error of ± 3.1 percent.

About the author: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it works as an environmental engineer and teaches a college course on air pollution assessment and control at North Carolina A&T State University. He recently updated his lighting, windows and doors, appliances and heating/air conditioning system in an older home near downtown Chapel Hill, N.C.

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