... I signed a [Citizen (Re)] contract, mostly because this is the only way I could conceivably hope to get a solar power system on my roof. I'm 25 and just starting out, so I don't have the credit history or the income to secure a home equity loan to buy a $20,000 system. It seems that the only people who can afford PV systems are retirees.
I've already weatherproofed my house and switched out all my bulbs and I'm buying more efficient appliances as the ones that came with my house start to go. But I want to do more. ...
by Icelander at 12:22 PM on 12 Mar 2007
This poor lamb is America's future. He can't afford to be the change he seeks.
This is why we fight for The Efficient American Homes Act of 2007, using the law, using best practices, using science, using taxpayer dollars to stop climate damage.
11th hour draft below ...
A Congressional rep asked the Energize America team to transform concepts into material ready for action. The newly minted Efficient American Homes of 2007 Act (EAHA) needs to make energy efficiency easy for all Americans.
The Re-Energize America team is working on doing just that from a number of angles that converge at one point: people power. The know-how is in communities of practice. deb9 is working the back-end of capitalizing renewable sources from 'farm' country -- wind, EtOH, gas reclamation. The Neighborhood Act on municipal bonds went to press last week. The Net Metering Act is in the finishing stage -- go vote!
I'm talking home economics, cash money. Two weeks ago I started discussion about the economics of fossil fuel efficiency in American households -- putting "energy savings" into the big picture of our structural addictions. Last week I introduced the first draft to place government in the real marketplace. Tonight comes provision specifics -- especially the financing alternative to federal grants, tax credits.
What's so funny to me is that today I awoke from my afternoon nap to a News 8 (DC metro) story about a rent-share. Not just any rent share: Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, and god-knows-who-else in George Miller's vintage '75 condo. I don't have an online link, but this News 8 promo ought to give you ideas about where the video will pop up.
Yeah. Welcome to America's home-eck reality.
:: Household Energy Efficiency Finance
Consumers looking to buy or renovate a home have every reason to consider including energy efficiency in the design. Fuel prices are at record highs, and the impact of this is only just beginning to hit consumer pocketbooks. Meanwhile mortgage rates are on the rise meaning that the amount of money for which a consumer may qualify is declining. However, consumers can actually lower their energy bills and qualify for larger loans by adding energy efficiency financed through energy efficient mortgages (EEMs). Energy efficient windows can reduce heating and cooling energy costs by up to 30%, so EEMs are a great vehicle to finance window upgrades in both new and existing construction.
... EEMs also encourage the use of utility and manufacturer rebates, by allowing these rebates to be applied toward the loan transaction under some [federally authorized] programs.
... The number of [FHA-contracted financial service firms] offering this type of mortgage product has grown significantly in recent years. Desiderio reports a trend in larger [retail] banks now offering EEMs. Countrywide Home Loans and Wachovia have been strong partners in promoting energy efficient mortgages and Citibank has recently joined the ranks of companies offering EEMs. "Fannie Mae is excited that Citibank—a financial leader—is promoting EEMs," Desiderio reported. "This is helping to increase accessibility to EEMs for homeowners across the nation. [source: Alliance to Save Energy]
Efficient American Homes Act of 2007 will provide for low-cost EEM primary and re-fi loans that are affordable for more homeowners. The ticket is promoting FHA home energy audited products.
:: Draft 2, Jam it --or-- Slam it
Objectives
- Provide financial incentives for household energy efficiency improvements
- Accelerate efficiency-related capital improvements in publicly- and privately-owned dwellings.
Description
There are 108M occupied homes in the US, 6.8 million of which are government-owned subsidized units, and 78.8% of the housing stock is 20 years and older. Many appliances and household systems last 20 years or more, so many of these homes contain outdated, inefficient appliances, heating and cooling systems, and many were built before building insulation was common. Increasing household energy efficiency will reduce both greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fossil fuel dependency. However, the up-front cost of efficiency improvements is often high, and payback takes longer than many households can tolerate, reducing investment in energy efficiency.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 defined criteria and financial incentives for energy saving projects, but enforcement of key provisions has been lax, for example, the DOE missed 34 deadlines for setting energy efficiency standards in 20 product categories, tax credits have been well below the 30% cost cap specified and, for many taxpayers, credits are reduced or eliminated by the Alternative Minimum Tax. These and other shortcomings may have created significant barriers to adoption of efficiency measures in US households.
The Act will:
- Establish comprehensive household energy efficiency standards through
- a. Completing high-efficiency standards for consumer durables: Enforcing standards for residential heating/ventilation/air-conditioning (HVAC), weatherization, and appliances will reduced total household consumption.
- b. Funding public-private partnerships in energy efficiency education: Federal budget for a national compact fluorescent lightbulb promotion, estimated at $756M, will be distributed among the 50 states for the purpose of promoting high-efficiency appliances, equipment, and incentives. Funds may be used to create campaigns or expand the scope of existing campaigns.
- Encourage energy efficiency investments in private- and public-owned housing
- a. Support implementation of state and utility rebate programs, as funding currently falls significantly short of demand, by matching qualified program budgets and increasing the number of DOE and EPA full-time staff for regulatory enforcement.
- b. Promote energy efficiency homeowner financing through EnergyStar and FHA lenders in more states and establish minimum requirements for federal certification of an energy efficiency financial product.
- Reduce financial barriers to home energy efficiency improvement by adjusting the loan limits of federal-certified and FHA-insured energy efficiency mortgages and lines of credit to fair market value. The real cost of a model energy efficiency project varies by locality.
- a. Update the US tax code (Title II) to encourage household energy efficiency retrofitting, by re-evaluating costs of systems and equipment and allowing exemption from Alternative Minimum Tax for EAHA tax credits of 50% per project, capped at $10,000 per household during period of the Act:
i. certified home energy audit
ii. equipment replacement: gas, oil, propane furnaces and boilers; CAC; heat pumps; HVAC fans; water heaters
iii. systems replacement: internal and external insulation; external doors; windows; roofing; solar, fuel cell, or microturbine
Benefits
EAHA will:
- Reduce the impacts of GHG emissions and rising fuel costs on American families
- Enable more households to invest in more energy efficiency projects
- Stimulate demand for efficient and renewable technologies in more regions
- Drive US industry growth in system design, manufacture, construction, and installation
- Increase awareness and implementation of energy efficiency improvements
- Reduce the cost of federal energy assistance programs
Investment
$00B over ten years
- $00B forgone tax revenue
- $3B program expenses
- $000M program revenue
- standards-related fees and benefits
- energy assistance program savings
- Net EAHA Expense, $00B
- GHG savings, 00T kWh, 00T tons CO2
Key Messages
- Higher energy efficiency standards must be adopted and enforced.
- Improving efficiency of govt-subsidized housing will reduce energy assistance program costs.
- Improving tax codes and increasing incentives will encourage more efficiency sooner.
:: Notes
No notes, no numbers since EIA Table.2, on which the last 6 years of GHG emissions, end-use, and expenditures rely, is under query. And I know why; 4,538 kWh of household electricity consumption (2001) is unaccounted. (Question mark and scrub seen and noted this past 76 hours.) I say it's HVAC.
Stay tuned for my statistical voodoo over the next 12 hours... if I can stay awake.
[UPDATE: 3.21.07]: 4,538 kWH (42%) plus HVAC kWh captured (only 10%) was 52% of of total HH consumption, 10,565 kWh. The assumption now at Citizen Energy, founded by Joe Kennedy, is that HVAC is 44% of HH end-use. Citizen closed the deal on the Green Path Project in CA.