Thermal Police Fix Houses, Cut Costs By 30 Percent

Call it CSI: Thermal Police -- energy experts armed with mostly low-tech tools but strong sleuthing skills, finding flaws that let the air inside a house go through a full exchange with the outdoors twice an hour, instead of once every two or three hours.

Correct those flaws, and heating and cooling costs are typically cut by 20 percent to 30 percent, a saving of more than $1,000 annually in some households. In addition, carbon dioxide emissions and the strain on the national electric and gas systems are reduced.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[sheila]

the real story here is that utilities are actively lobbying AGAINST weatherization, and have managed to convince our fearless leaders to subsidize low income people's BILLS but not their conservation efforts. A total, complete scam, again, where Big Energy is subsidized at enormous cost to ratepayers, taxpayers and the environment...

money quote:

"Government aid for weatherization has been modest.

Energy technology research competes for federal aid, said a spokeswoman for the Energy Department. Some states contribute their own money or divert federal money intended to help the poor pay their energy bills.

But utilities that furnish electricity, natural gas and home heating oil have lobbied strongly for programs that provide money to help pay bills.

Although Congress added $250 million to the original $227 million budget for weatherization in the current fiscal year, the number of people receiving weatherization aid is dwarfed by those receiving assistance in paying their energy bills.

"You have six million families a year getting energy assistance, possibly eight million this year, and 150,000 getting weatherization," said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors" Association, an organization of state officials."

[KillTheMessenger]

Big deal. Not. Three physicists I know got themselves a thermal imaging camera 15 years ago and started a successful business around saving energy on commercial buildings. That was in Germany, of course. Too bad it took the US a decade longer to figure out the same thing...