Obama Administration’s Supply-side Strategy
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
One of the more intriguing questions surrounding the stimulus package is the extent to which the dramatic increase in funding for weatherization ($5 billion) will lead to a sharp rise in number of contractors skilled in energy efficiency retrofits. For states such as Illinois, which have not invested heavily in energy efficiency programs historically, and consequently have a very limited base of contractors knowledgeable in energy efficiency basics, the outcome matters a great deal.
Without question, the contractor issue has been one of the thorniest challenges we have faced in our attempts to catalyze the market for energy efficiency. Our programs have demonstrated that banks and other financial intermediaries can stimulate homeowner interest in energy efficiency by coupling information and capital together. However, these efforts may have minimal impact on energy usage without a corresponding effort to organize, train, and certify the contractor community. We simply have no way to guarantee that the work will be done correctly or produce the projected energy savings.
Indeed, anecdotal evidence suggests that the likelihood of achieving the savings may be quite small without substantial training and quality control measures being put in place. One example comes from the Executive Director of the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, who recently installed a high efficiency furnace in her home. Despite the 94% efficiency rating on the furnace, it took the contractor several attempts and lots of re-working to push the performance up from the low level initially seen. Only because this particular contractor tested the system’s performance and understood how to rectify the situation, the furnace performs at its rated level.
There does appear to be some reason for optimism, however. ComEd, our local electrical utility company, has had notable success in its efforts to engage the contractor community around commercial lighting retrofits. We believe that with a determined focus and the necessary resources behind it, a similar program could prove equally effective for the residential marketplace.
Definitions of winter weather differ throughout our country. I cannot help but be jealous of my San Franciscan friends’ 70 degree weather forecast as I bundle up to face my Chicago 10 degree (and falling!) weather. The chill of my first Chicago winter has driven my poor San Franciscan self to uncover as many alternative heating solutions as possible. Luckily, because I work at ShoreBank, my search for warming methods was short-lived. A science officer at ShoreBank’s sister company, 
Winterize You & Your Home
