1 commentsI wrote this article for the Huffington Post. It can be seen in its original context here.
Despite the recent (and undoubtedly temporary) drop in energy prices, the fact remains that because of the economic downturn and an aging housing stock, many families will struggle to heat their homes this winter. At the same time, the need to create jobs, stimulate the economy, create sound investment opportunities and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions has never been greater. There is no silver bullet for solving all these challenges, but an innovative financing mechanism for renewable energy and energy efficiency could go a long way toward putting the country on the right track. Here’s how it works.
Homeowners Need Efficiency Upgrades--But Can’t Afford Them
Imagine you are a low-income homeowner in Providence, Rhode Island. Chances are your home is 100 years old: the walls are barely insulated, the windows single-paned, and the boiler a relic of the 1950s. In the winter your heating bills are such that you can hardly afford to run the heat, often leaving your family shivering. And even though a $10,000 investment would dramatically lower those heating costs and pay for itself within 5 years, you can hardly pay for the mortgage--let alone $10,000 in efficiency upgrades.
Wonderful Ideas!
I face the same problem. it’s about 10k to install a system, it will save me 2k per year, but I’m starting a business. I can’t afford to tie up that much cash for 5 years.
The other thing the gov could do is creat uniform national electrical standards for grid connected net meterring and home generation to ge tthe cost down.
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