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EPA Grant will Advance Home Energy Efficiency
Release Date: 10/07/2004
Contact Information:
Contact: John Millett 202-564-7842 / millett.john@epa.gov
(10/07/04) Today, as part of a joint federal initiative to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes, EPA awarded a one million dollar grant to the Building Performance Institute (BPI) Inc. This grant is part of the President's National Energy Policy.
With funding also provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), this grant will advance the development of a national infrastructure of certified technicians and accredited contractors to deliver whole house energy efficiency improvements. As a result, homeowners will have greater access to professionals who can improve home comfort and energy performance. This grant assists in the implementation of the Partnership for the Advancement of Technology in Housing's Road Map for improving the energy efficiency of existing homes.
BPI Inc., located in Malta, N.Y., has several years of experience with technician certification and contractor accreditation in the state of New York. BPI also has a long standing relationship with the low income Weatherization Assistance Program in several states to certify qualified technicians.
This grant to BPI will expand its efforts of technician testing, set additional standards for whole-house diagnostics for heating and cooling systems and the building envelope, and will enhance its quality assurance requirements. BPI Inc. will review its current standards with a nationally recognized group of building science experts and increase capacity by developing its affiliate network.
BPI technician certification and contractor accreditation can complement the nationwide expansion of Home Performance with ENERGY STAR. Launched in 2001, Home Performance with ENERGY STAR is an effort to use the ENERGY STAR brand to help encourage and facilitate whole-house energy improvements. Home Performance with ENERGY STAR is linked to the building performance contracting service that emphasizes consumer education, value and "one-stop" problem solving. BPI certified technicians are performing whole-house energy efficiency improvements in New York and Kansas City for programs that use Home Performance with ENERGY STAR as a marketing platform.
The residential sector in the United States is responsible for about 20 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions released in our air each year from power production. If just one household in 10 were to improve their energy efficiency by 30 percent, each year, homeowners would save $4 billion dollars and keep 69 billion pounds of greenhouse gases out of our air.
EPA is working closely with HUD and DOE to improve the energy efficiency of the existing housing stock to save energy, reduce pollution and improve affordability.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency introduced ENERGY STAR in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce air pollution by giving consumers simple energy-efficient choices. Today, with DOE and EPA working together, the ENERGY STAR is featured on more than 40 types of products as well as on new homes and buildings. More than 9,000 organizations have become ENERGY STAR partners and are committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes and businesses. For more information, see: http://www.energystar.gov .
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