Federal Agencies Combine Efforts to Protect Environment and Reduce Home Energy Bills
WASHINGTON, DC– The Bush administration today announced a major new partnership aimed at reducing household energy costs by 10 percent over the next decade. The Partnership for Home Energy Efficiency will provide energy saving solutions for all households across the country and support research and implementation of a new generation of energy efficiency technologies.
(I-Newswire) - The Department of Energy ( DOE ), the Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD ) and the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) will consolidate and coordinate home energy savings information for consumers on a web portal, www.energysavers.gov, giving Americans access to the latest innovations to make their homes more energy efficient.
“In this time of high energy costs and uncertain energy resources, it’s important that the federal government help Americans find ways to reduce home energy use and save money on their energy bills,” DOE Secretary Samuel Bodman said. “Under President Bush’s leadership, we have developed new technologies and we continue to invest new dollars in finding ways to help homes become more energy efficient. We want to pass along this knowledge to the American people as quickly as possible.”
Americans spend more than $160 billion a year to heat, cool, light and live in their homes. By taking advantage of home energy efficiencies, an average American family could save $150 a year.
“For most owners and renters, utility bills are the second largest household expense,” HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said. “That’s why housing affordability and energy efficiency go hand in hand. By reducing the price of utility bills, we reduce the cost of living for the nation’s low- and moderate-income families.”
In addition to the billions of dollars lost through energy inefficiencies, household power waste contributes to the power plant emissions that create soot, smog and acid rain and lead to increases of greenhouse gases. Today, about 17 percent of U.S. greenhouse gases come from residential energy use, and while newly-constructed homes are more efficient than they were 30 years ago, more can be done.
"Last year, through the help of ENERGY STAR, Americans chose to invest in cleaner air and healthier lives -- all the while saving enough energy to power 18 million homes and cutting $10 billion from their energy bills," EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said. "We are delighted to work with our federal partners offering households energy efficiency solutions that lower energy bills, avoid emissions from power plants and provide the next generation a healthier, cleaner environment."
Goals of the Bush administration’s Partnership for Home Energy Efficiency include:
Expand efforts to promote ENERGY STAR® products; Develop durable, comfortable, affordable homes that use 40-50 percent less energy; Develop new energy efficiency services to provide homeowners with greater savings, such as Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®; Deliver energy efficiency savings to low income and subsidized housing; Continue to invest in innovative research in building science technologies, practices, and policies; and By 2020, provide design technologies and building practices to allow cost- effective net-zero energy homes. In addition, individuals can take many simple steps today to help make their homes more energy efficient. They are:
Replace incandescent bulbs with lights that have earned the government's ENERGY STAR® label. Use a programmable thermostat with your air conditioner to adjust the setting warmer at night, or when no one is home. Use a fan with your window air conditioner to spread cool air through your home. If your air conditioner is old, look for a new one that has earned the ENERGY STAR® label. New energy-efficient models can save you up to 50 percent on your cooling bills. Just three trees, properly placed around a house, can save between $100 and $250 annually in cooling and heating costs. Daytime air temperatures can be 3 to 6 degrees cooler in tree-shaded neighborhoods. Plant trees or shrubs to shade air conditioning units, but do not block the airflow. Sunny windows can make your air conditioner work two to three times harder. Install white window shades, drapes or blinds to reflect heat away from the house. If you want to replace your windows, look for windows that qualify for the ENERGY STAR® label, and consider the new double-pane windows with spectrally selective coatings. Check to see that your fireplace damper is tightly closed. For more information on the Partnership for Home Energy Efficiency, please go to: www.energysavers.gov.
Media contacts: EPA Press Contact: John Millet ( 202 ) 564-4355 DOE Press Contact: Craig Stevens ( 202 ) 586-4940 HUD Press Contact: Dustee Tucker ( 202 ) 708-0685
Number: R-05-191
If you have questions regarding information in this press release contact the company listed below. I-Newswire.com is a press release service and not the author of this press release. The information that is on or available through this site is for informational purposes only and speaks only as of the particular date or dates of that information. As some companies / PR Agencies submit their press releases once per week/month or quarter, make sure check the official company website for accurate release dates as our site displays the I-Newswire.com distribution date only. We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of information on or available through this site, and we are not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in that information or for actions taken in reliance on that information.
Immerse yourself in mystery and magic with two exciting new casual games from Focus Multimedia and Big Fish Games Studios, one of the world’s leading casual game developers. Hidden Expedition Titanic and Azada join Focus’ popular Revival range of super-budget price games and are available in a store near you.
Edraw Max enables students, teachers and business professionals to reliably create and publish kinds of diagrams to represent any ideas. With large pre-drawn libraries and more than 4600 vector symbols, drawing couldn't be easier!
New range of cards launched to make you the cover star.Hallmark Cards in partnership with OK Magazine has launched an exclusive and exciting new range of greeting cards that gives people the chance to give family and friends the A-List treatment.
Many people choose not to pursue an accident claim. The reasons range from knowing the insurance company will settle; to they don't want the legal hassles and expense.
Many individuals and businesses have always purchased their personal computers from a well-known provider to pre-conceived specifications. Increasingly...
The effectiveness of SEO and PPC Services are directly related to the quality and quantity of the performance data that they have to work with. If you are seeking assistance in achieving a higher ranking on search engine results, then we suggest you visit RankYourWebsites.com, specialist in this area. If you have found your attempts at optimization to prove fruitless, the representatives at RankYourWebsites.com will have a solution to increase your traffic.
http://www.vineyardsforsalein.com/ - online island vineyard for sale, vineyard for sale paso, texas vineyard for sale, washington vineyard for sale, tuscany vineyard for sale, vineyard for sale santa, vineyard for sale California
Mark Flanagan, Managing Director of Manchester health and safety, food safety and fire safety consultancy, Shieldyourself, discussed the Scores on the Doors scheme when he made a guest appearance on the BBC’s 5 Live Radio Show recently.
