get started with energy efficiency
SOLAR TODAY
MARCH 2009
VOL. 23, No. 2
Home energy
that pay
What are the smart
decisions to
conserve energy
and fight climate
change?
By RICHARD CRUME
Are homeowners making good
choices when it comes to
reducing home energy consumption? Do they make decisions about improving energy
efficiency based on the best
advice of experts, or are decisions driven by
popular trends and the latest advertising campaigns? If our nation is to make progress toward
the goal of energy independence, we need to
understand whether homeowners are making
rational decisions about conserving energy
when remodeling their homes, upgrading their
appliances or simply replacing light bulbs.
President Obama’s New Energy for America plan makes efficient use of energy a national
priority. Calling energy efficiency the “
cheap-est, cleanest and fastest energy source,” the
president wants to cut electricity demand by 15
percent from projected levels by 2020, saving
consumers an estimated $130 billion in utility
costs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Richard Crume works as an environmental
engineer and teaches a college course on air
pollution assessment and control at North
Carolina A&T State University. He recently
updated his lighting, windows and doors,
appliances and heating/air conditioning
system in an older home near downtown
Chapel Hill, N.C. You can reach him at
thecrumes@bellsouth.net.
