Secretary Chu touts efficiency at solar event

Although he was at the solar decathalon in part to promote solar technology, Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu also made a point about making buildings–including homes–more energy efficient.  According to CNET,  

[Secretary Chu] said that in nearly all the many homes he has lived in, making the houses more energy efficient “became a little hobby of mine.” Chu and his wife used to ask to see the energy bills of the previous homeowners and made a game of trying to reduce the bills by 50 percent. Most of the changes are simple and cost hundreds, not thousands of dollars, he said.

“I started doing this long before I knew about climate change. And I have to confess the only reason I was doing that is because I’m fundamentally cheap,” he joked.

Some changes are simple and cheap.  Others more require professional assistance.  But done right, they not only save energy, but make your home more comfortable and safer, too.  How about if DOE signed on to aggressively promote the Thousand Home Challenge to encourage deep energy-efficiency in existing homes to show the country what the possiblities are?

Thanks,
Mike

Tags: DOE, energy-efficiency, green homes, Solar Decathalon, Steven Chu, Thousand Home Challenge