2010’s Earth Day marks its 40 year anniversary and the all-encompassing conversation in today’s climate is energy efficiency. While global solar energy is waiting right around the bend, current issues at hand are how to make existing living situations more energy-efficient, while lowering utility costs and leaving less of a carbon footprint.
The 2009 Recovery Act contributed billions of dollars to the weatherization programs which was then allocated to community action centers throughout the states. The notion of weatherizing homes surfaced in the early 70’s and was implemented in 1976. What was its purpose? Weatherization was generated specifically for low-income families to apply for grants, thus giving the opportunity to replace old refrigerators, add insulation or add caulking where energy was being lost, in order to lower utility bills.
In the last decade, retrofitting homes has become more of a trending topic for people who are doing it themselves. The general breakdown of costs to retrofit a home starts at approximately $2,000.00 and can go up to $6,000.00.
Meanwhile, the heaping count of home builders is getting it right from the start.Thermablok’s NASA aerogel technology is used as a type of insulation that adheres to the studs of a wall structure where the majority of thermal bridging occurs. Thermablok is a preventative for thermal bridging. Homebuilders and homeowners are turning to newer solutions for retrofitting and building from ground up and a lot of them are turning to thermablok.
Will retrofitting and building with more energy-efficient products eventually pay off? The answer is yes. Clearly, homeowners who have retrofitted are leaving less of a carbon footprint, reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, moreover, there is almost immediate visible reduction in energy costs.
Before the proliferation of retrofitting, crowding concerns were the longevity of wall structures. Thermablok’s is impervious to water and mold which marks long-lasting traits in a building’s structure, rendering the need for future retrofits to become increasingly extraneous.
Tags: earth day, energy efficiency, green, insulation, recovery act, thermablok, thermal bridging, weatherization
