Zero Interest Loans for Improving Home Efficiency Touted in D.C.

Here’s something everyone angling for an energy retrofit will endorse:

Congressman Chris Van Hollen has introduced the National Home Energy Savings Revolving Fund Act (or NHESRFA, in case you’re counting) that, if passed, would allow local governments, through a $10 billion fund sponsored created by the Department of Energy, to issue up to $10,000 interest free to homeowners for energy retrofits.

The payment plans could also be structured so that the payments could be repaid through property taxes. Additionally, the payment amounts will come to less than the amount people save on utility bills.

In theory.

Will it pass? Who knows. It seems a bit dreamy, but it underscores one of the big issues finally being touted this year. Namely: We can save a lot more energy for less money through efficiency than by erecting solar panels or wind farms. Thus, even if this bill doesn’t pass, something like it might.

I just had a preliminary energy audit done on my home. (see embarrassing video here.). It changed my mind on certain repairs.

Retrofits will be one of the major issues at the Green Building Summit on June 11. One of the speakers will be Matt Golden, a founder of Sustainable Spaces. Golden has proposed that states offer tax credits for retrofits that are equal to the tax credits given to solar.