The last few years have been some of the worst ever for the building industry in our nation’s history. I will admit and agree with the opinion that we mashed the gas way too fast from 2002-2006 and helped bring a lot of this on ourselves. Plenty of builders lost their sense of reality and failed to adhere to the principles that made them successful in the first place. Now, an alarming number of those builders are out of business and 10% of homes sit empty in the United States.
We need to learn from our mistakes from the past. Let’s not build large homes for individuals who can’t afford to furnish them, operate them, take care of them, or make payments on them. We need to utilize green technology and build homes that use 50% less electricity and gas. Let’s build homes that use better materials and bring in fresh air mechanically and don’t make the inhabitants sick.
That’s the green future I predict industry but what about the present? How can we put back tens of thousands - if not hundreds of thousands - of workers to earning money for their families until the demand for new homes increases? Maybe President Obama’s Home Star program is a good start as it provides tax credits to existing homeowners up to $3,000 for making energy efficient improvements to their homes.
As a green builder we made the move to existing home retrofits this earlier this year and we do it to keep people working. In a healthy market there would be 1,000,000 new homes a year built in the United States. There are over 100,000,000 existing homes that need energy efficiency improvements which translates to 100 times more work! Energy retrofits are not exactly the same meaning those jobs won’t use everyone at the job site. The work is sometimes harder, more complicated, and pays less. The good news; however, it that is keeps people working.
Our building industry work force needs to invest in themselves and learn the basics of building science including: air sealing, combustion safety, air flow, and many other topics. Make no mistake however, there’s no one more equipped to insulate an existing home than the company that insulates new homes. The same premise holds true for the HVAC technician, carpenter, etc. and we need the general contractors to start leading the way. We need a positive impact immediately for the consumer, for our industry, and for our country.
One energy retrofit can put money in our pocket, money in the consumer’s pocket from savings, money in the suppliers pocket, money in the utility’s pocket to delay new power plants, and money in Uncle Sam’s pocket to become more energy independent. We multiply that times 100,000,000 and imagine the prosperity and strength of our nation and planet based off conservation and energy efficiency. Now is the time to make efficiency happen and if you would like to learn more please call Olde Heritage at 919-269-4555 or visit our website.
Thanks for making such a valuable blog, sincerely Kobos Mathers.
Gucci Shoes