Homestar Program and Energy Audit

President Obama has a new program involving official energy audits. It’s called HOMESTAR program. This program is supposed to create jobs while encouraging homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient improvements to their homes. The White House believes this program cites unemployment numbers in construction jobs at nearly 25% and says the HOMESTAR program will be “one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest things to do by putting people to work.”

Spending more money seems a little crazy right now, but the White House makes sense when they say too much energy is wasted because homes that were built in the first half of 1900’s use
fifty-percent more energy than today’s homes. An energy audit will be needed.

Upgrades such as new windows, insulated doors, new roofs and the modernizing of heating and cooling equipment will be part of the way for home owners to save money. According to White House Officials in a conference call with reporters  “if a family is looking to do an investment or upgrade in their home, this program will give them a direct and easy access to rebates, right at the point of sale or at the point of engagement with a contractor for a variety of investments they can make in their home.”

At first glance, one might gawk at the idea of the White House officials marketing this like the short-term Cash for Clunkers program. The question comes to mind where is the money coming from? More money out of thin air again? More debt for the American people? It is a hard call for sure. Of course the White defends it all with “even in the current economic environment that this kind of incentive, that is easy for a consumer to get, that is upfront and has a bit of time limited ‘get-it-while-you-can’ quality
is quite powerful.”

The bottom-line is that it is a good idea, a very good idea to have a energy audit in San Antonio or anywhere else, and if you can get much of your upgrades reimbursed from the government, well, why not!?

According to one official, . “One of the potential activities and one that is growing in popularity is including a state of the art meter and energy monitoring device in the home so that you can achieve behavioral energy savings in addition to structural energy savings.”