Efficiency First

Citing a study published by the Home Performance Resource Center — the nonprofit research arm of Efficiency First — New York Times blogger Kate Galbraith has post an article about how the vast majority of building materials and appliances used in energy retrofits are produced by American factories.

About 96 percent of caulking used domestically is made here, the study said, and various types of attic and wall insulation, as well as spray foam and duct sheet metal, are all over 90 percent American-manufactured. Even 96 percent of replacement windows for American buildings are made here.

Source: Home Performance Resource Center

The article quotes Efficiency First Chair Matt Golden explaining that the study was commissioned to avoid the “Buy America” provisions embedded in many aspects of federal stimulus spending. “The stuff we’re doing is so high-content domestic in the first place, that the ‘Buy America’ provisions don’t really accomplish anything,” Golden told the Times.

Golden also emphasized that while boosting demand for domestically produced insulation, caulking and other building materials will be good for American factories and retailers, materials are a relatively minor part of the cost of a typical energy efficiency retrofit:

Insulating a house, he estimated, probably breaks down to 30 percent materials and 70 percent labor — whereas for a solar panel, the materials (which may come from overseas) would absorb a greater percentage of the cost.

His point is that efficiency generates plenty of domestic jobs not only for manufacturing, but also for installation.

Read Kate Galbraith’s post here: www.greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/made-in-the-u-s-a-efficiency-materials/

Download the “Domestic Manufacturing Shares of Common Energy Remodeling Products” study  at www.hprcenter.org