News in cooperation with eceee.org

Healthy homes for all: the untapped power of energy efficiency programs

(ACEEE blog, 5 May 2020) Just stay home. It’s the most important thing that many of us can do during the COVID-19 pandemic—for our own safety and for public health. For those fortunate enough to have safe, comfortable, healthy homes, this quarantine may be manageable. Millions of Americans, however, live in homes that are uncomfortable or even unsafe.

Just stay home. It’s the most important thing that many of us can do during the COVID-19 pandemic—for our own safety and for public health. For those fortunate enough to have safe, comfortable, healthy homes, this quarantine may be manageable. Millions of Americans, however, live in homes that are uncomfortable or even unsafe.

Home energy efficiency and healthy-home improvements are usually treated separately. However, according to an ACEEE report released today, nearly $3 billion can be saved by using existing energy efficiency programs to tackle a small group of health harms: fatal falls, asthma attacks, and exposures to extreme heat and cold.

This integrated approach saves money and lives: more than $2 billion over the next decade by avoiding falls and more than half a billion dollars from improved asthma outcomes. The report offers new tools for calculating these benefits.

External link

ACEEE blog, 5 May 2020: Healthy homes for all: the untapped power of energy efficiency programs