ALBUQUERQUE, NM, February 22, 2007 – Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM), the Alliance to Save Energy and several of its 30+ Power is in Your Hands partners joined New Mexico’s leading home and energy organizations today to unveil a recently-completed energy-efficiency home makeover for an Albuquerque family. The makeover showcases simple changes that all Albuquerque residents can make to dramatically increase their home’s comfort and energy efficiency while lowering the family’s energy costs.
The home energy-efficiency makeover was performed on a 60-year-old, one-story, four-bedroom, two-bath house located in the Northeast Heights that is owned by Alejandro and Teresa Porath. Materials and labor for the makeover of the Porath family’s house were provided by a number of local and national companies and agencies.
"Home energy costs are a concern for many New Mexicans, particularly seniors on fixed incomes," said Congresswoman Wilson, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "Congratulations to the Porath family on these improvements to their home. We can all learn to make our homes more efficient."
Until the makeover, the Porath family had to rely on the living room fireplace and an outdated, overtaxed heating system. The old windows throughout the house and the sparse insulation did little to keep the cold air out and the warm air inside. The heating and water bills, which combined ranged from $200-300 a month, forced Alejandro to curtail many non-essential expenses, such as Internet access for his son Abraham. Even with such cutbacks, the Poraths struggled to make monthly payments under the local energy company’s payment plan. The donated energy-efficiency improvements will lower the Porath family’s energy bills, while also increasing the family’s indoor comfort. Other donated services will lower their gasoline costs by keeping their vehicles tuned up and well maintained.
The Poraths’ situation echoes that of millions of Americans across the country. In 2007, the average U.S. household is projected to spend about $4,500 to power its home and vehicles - 20 percent more than 2004. In fact, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that America’s families will spend an average of $862 just to heat their homes this winter.
To ease this financial burden, the Alliance to Save Energy and its 31 Power is in Your Hands for-profit and nonprofit partners created the “6° of Energy Efficiency Challenge” – a nationwide campaign highlighting the important collective economic, environmental, national security, and other benefits that will come from families and communities across the U.S. “taking the challenge” to lower their energy use. (The full list of campaign partners is at www.sixdegreechallenge.org).
In New Mexico, the Power is in Your Hands partners were supported by several of the state’s leading home and energy organizations and agencies, including the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, the Central New Mexico Housing Corporation and the Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico.
In addition to Alliance President Kateri Callahan, speakers at today’s event included Rep Wilson; Ben R. Luján, commissioner, New Mexico Public Regulation Commission; Joseph Montoya, deputy director, New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority; Dr. Bruce Perlman, chief administrative officer, City of Albuquerque; Mike Richards, president, Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico; Terry Horn, vice president for customer service, PNM; and Denise McCourt, director of membership, American Petroleum Institute.
Today’s energy-efficiency home makeover demonstrates several steps consumers can take to improve their homes' energy efficiency and save money on energy bills. The measures, and the companies that supported them for the Porath home, are as follows:
- Conducting a home energy audit to determine the energy-efficiency and air-tightness of the home (conducted by CMC Energy Services and Concept One).
- Sealing the home to stop air leakage through hidden holes, gaps and cracks (demonstrated with Dow’s GREAT STUFF foam sealant).
- Insulating the home, which not only makes it more energy-efficient, but through this year also generates a federal income tax credit (installed by Knauf Insulation and Garrity Insulation).
- Installing double-pane windows to prevent drafts, keep warm air in, and cold air out (installed by the Central New Mexico Housing Corporation, courtesy of the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority).
- Installing an ENERGY STAR-labeled programmable thermostat to efficiently moderate climate control (donated by Honeywell, which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the programmable thermostat).
- Installing several “winterizing” products like door sweeps and weather-stripping (donated by Niagara Conservation), as well as energy-efficient shower heads, faucet aerators, and toilets to reduce water usage in the home (installed by members of the Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico and Build Green New Mexico).
- Replacing regular light bulbs with ENERGY STAR-labeled compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), energy-efficient alternatives that last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs and use only about one-third the energy of incandescent bulbs (donated by OSRAM SYLVANIA).
- Replacing an old water heater with a tankless water heater, which functions by instantaneously heating water as needed, instead of using energy to keep gallons of water hot around the clock (donated by Rinnai).
- Keeping the car tuned up and saving fuel by slowing down, avoiding gas-guzzling accelerations and paying attention to your tires, filters and vehicle maintenance schedules ($1,000 for a vehicle tune-up was donated by the American Petroleum Institute).
“Energy efficiency is for everyone,” said Alliance President Kateri Callahan. “We conducted a makeover of the Porath’s home to demonstrate many of the easy things people can do to improve their energy efficiency and home comfort. The Alliance to Save Energy and our national and local partners are committed to teaching consumers how to take simple steps to not only save themselves money, but also to improve their communities and help the environment. This campaign uniquely links people together to leverage individual action for the greater good.”
“When the Alliance contacted us about the plans to improve the energy efficiency of an Albuquerque family’s home, our sub-contractors at the Central New Mexico Housing Corporation immediately thought of the Poraths,” said Joseph Montoya of the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. “We’re proud to be part of this makeover and the larger 6° of Energy Efficiency campaign, and we hope it inspires all New Mexicans to join together to turn small steps into big changes.”
New Mexico House Speaker Ben Luján demonstrated his support for the Power Is In Your Hands campaign earlier this year by introducing House Joint Memorial 57 in the New Mexico Legislature. The measure honors the Alliance to Save Energy and the campaign for its “good work” and encouraging all New Mexicans to “examine the ways they may save costs and energy through home improvement.” The Joint Memorial is currently pending before the State Legislature.
“On this project, through our Build Green New Mexico program, we provided professional installation services, but there are plenty of simple steps that average homeowners can do themselves to increase their homes’ energy efficiency,” said Mike Richards. “Making these small changes can add up to a big impact – both in homeowners’ wallets and for the environment.”
Taking the 6° Challenge is easy to do on the interactive Web site, www.sixdegreechallenge.org. Consumers can test their energy-efficiency knowledge, “take the challenge” by committing to up to six steps to lower their energy use, and then challenge six friends, family or colleagues to visit the site and do the same. Visitors can also learn how their energy use, and waste, affects six key aspects of our lives -- the energy prices we pay, our home comfort, the air we breathe, our energy security, our economic well-being, and the world we leave behind -- and find out how simple actions to improve energy use can have multiple, widespread positive impacts.
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The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, economy, and national security.
The Power is in Your Hands campaign is designed to arm consumers with information and tools to manage their home energy bills; inform them about the connection between household energy use and energy prices; and inspire them to use energy efficiency to reduce their energy and thereby enhance the nation's energy security. Phase 1 was launched in winter 2005 with 23 business, government, and nonprofit partners. The Phase 2 2006-7 winter campaign has grown to 30 partners taking a creative new approach with the 6° of Energy Efficiency Challenge.