Where we are

We currently build most of our new buildings without taking their ability to maintain temperature into consideration. Even worse, most of the buildings that currently stand also were built without any thought given to their ability to keep heat and cold in or out of the home. This results in homes that spend half of their energy on heating and cooling, just to send that nice air outside and need to adjust the temperature of new air.

Fortunately, we aren't waiting on any fancy new technology to fix this. All it takes is a bit of knowledge and a willingness to do something about it. Unlike some of the other things on this website, where we are pretty much just waiting for some technological breakthrough, this is something that anyone can do to their homes right now.

There is another positive thing to note about the current situation, which is the fact this issue is receiving new attention and funding in the United States as a part of the federal stimulus bill. If you were ever unsure what weatherizing homes meant, it refers to this process of making the building envelope more efficient and less permeable to air that has already been properly conditioned.