President Obama’s speech on energy savings and USA homestar program

President Obama addressed the Homestar Program while giving a speech for the
training facility at Savannah Technical College. If this proposal gets passed into law
then the federal government would provide rebates for windows and doors. The
Homestar program was officially unveiled, and is also called Cash for Caulkers. To
encourage more American families to invest in home improvements that save energy,
the following program has been formulated to create jobs. The president was
supported by many efficiency contractors and insulation manufacturers.

Most of you must have heard about “Energy Star” but till the President addressed this
officially in his speech, the program was not given its due credit. The sticker of this
program has been seen commonly on gadgets like microwaves and computers.
Focused on promoting energy efficiency the Energy Star creates awareness about
investing in products that conserve energy. The president extends the program from
just home appliances, to other avenues.

Most energy-efficient products including windows and insulation are manufactured in

the U.S. However, the president proposed by expanding and promoting the program
by identifying systems and building supplies that would save more energy over a
period of time. And as the president jokingly addressed, getting windows from China
was certainly not a lucrative option. Hence, manufacturing products here would
automatically create more jobs for the masses.

The decision from the White House supports another Senate Democratic leadership
proposal which focuses on consumer rebates. Most of these would be similar to
existing ones like Cash for Clunkers program along with quality assurance measures.

The targeted vendors here would include autonomous building material dealers and
huge national home improvement chains. It would employ energy efficiency
installation professionals and organize programs to market and offer rebates directly
to consumers. These would be later reimbursed by the federal government. All rebates
would be provided instantly by hardware stores or even contractors. There would be
no long queues to get checks.

The USA Homestar program and replacement windows are expected to carry a $6
billion price tag. These upgrades would be provided in homes across the country.
Consumers can gain by getting-

• More jobs
• 50 percent rebates of up to $1,000 - $1,500
• Upgrade homes and save energy
• Get combination rebates of up to $3,000 per home

The Gold Star rebate would also be offered by to consumers for getting
comprehensive energy retrofits. A $3,000 rebate can be attained for comprehensive
home energy audit and succeeding retrofit targeted for achieving 20 percent energy
savings. Additional amounts can be saved on rebate in excess of 20 percent.
State level governments would ensure implementation of quality to ensure growth of
the industry towards assured standards and all-inclusive energy retrofit practices. The
White House would seek supportive action from state and local governments for
financing consumers for installing energy efficient products in their homes.

Apart from the creation of thousands of jobs, the president aims to achieve substantial
reductions in energy usage. The savings would account up an entire output of 3 coal-
fired power plants per year.