Biden unveils plan to score homes for energy efficiency

From Bill Robinson at Train2Rebuild

Green House — USA TODAY: U.S. homeowners will be able to get low-cost energy audits that rank a home's efficiency on a scale of one to 10 and get federally insured loans for upgrades, under an Obama administration plan to be announced today.

With the new Home Energy Score, consumers will find out how their home compares with others and how much money they could save by adding insulation, sealing air leaks or doing other upgrades.Nine U.S. communities will test the score, similar to a miles-per-gallon label for cars, before it's rolled out nationally next summer.

Vice President Joe Biden, facing center, dicusses home weatherization at a private home in Manchester, N.H., on August 26, He's slated to announce Tuesday a new initiative to score homes for energy efficiency and offer low-cost audits and federally-insured homes for upgrades.

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By Cheryl Senter, AP

"Together, these programs will grow the home retrofit industry and help middle-class families save money and energy," says Vice President Joe Biden, who plans to unveil the initiative at a meeting of his Middle Class Task Force.

This story is at content.usatoday.com