The U.S. Department of Energy announced March 14 that $30 million was being allotted to fund more than 30 retrofit projects which will test quick, inexpensive and low-carbon building renovations in the affordable housing sector across the U.S.
Seven awardees will test renovation techniques to improve heating, cooling and hot water systems. Additionally, the DOE hopes the funding will address the climate crisis by providing the means to decarbonize America's 130 million buildings in accordance with President Joe Biden’s goals of a net-zero carbon economy by 2050. The DOE reported the building sector is responsible for 35 percent of the nation's carbon emissions.
“We’re in an all-out sprint to beat the climate crisis, and that race runs straight through our nation’s building sector,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. “Faster and more efficient construction and renovation methods that improve our nation’s supply of affordable housing are the kinds of transformative innovations we need to lower costs for working families and build a better America.”
The DOE reported there has been a lack of innovation in construction techniques since the 1800s, so the funding will be a way to modernize the industry in a way that ties it to sustainability.
