Power down

It isn’t hard for a homeowner to find a compelling reason to be concerned about home energy usage.

Perhaps it’s the fact gas and electric bills are cutting deeper into each paycheck. Maybe its the tax breaks authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that reward energy-efficient home improvements.

Some homeowners have even come to agree with former Vice President Al Gore that global warming is indeed an inconvenient truth.

Whatever the reason, consumers are starting to wake up to the fact the average home uses lots of energy and much of it is wasted. In a 1999 University of Michigan study reported in The University Record, researchers estimated the “energy equivalent” of 2,525 barrels of oil are consumed by the average American home over its lifetime.

Caspar Star-Tribune