Welch promotes energy efficiency

By Matt Ryan • Free Press Staff Writer • March 17, 2009

Jason Van Driesche and Susan Munkres knew the house they bought at 129 Caroline St. in Burlington in July was a real fixer-upper.

The two story-home, built in 1931, needed "major, major work," Van Driesche, 37, said. Months of work. Van Driesche; Munkres, 40; and their 2-year old daughter Amelia moved in in December.

By that time, however, contractors had retrofitted the home to a higher standard of energy efficiency. Van Driesche said he paid half of what the previous owners paid to heat the house through the winter, a savings of about $1,300.

Rep. Peter Welch invited media to the house Monday to announce his $10 billion bill -- $2.5 billion a year over four years -- aimed at encouraging home and business owners to follow Van Driesche and Munkres' example.

The bill, which Welch said he plans to introduce to Congress this week, would provide cash grants and tax incentives upward of $3,000 to homeowners who make their buildings more energy efficient. The amount of the reward would reflect the amount of increased efficiency, Welch said.

Although more efficient homes ultimately save their owners money, the cost to get started tends to hold people at bay, Welch said. After Van Driesche and Munkres junked their cast-iron boiler, they spent about $20,000 on a new, natural gas-powered, radiant heating system with a smaller, wall-mounted boiler. The couple took out a no-interest loan from Vermont Gas to help cover the cost.

Mark Yurcek, owner of Radiant Works in Winooski, and his two employees installed the system. Yurcek's company installs about a dozen such systems in homes annually.

Van Driesche and Munkres also paid to have their home insulated and air sealed, and bought compact fluorescent bulbs for all their lights.

Welch said his bill would save homeowners money, reduce the causes of climate change and create jobs.

Michael Rogers, vice president of Green Homes America, said every 12 homes his company fixes up creates one more company job. Rogers supported Welch's bill at Monday's news conference.

"We can't export the jobs to China," Rogers said. "They have to be here. They have to be in Vermont."

Green Homes America has an office in Burlington, as well as offices in New York and New Jersey, but has yet to work on a Vermont home, Rogers said. Welch's bill, if passed, would help the company break into the Green Mountain State, Rogers said.