Before Obama Made It 'Sexy': Trailblazing Caulkers

(Dec. 15) -- Home insulation is "sexy," President Barack Obama declares.

"Here's what's sexy about it: It saves money," he said at a Home Depot in northern Virginia. This morning the president made a pitch for a set of tax incentives, dubbed "Cash for Caulkers," to encourage retrofits of existing homes as a way of reducing unemployment and energy usage while lowering utility bills for homeowners.

For all the hype, though, "Cash for Caulkers" is merely following in the footsteps of private-sector programs in motion for years. Even without government incentives, many companies have long sold green retrofits as a way of saving the environment and money on energy bills. Here are a few that have been caulking since before Obama made it sexy:

One Green Home at a Time: In Baltimore, a company called Bridge Private Lending is providing financing for professional rehabbers to train in new green techniques and technologies. The project, One Green Home at a Time, focuses on turning boarded-up row houses in low-income areas of east Baltimore into modern, energy-efficient homes.

The company stressed the economic value of green rehabs even before government incentives. While green technologies are often criticized as toys for the rich, the company argues that the technologies stand to make the biggest difference in the lives of the poor.

High-Profile: One of the most ambitious so-called "green rehabs" is slated to take place in one of the country's most iconic buildings: the Empire State Building. Over the next four years, the owners hope to be able to save 38 percent on their energy bills, translating to an annual savings of $4.4 million, paying back the renovation costs in only three years.

"They're showing the rest of the city that existing buildings, no matter how tall they are, no matter how old they are, can take steps to significantly reduce their energy consumption," Mayor Michael Bloomberg told The New York Times.

Big Industry: The fact that buildings should be designed for energy efficiency is nothing new in large industry; factories dating back to 19th century used a sawtooth shape in their roof design to maximize the use of natural light.

Pittsburgh-based Limbach Energy Solutions has been streamlining energy usage in industry since 1901. The techniques -- hot water heat, modern air conditioners and insulated windows -- are similar to those used in small projects, just scaled up. Because factories built in the mid-20th century can be fantastically wasteful, streamlining what few production centers remain in this country could save their owners millions.

Sustainable Growth in Houston: Air conditioning can be one of the biggest energy drains on a modern building, and Houston has that air conditioning in spades. The high cost of cooling the average Houston building may be why the city already has incentives to weatherize homes as part of its Residential Energy Efficiency Program. The city has retrofitted 700 homes since 2006 at no cost to the residents, advertising electrical bill reductions of 12 to 18 percent each month. In October, the program received $23.4 million in federal funding to expand the program.

With considerable caulk money possibly on the way, it would be worth looking into the best way to use it. The U.S. Green Building Council's Green Home Guide is a good resource for green construction practices and materials.