Efficiency First is a nonprofit trade association that unites
- Home Performance contractors,
- residential energy consultants,
- building product manufacturers
- and other key members of America's growing green-collar workforce
Together they intend to escalate the fight against global warming. Efficiency First was founded in 2009 to represent its members in public policy discussions at the state and national levels, to promote the benefits of Home Performance retrofitting, and to help our industry grow to meet unprecedented demand for quality home retrofitting services.
Our mission is to collaborate with legislators, government agencies and professional organizations in the advancement of a performance-based market for energy efficiency that will enable rapid growth in our industry while maintaining profitability and quality of service.
"Our goal is to see a steady run rate of
10 million home retrofits per year by 2020."
According to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, residential
buildings alone generate over 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions
from fossil fuel consumption in the United States.
Because the vast
majority of America's 128 million homes do not operate anywhere near
peak efficiency, large-scale retrofitting of existing residential
buildings will play a key role in achieving significant greenhouse gas
reductions, while lowering residential energy bills, improving indoor
air quality and thermal comfort, reducing our dependence on foreign
oil, and creating millions of new jobs for American workers.
The home retrofitting industry can achieve a 25% or greater decrease in non-renewable energy
consumption by America's housing sector, leading to a 5%
decrease in the country's overall carbon emissions - equivalent to
taking half of all current passenger cars off the road.
The industry will employ at least 1.25 million American workers directly, and with the inclusion of manufacturing and other supporting industries, will generate up 6 million new green-collar jobs.