President Obama Encourages Energy Efficiency, Green Jobs

President Barack Obama on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in New York, Monday, September 21, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.

During President Obama's Late Show appearance, he suggested that he might look to jump-start job creation by retrofitting old buildings to make them more energy efficient. "Doing that one thing could put hundreds of thousands of people back to work," he said.

While visiting Hudson Valley Community College earlier in the day, Obama said training at schools like Hudson Valley will allow American workers to repair the nation's infrastructure, retrofit homes and buildings with solar panels and build an environmentally friendly energy grid.

Click here to learn how you can make your home more energy efficient, more comfortable and healthy.

Panosonic's LED Lightbulb

Is $40 too much for a lightbulb?

How often do you change lightbulbs? Every few months, maybe? Well, when Panasonic's new LED bulbs hit shelves, change that time frame from months to decades.

Yes, these insanely efficient bulbs keep shining and shining, providing the brightness of a traditional 60-watt bulb. Of course, they won't be cheap, with pricing set at about $40 a bulb in Japan when they hit stores in October. But seeing as they cost a mere $2 to run per year in energy costs and last 19 years, that seems like a good deal in the long run. - dvice.com

BrightHome Honda Fit

BrightHome has added several Honda Fits to its fleet and we love 'em!

If you see one of these cars in your neighborhood, you know your neighbor is about to save money, reduce home energy use and make their home more comfortable.

The Fit placed first in a Car and Driver comparison of seven Economy cars and Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com named the 2009 Fit one of its 2009 Top 10 Green Cars.

Senate Passes Green Jobs/ Green NY Initiative

Now is the time to make your home a BrightHome. We're thrilled about the actions New York State and NYSERDA is taking to be more energy conscious.

In a major step toward rebuilding New York’s crippled economy and rescuing the state’s energy consumers, the State Senate today passed, by a vote of 52-8, the Green Jobs/Green NY Act of 2009 (S5888).

This landmark legislation will create 14,000 family-sustaining jobs with the goal of retrofitting one million homes, businesses, and not for profits in the next five years, reducing carbon emissions caused by outmoded construction, and saving New Yorkers upwards of $1 billion annually in energy savings.

How it Works:

· The program will be funded with revenue raised by the auction of carbon emission credits through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. This funding will be used to leverage private and federal investments. The bill allocates $112 million from these auctions to NYSERDA. Auctions of carbon emission credits over the last two years raised $126 million, with an estimated $75 million more expected in the next two auctions this year alone.

· NYSERDA will establish a revolving loan program to provide up to $13,000 per residential customer to retrofit a home, and up to $26,000 to retrofit each qualifying business, and also conduct energy audits, program administration and a credit enhancement for critical private sector capital investments.

· In partnership with the Department of Labor, NYSERDA will also create workforce training programs throughout the state to ensure that the state’s workforce is highly trained and in place to handle mass-scale retrofitting.

We've Hired 3 New Energy Savings Consultants!

Meet Tom, Jay & Mike -- Say hello if you see them around town...

Tom Brown is the lead auditor and is certified by the Building Performance Institute as a Building Analyst and a Building Envelope Specialist. Tom has more than five years experience in home construction and remodeling and has performed hundreds of comprehensive home energy assessments in New York area homes. Tom is passionate in making your homes energy efficient and more comfortable while saving his customers money.

Jay Latella serves as the heating and cooling specialist and has over 24 years experience in commercial and residential HVAC sales and service. Jay is HVAC certified by the Building Performance Institute as a Building Analyst and also as a Building Envelope Specialist. He has also completed his BPI Heating Specialist training and testing and is awaiting his final certification. With Jay’s “house as a system” perspective, he has a unique ability to recommend the proper heating and cooling system to make you more comfortable and your home energy efficient.


Mike Waldron is our construction project manager and has more than 28 years of home remodeling and new home construction experience. Mike is the lead auditor and is certified by the Building Performance Institute as a Building Analyst and a Building Envelope Specialist. He is committed to delivering superior customer service and a fair price.