This is not necessarily a bad idea – in fact, it makes sense

Slowly, energy efficiency making its way into building codes. Buyers won’t voluntarily pay much, if anything, for energy saving features in a home (they say they will, but believe me, they don’t). That’s probably a rational economic decision concerning a feature that may take ten years or more to pay back its cost when the buyer plans to stay in a house for just five.

But the house itself doesn’t go anywhere and, over decades, a poorly insulated house wastes a huge amount of energy. So building codes that force builders of new homes to install efficient windows, boilers and the proper amount of insulation make sense from a national policy view. I worry about the provisions in the Obama/Himes Carbon Tax bill that call for mandatory code changes for existing homes – seems like over-reaching to me, but regulating new construction seems sound. Of course, like every regulation of this sort, it will drive up the cost of housing but there you have it.

I heard a fellow on NPR the other morning explaining how, by hiring some energy audit company for $600 to seal his house, pump forced air into it and then run around caulkig and sealing leaks, his house was 50% more efficient, which was an improvement greater than he’d have achieved had he spent $30,000 for new windows. I won’t vouch for his numbers but it is certainly true that, for not much money, you can save a bundle of money and increase the comfort of your home by eliminating drafts and air leaks. Have I done that in my home? Ask me next year.