Background
Since most
of the energy conservation that can be achieved in a household is
in the house structure, the proposals begin with housing. They take
into account the recession in the housing industry and its key
position in the economy. A basic assumption is that policies to
introduce energy conserving features into the existing housing
stock and into new housing can contribute substantially to economic
growth and stability.
It is
urgent to begin now. Rehabilitating or retrofitting housing that is
now standing and occupied comes first, because a year's
construction of new housing, even in the best of times when housing
volume is greatest, adds less than 4 percent to the total supply.
Also, the present housing stock includes about four million
occupied dwellings that are substandard. In addition, nine million
homes that are in moderate to very cold climates had no insulation
in 1973, 12 million had no storm doors, over 20 million had one or
more extra large windows, most of which were not double glazed and
were not protected by storm sash.
Each year
many households buy a new furnace or water heater. Many homeowners
may want to switch to a less energy consuming kind or to one that
is less expensive to run. Some homes just need weather stripping or
caulking around windows. Others need replacements for windows or
doors. Still others require major structural improvements, such as
a sound roof, to prevent substantial leakage and permit the use of
improved kinds of insulation.
The need
for these important improvements in the existing stock, and for new
housing that incorporates energy saving design features, comes at a
time when the housing industry is in the doldrums and builders
might gladly adjust to energy and conservation criteria. Housing
starts in the first half of 1974 were at their lowest in seven
years, and building permits, which precede new home building, had
dropped even more than starts.
Expectations for the housing industry in 1974
were gloomy for many reasons. Among the most important were high
and rising interest rates and construction costs and, therefore,
increasing prices and rents. All except the well off were priced
out of the housing market. The median price for new one-family
homes was $34,700 in May 1974—the highest on record, and 25
percent above the median in 1972.
Because the
volume of new housing has plummeted and vacancy rates have been
lower in the seventies than in the sixties, the supply of
existing