Energy efficiency measures can be tremendously impactful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore mitigating the climate crisis. For instance, in the year after the Weatherization Assistance Program received significant funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, they were able to reduce an estimated 7.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from residential sector emissions—the equivalent of taking 1.6 million cars off the road for a year—by weatherizing about 340,000 low-income homes. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! According to a 2019 report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, optimizing energy efficiency across all sectors could halve energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the so-called United States by 2050. They estimate that about a third of the carbon dioxide emission cuts could come from energy-saving measures implemented in the residential sector, with the other most significant cuts coming from the industrial sector, higher-efficiency vehicles and electric vehicles, and expanded transit options.

To avoid the most extreme climate scenarios and preserve the livability of the planet, it is imperative to swiftly and steeply curtail the global use of fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy. Significantly reducing energy demand will make it much easier to do so. As Jason Hickel explains in Less is More, “If we want the transition [from fossil fuels] to be technically feasible, ecologically coherent and socially just, we need to disabuse ourselves of the fantasy that we can carry on growing aggregate energy demand at existing rates.” He elaborates that all renewable energy projects combined continue to only cover a fraction of new energy demand, lamenting, “Growth keeps outstripping our best efforts to decarbonize.” Energy efficiency measures can help reign in energy demand and give renewable energy the opportunity to overtake fossil fuels. And, since renewable energy infrastructure is not created out of thin air, and can sometimes have serious environmental and social repercussions (see: the devastating costs of large-scale lithium mining, for instance), energy efficiency efforts can help to minimize the harms associated with rapid decarbonization.

Energy efficiency is arguably one of the most effective water conservation strategies since traditional electric power generation is incredibly water intensive. Power plants around the globe collectively consume multiple trillions of gallons of water each year. As the climate crisis exacerbates widespread droughts and water scarcity, meaningfully reducing energy demand will help preserve precious water locally.

Energy-saving retrofit and weatherization programs have tremendous potential to lower utility bills for those most impacted by high energy burdens (i.e. the proportion of household income spent on energy costs). Low-income and communities of color spend an average of 7.2% of their income on utilities as compared to higher-income households, who spend just 2.3%, and that disparity is directly related to the poor energy efficiency of older buildings, which often have inefficient appliances, aging heating systems, and poor insulation, and rental units, which tend to be upgraded less frequently than owner-occupied homes (note: centuries of systemic racism and racist financial lending practices and housing policies, particularly redlining, have excluded communities of color, and particularly Black folks, from homeownership, resulting in significantly lower home ownership rates compared to white families). Emily Pontecorvo explains in an article about the potential benefits of energy disclosure requirements for landlords, “Landlords also don’t have much incentive to pay for deeper retrofits like air sealing, window replacements, insulation, or more efficient appliances, since they typically aren’t paying the energy bills. The result is that rental units consume 15 percent more energy per square foot than owner-occupied homes in the U.S.” A 2016 study by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy and Energy Efficiency for All found that simply bringing rental units up to median energy efficiency standards could eliminate excess energy burdens for a whopping 97% of renting households!

Community-wide energy efficiency efforts alleviate strain on the power grid, particularly amid extreme weather events when air-conditioning or heating systems may be working overtime. Energy efficiency can therefore help improve grid reliability when folks depend on power the most. If homes do lose power, though, a well-insulated, airtight home can retain heating or stay cool for a longer period of time, reducing health risks like hypothermia, heat stroke, and other impacts associated with heat and cold stress. In fact, during a power outage in cold weather, people inside a home built in the 1980s are expected to experience severe cold stress after the first 23 hours or so, whereas folks inside a passive home, with ample insulation, are expected to have 152 hours, or more than 6 days, before experiencing severe cold stress. As extreme weather intensifies and becomes more frequent, and as power outages become more common, weatherized homes will play a crucial role in keeping folks safe amidst and after disasters.

Energy efficiency programs create wide-ranging employment opportunities in construction, engineering, manufacturing, consulting, and beyond. Many energy efficiency jobs are highly skilled, well paying, and require on-site work, so they can’t be outsourced. The energy efficiency subsector currently employs 2.2 million people- more than twice as many workers as all fossil fuel industries combined and has the potential to employ many more. Particularly as more and more fossil fuel jobs are phased out, energy efficiency programs offer a promising pathway to more stable, living-wage, local jobs.

By adding insulation, sealing up holes in walls and windows, and updating appliances, windows, and equipment, weatherization programs can also help to stabilize indoor temperatures, improve ventilation, prevent indoor moisture and mold, remove toxic gases and irritating particulates from the air, and upgrade overall comfort and air quality. Therefore, weatherized homes can improve respiratory and cardiovascular health, alleviate allergies, asthma, and headaches, and boost mental wellbeing.