Aerosol Duct Sealing Ranks Top On Feds Energy-Savings List
Whether you’re a homeowner or the facility manager of a commercial complex, saving energy can mean huge financial savings. But once you’ve done the easy stuff like replacing light bulbs and lowering thermostats, finding the truly effective strategies for reducing energy usage can be more difficult. There is a growing number of energy-saving technologies entering the market and vying for our attention so cutting through the hype and identifying the most effective and cost effective choices requires a team of experts to decipher.
Luckily, we all have that team of experts.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) was created to help Federal agencies (the nation’s largest energy consumers) reduce their energy usage. To help accomplish this goal, the agency studied and tested the various energy-saving solutions on the market, scoring each on their effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and probability of success. The technologies were divided up into several different industry categories and given a final weighted score.
Which technologies were rated the highest? The top three technologies in the HVAC category include condensing boilers, commercial ground source heat pumps and aerosol duct sealing. And while the FEMP technology deployment list specifies that condensing boilers and heat pumps are most appropriate for specific building types, duct sealing is suggest “for most building applications.”
This is particularly good news for Aeroseal service providers looking for leads to new opportunities. That same FEMP list is being leveraged by the Better Business Challenge, a program that is signing up commercial and industrial building owners that have made a public commitment to reduce their building energy use 20 percent over the next 20 years. The growing list of participants – including world brands like Macy’s, 3M, Best Buy and Sprint – are using the FEMP list of suggested energy-saving options as one of the guiding tools provided by the U.S. Department of Energy.
And it doesn’t stop there. This past December, the Obama Administration extended its Better Building Challenge to include multifamily housing. As more and more businesses get involved, the more are learning that aerosol duct sealing is one of the very best ways to save energy and reduce building operational costs.
In the first year of the program alone, more than 50 showcase projects and nearly 40 implementation models have been launched. More than $1.1 billion (about 2/3rds of committed financing) has been extended to energy efficiency projects. Aeroseal dealers and others looking to offer their services to program participants can review the current list of committed organizations through the government program’s website. 
