As printed in the Tomball-Magnolia Times Tribune

(Washington D.C.)- The vast majority of electricity used in our nation is put into our homes and businesses. It is for this reason and so many others that we must find ways to make our nation’s buildings and houses more energy efficient.

During the past two and a half years I have served as a Member of the Science and Technology Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. This committee has several responsibilities; among them making sure our nation is doing all it can to keep energy prices down and help Americans conserve energy and, therefore save money. With these goals in mind, I have introduced legislation which would help America’s future architects and engineers work together and build significantly more energy efficient buildings and homes.

According to the most current findings, U.S. buildings consume 39 percent of our nation’s primary energy and 70 percent of its electricity. But energy efficient building practices are still at the fringes of the building sector, in part because of a lack of awareness about energy efficient technologies and design practices among building professionals. This legislation would change that by ensuring that existing building education programs develop new energy efficiency guidelines for engineers and architects. It turns out that a few Texas College students are already on board with these efforts.
This past week I met with several University of Texas students in Washington, D.C. who were participating in the Solar Decathlon. This is a competition opened to college students from around the nation which challenges them to build an energy efficient home which uses solar energy.
The homes built by the college students uses everything from solar power to energy efficient materials in the building of the homes.

While I don’t believe the majority of us are in positions to build and live in homes like those built in the Solar Decathlon, there are simple things we can check on around our own homes to make sure we are saving all the energy we can and thus, saving as much money as possible.

According to the Department of Energy, making sure you have caulk or weather striping around your doors and windows will help make sure any air leaks are plugged, saving you money when heating or cooling your home. Also, installing storm windows over single-pane windows or replacing them with double pane windows will also keep your home better insulated and better protected from the sunlight which can significantly raise the temperature in your home.

Here in Texas many of us have fireplaces and enjoy using them. However, when you’re not keeping a fire going, keep the flue damper tightly closed. A chimney is designed specifically for smoke to escape, so until you close it, warm air escapes—24 hours a day and that might as well be money going up your chimney.

These are just a few ideas from the Department of Energy to help you conserve energy in your home, oh and more thing; after your done reading this and leave the room, don’t forget to turn off the lights.

For more energy saving tips and information, visit my website at www.house.gov/mccaul or the Department of Energy’s website at www.energy.gov.