Super efficient houses make for super affordable homes
Faced with the difficult decision between heating their homes or feeding their families, can super-insulated, airtight homes really make the difference for millions of Americans?
This article was originally published by National Geographic.
With 48 million Americans living below the poverty line, many are faced with difficult decisions between, for example, heating the house or buying groceries. A passive low cost house—super-insulated and airtight to keep energy bills low—can help the poverty alleviation. Habitat for Humanity built six of them for low-income families in Washington, D.C. "It's basically as energy efficient as building gets," says Dan Hines, senior construction supervisor for the project.
The original article can be viewed on the National Geographic website
Why energy efficient homes are vital - National Geographic
Title: How Energy-Efficient Homes Can Fight Poverty
Duration: 1.14 minutes
Description:
With 48 million Americans living below the poverty line, many are faced with difficult decisions between, for example, heating the house or buying groceries. A passive house—super-insulated and airtight to keep energy bills low—can help. Habitat for Humanity built six of them for low-income families in Washington, D.C. "It's basically as energy efficient as building gets," says Dan Hines, senior construction supervisor for the project.
How Energy-Efficient Homes Can Fight Poverty Transcript:
[Background music plays]
Thoughtful, concerning music
[Animation]
Spinning globe animation with video series title
[Text]
“Empowered—Changing the World through Bright Ideas”
[Video Footage]
Cities
Power lines
Traffic
Stove top burner flame
Thermostat
Lights going on and off in buildings
[Voiceover: Dan Hines, Senior Construction Supervisor, DC Habitat]
“Everyone having access to energy in the United States isn’t the whole story. You need to be able to afford to use that access.”
[Visual of Dan Hines speaking]
[Text]
Dan Hines, DC Habitat
[Dan Hines Voiceover]
“There’s around 48 million people living below the poverty line.”
[Video Footage]
Homes covered in snow
Homes in disrepair
Poorly insulated windows
Dim light in a house blinking on and off
[Dan Hines Voiceover]
“And in a given month, if it’s too cold, they might have to choose between heating or eating”
[Video Footage]
Washington Monument in Washington, DC in the evening
[Dan Hines Voiceover]
“As part of DC Habitat’s Ivy City Project…
[Background music change]
Uplifting, busy music
[Video Footage]
People building homes
Measuring wood
Digging foundations
[Dan Hines Voiceover]
…we’re building high efficiency passive houses for low-income families to live in.”
[Video Footage]
Workers and volunteers wearing hard hats
Workers caulking
[Dan Hines Voiceover]
“Passive House is like a thermos because it’s super air-tight, and super insulated.”
[Text]
super air-tight, super insulated
[Video Footage]
Workers insulating
Putting in new windows
[Dan Hines Voiceover]
“It’s basically as energy efficient as building gets…
[Video Footage]
Areal shot of completed homes
Home “sold” sign
Hand turning heat on,
[Dan Hines Voiceover]
...when it comes to low-income homeowners, the more efficient a house is,
[Video Footage]
Coins tumbling onto a table
Calculator
Receipt being torn off
[Dan Hines Voiceover]
…the more they can budget for those energy costs.”
[Video Footage]
View out of a house window in the winter
Washington Monument in a thunderstorm
[Dan Hines Voiceover]
“They are not going to change a lot month to month.”
[Video Footage]
Many people walking in a busy city street
[Dan Hines Voiceover]
“Everybody wants to live with less impact on the world…
[Visual of Dan Hines speaking]
…around them, a lot of times people just don’t know how.”
[Video Footage]
Dan in front of Passive House buildings in progress
He puts on baseball hat and turns toward home
[Dan Hines Voiceover]
“We are empowering people by giving them an energy efficient place to live…
[Video Footage]
Homeowner couple in front of their new home
[Dan Hines Voiceover]
…that they can be proud of.”
[End frame 1]
[Split screen]
[Text display]
DC Habitat is one of the 29 real-world projects focused on innovative solutions funded by the Great Energy Challenge.
[Still image of project]
[End frame 2]
Great Energy Challenge partnership logo, www.greatenergychallenge.com
[Female Voiceover]
“The Great Energy Challenge is a National Geographic initiative in partnership with Shell”
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