Source: Capitol City Scaffolding & Equipment Company, Inc.
Apparently, yes. Based on a new report from the Home Performance Resource Center, home elevation and weatherization are more American than apple pie.
Or at the very least, the apples.
As noted Friday on The New York Times blog “Green Inc.”, researchers from the consulting firm Newport Partners found that a remarkably high percentage of the inputs for domestic home weatherization are produced in the United States. Using data from the 2007 Economic Census, the authors found that more than 90% of the duct sheet metal (99.4%), vinyl windows (98.4%), caulking (95.7%), and attic insulation (93.7%) used in the United States were manufactured domestically. That same year, only 91% of the apples consumed in the U.S. were grown here.
We’re not trying to take the comparison between apples and orange insulation too far, but the point remains that when it comes to home efficiency materials, “Buy American” isn’t so much a rallying cry for beleaguered manufacturers as it is a description of the status quo.
Source: Home Performance Resource Center
Given the potential synergies between home efficiency repairs and home elevation (something we’ve mentioned before on our blog), a campaign to benefit construction and bolster household resilience could also boost jobs in domestic manufacturing.
With more than one out of every fourteen Louisiana jobs in the manufacturing sector, this work would provide a stimulus for both installation contractors and industrial companies in the Pelican State. It’s all the more reason why the proposed HOME STAR program should take the logical step of including home elevation within eligible activities for weatherization grants.
Wouldn’t that be something to celebrate this Fourth of July?