CleanEdison offers White House free energy audit

On Oct. 7th, after news that the Obama Administration was planning to install solar panels on the White House roof, green-building training company CleanEdison sent a proposal for a free energy audit to the Energy & Climate Change department at the White House.

Energy audits are recommended by solar power contractors before an installation of photovoltaic panels to maximize the efficiency of the new solar-energy system. The company offered to perform an energy audit because it is standard industry procedure to have one before and after an installation of solar panels to determine energy efficiency within a building, said David Kleppe of CleanEdison. This can be used to figure out where, why, and how energy is being lost, and provide a starting point for energy-efficiency improvements.

In April, the White House was offered a free installation of solar panels by Sungevity, a solar installation firm, along with the environmental organization 350, but turned it down.

Some (like Andrew Leonard at Salon.com) have speculated that Obama wanted to avoid a correlation between his administration and that of President Carter’s—who had previously installed solar panels on the White House, which were later removed my President Reagan—in fears that the GOP would use the similarity to call Obama into question. But on Oct. 5, the Obama Administration showed its commitment to renewable energy by announcing that the White House would be installing solar panels on its roof.

So will Obama take CleanEdison up on the energy audit?

“The White House has yet to respond to the offer,” said Kleppe.

It is not clear whether or not the White House will have an audit performed before installing the panels, either with CleanEdison or another company.

Image taken by Scott Ableman.