Home performance and heat pump technologies have the power to dramatically reduce the amount of energy that U.S. homes use, reducing pollution while improving health and comfort for the people who live in them. U.S. buildings account for 35% of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions that drive the climate crisis.
The energy efficiency workforce is the largest in the U.S. clean energy industry, and it is growing quickly. The demand for more workers is expected to continue to grow in coming years.
Project planning, installation, and other technical jobs associated with these building upgrades must be performed by local workers and cannot be outsourced. The field is a potent tool to grow local economies.
These fields offer rewarding careers with features that job-seekers say they value most: a rapidly growing industry with a stable career outlook; innovative new technology; opportunities for professional growth and development; tools and skills to solve critical real-world problems; and the ability to make a positive difference to people and the environment.
But the career opportunities offered by the heating and cooling and building energy efficiency industries are not well understood by young people or their parents. We need to spread the word and recruit many more people into these career areas to stabilize our climate and improve homes.