HUD Secretary Donovan Tours Baltimore to Learn About City’s Commitment to Make MultifamilyHousing More Energy Efficient (MD Housing Blog)

MD Housing Blog
(2/4/2014 5:22 AM, MD Housing Blog)

Baltimore – Secretary Skinner joined U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on a tour of the Cherry Hill Homes to highlight the energy efficiency updates implemented under the Obama administration’s Better Buildings Challenge.

In December, Baltimore became an inaugural partner as multifamily housing owners committed to cutting energy use in their buildings by 20 percent within 10 years.

About a quarter of U.S. households live in multifamily housing units and spend about $40 billion on energy costs each year. Making these housing units 20 percent more energy efficient would save more than $7 billion per year and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 430 million tons. As part of the Better Buildings Challenge, DOE and the HUD are partnering with leading private and affordable buildings owners and public housing agencies to cut energy waste and help families save money.