Episode #7
Efficient homes are affordable homes with Eric Fowler
In 2025, over one-third of U.S. households skipped or cut back on medication, food, or other necessities to pay an energy bill. A quarter were unable to pay an energy bill in full, and in 2024, 2.7 million households had their utility service shut off due to non-payment. A lack of affordable housing, rising energy bills, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions threaten the health and wellbeing of all Americans. These interconnected problems won’t go away on their own. Energy prices are likely to keep going up. But despite volatility and upward pressure on energy prices, there is still a lot that Minnesota’s decision makers can do to keep bills from skyrocketing. One of the best policy tools we have to address these problems is the energy code: by making our homes more energy efficient, we can also make them more affordable and emit fewer climate-polluting gases. In this podcast episode, Eric Fowler and Isak Kvam go deep on why efficient homes are affordable homes and what role the energy code has to play. Additional reading from the Fresh Energy blog: Efficient homes are affordable homes, Pt. 1 Efficient homes are affordable homes, Pt. II Fresh Energy’s mission is to shape and drive bold policy solutions to achieve equitable carbon-neutral economies. Together we are working toward a vision of a just, prosperous, and resilient future powered by a shared commitment to a carbon-neutral economy. Learn about Fresh Energy's work and our bold "Vision 2030: Fresh Energy's Strategic Framework" at our website fresh-energy.org. Follow us on Social Media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshenergytoday/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/freshenergy.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshenergytoday LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fresh-energy/
