"Insulation is sexy" was President Obama's message today, as he urged Congress to provide temporary incentives to Americans who want to retrofit their homes to make them more energy efficient.

The idea is one of the new initiatives the White House announced last week to help spur job creation as the nation faces 10% unemployment and the president's critics argue he has not done enough to help put people back to work.

Clean energy has long been a key part of the president's agenda. As a candidate, Obama often spoke about investments in renewable energy that he said would create 21st century jobs that could not be exported. Today at a Home Depot near Washington, he talked about how helping update older, inefficient homes would create jobs and help the environment in the process.

"I know the idea may not be very glamorous, although I get really excited about it," Obama chuckled as he described the discussion at a roundtable on job creation he took part in just before his remarks. "Insulation is sexy stuff."

The president went on to explain what he meant, saying that what's sexy about insulation is its ability to help save people money.

"Think about it this way, if you haven't upgraded your home yet, it's not just heat or cool air that's escaping, it's energy and money that you are wasting," he said. "If you saw $20 bills just sort of floating through the window up into atmosphere you'd try to figure out how you were gonna keep that, but that's exactly what's happening because of the lack of efficiency in our buildings."

Obama said a report from Vice President Joe Biden showed that, due to Recovery Act investments, a "major transformation of our economy is well underway" and that the country was on track to double renewable energy production and double the capacity to produce clean energy components -- like wind turbines solar panels -- in the United States by 2012. Recovery Act investments mean the about half a million American homes will have been upgraded by this time next year, he said, arguing the incentives he has proposed would go even further.

In a reference to the climate change debate, Obama reiterated his argument that clean energy is "a powerful engine" for growth and a job creator not a job destroyer.

"In the debate that's going on about climate change right now, a lot of people say we can't afford to deal with these emissions to the environment, but the fact of the matter is energy efficiency is a perfect example of how this can be a win win," he said, explaining that manufacturers win because they produce the materials needed for the retrofitting.

The president heads to Copenhagen later this week, where countries from around the globe are working toward an agreement to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Obama ended his brief remarks with a return to the sexy theme.

"See, I told you, insulation is sexy," he said to laughter and applause.

With winter coming, We thought it was important to review a few simple tips to help you winterize your home and save some money in the process. Most of these tips are really simple, cost little, and can help reduce your energy bill – thus helping both your wallet and the environment! Insulate your attic. One of the easiest ways to save some money is to ensure that you have at least 12 inches of insulation in your attic. Hot air rises and through the attic is where it’ll go unless you sufficient insulate it. The rule of thumb is that if you can see your ceiling joists (the wooden beams), you don’t have enough because those are often shorter than 12 inches.

Turn off exterior water lines. Chances are you won’t be using any of the water faucets outside of your home, so shut the valve that allows water to those exterior bibs. This prevents the water inside from freezing and cracking your pipes.

Wrap your water boiler. Since it’ll be cold, it’s more important than ever to invest in a water heater blanket and warp your water heater so it loses less heat into the ambient air.

Open the blinds in sunny rooms. Be sure to keep the blinds open on any rooms that get a lot of sun, ever little bit of extra heat can help keep those bills down.

Get a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats can help you save a ton of money by only turning on when you most need it. All HVAC systems work the same way – they are either on or off (there’s no low, medium, or high intensity setting). If you can keep your system off when you’re not home or when you’re asleep, you can save yourself a lot of money. They are easy to install and often break-even (cost vs. savings) within the first year.

Consider lowering the temperature setting on your thermostat. A lower temperature means the system is on less, so try lowering the temperature a degree at a time. You’ll either adjust or reach a point where the temperature is far too low. Either way, you’ll find your sweet spot where your wallet meets your body’s needs. There’s no sense dropping the temperature so low that you get sick, that just doesn’t make financial sense. And put on a sweater.

Replace your HVAC air filter. I recently replaced my air filter after the fall season and noticed it was remarkably dirty despite our limited use (Maryland is fairly temperate so we don’t use our HVAC system much in the fall). During the winter, when the system will run more often, it’s good to replace it monthly so that you don’t have a dirty air filter ruining the efficiency of the system.

Flip the switch on your ceiling fan. This one is really easy, just flip the rotation direction on your ceiling fans. As hot air rises in the winter, you want the fan to blow upward and slowly. This circulates the hot air back down into the room. When it becomes warmer, you want the fans to blow downward and quickly to cool you off.

Install window insulators. Window insulators are simply plastic sheets you tape up over windows to add an extra layer of protection from the cold. This is especially effective if you have drafty windows as the head from your home can easily escape from those spaces. If you have especially drafty or old windows (especially if they’re single pane), consider replacing them. Window replacements fall under the renewed energy tax credits for 2009 explained next.

Home energy improvement tax credit returns in 2009. In 2007 and 2008, you could get a tax credit for energy saving home improvements of up to $500 (calculated based on what on the home improvement. We took advantage by replacing our 20-year old drafty windows and sliding doors with Energy Star compliant versions. It had expired on 1/1/08 but the federal tax credits for energy efficiency have been brought back through the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (that’s the bailout bill) and is valid on all improvements made during 2009 (2008 improvements will not receive this credit). The limits for the credit remain the same, $500 over 2006, 2007, and 2009 (which means we’ve already used our allotment); but this makes it available for people who didn’t take advantage of the credit the first time.

1. Insulation saves energy and money. Insulation in an empty loft can pay for itself in just over 1 year because you don’t need to put your heating or air-conditioning on as much which lowers your energy bills. Insulating both cavity walls and lofts can save a household from $200 every year in heating costs.

2. It helps fight global warming and climate change. If every home in the usa installed cavity wall and loft insulation CO2 emissions would be cut by 10.8 million.

3. It makes your house more comfortable to live in. Your home will be warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

4. It’s important to choose the right kind of insulation. Cellulose is very good at fitting around items in walls like pipes and wiring leaving few air pockets that can reduce the overall efficiency of the wall. It also seals walls from air infiltration while providing the density to limit convection. The University of Colorado School of Architecture and Planning did a study that compared two seemingly identical test structures, one with cellulose and the other with fiberglass. The cellulose structure had used 26.4% less energy to heat. It also was shown to tighten the structure more than 30%. Subsequent real world surveys have cellulose performing 20-30% better at reducing energy used for heating than fiberglass.

5. It increases resistance of your home to fire. Insulation made out of cellulose can protect your home from fire. A1 fire classification highly fire resistant.