When President Obama won his second term in office, he pledged to make energy efficiency a top priority. While it took a few months for the administration to get the ball rolling, the president has begun to act on promises made in his State of the Union address to utilize executive actions in redefining the country's energy policies. 

One of the largest claims the president made was to double national energy efficiency by 2030. To accomplish this, he has designated appliance standards and building codes for federal offices as his first target for energy consumption reform. Greentech Media reports that the Obama Administration seeks to reduce carbon emissions in this area by 3 billion metric tons by the 2030 deadline, equating to roughly half of annual CO2 output. 

"Our federal government must lead by example," Obama said in a speech. "Wasting less energy […] is where we need to go."

Another of the White House's major goals is a $23 million Department of Housing and Urban Development project aimed at increasing the amount of energy efficient homes in the United States. The mission here is to expand the country's Better Buildings Challenge – a program initially aimed at private sector buildings – to include multi-family housing.

Bracken Hendricks, a senior official with the Center for American Progress (CAP), praised the plan to include residential sectors and homeowners into the energy efficiency fold.

"In recent years, building energy efficiency has been a quiet success story," he said in a statement. "This plan builds on many of the tools that have worked."

Washington D.C. residents interested in taking their own steps toward reducing their energy consumption should make an appointment with DC home inspectors. These home inspection contractors will analyze your property for ways where you can improve your home's power use and bring down your utility costs in the process.