Powering Affordability: Why America Should Invest in the Homes We Already Have
In this report, Groundswell and Groundwork Collaborative demonstrate that the energy crisis can’t be solved without also solving the housing crisis. By investing in our existing housing, we can reduce energy waste, decrease demand on the grid, lower electricity bills for families, and create safer, healthier, and more prosperous futures.
This paper makes the case for an integrated approach and issues calls to action for policymakers to confront these challenges head-on: investing in long-neglected home repairs and energy efficiency improvements to preserve the family home as a foundation for American prosperity, delivering near-term relief that lowers household energy bills and home maintenance costs, and unlocking energy savings that free up capacity on the electricity grid to help power the country’s future. By aligning programs and data and investing at the scale the moment demands, we can preserve America’s housing stock, strengthen household stability, help support future grid stability, and fight back against an unprecedented cost of living crisis that is plaguing families across the nation.
Powering Affordability lays out five practical recommendations for policymakers, utilities, and regulators to make it simpler for families to get help, put more dollars into homes instead of red tape, and treat every repaired home as part of a stronger, more affordable energy future. Download the full report to learn how investing in our neighbors’ homes can lower bills, protect family wealth, and keep homes standing for the next generation.
THE GROUNDSWELL WAY
The last mile is our first mile.
The last mile of infrastructure — roads, broadband, the grid — is where people are served. At the community center, and at the kitchen table. That’s where we start.
WHAT WE DO
From porch to policy.
Affordability
Cutting bills and making the repairs and upgrades homes need.
Resilience
Building physical, democratic, and economic resilience where we work.
National leadership
Leading the national conversation and setting the model others follow.
HOW WE WORK
In partnership with communities,
we make lasting change, at scale.
1
We braid
We combine funding sources, so partners and families skip the red tape.
2
We bridge
We connect utilities, governments, and tech companies to the people they’re trying to serve.
3
We build
We build durable home and community resilience that delivers real benefit.
We care. We show up for the long haul, with and for the communities we serve.
THE RECEIPTS
Grounded scale, proven trust.
Every $1 of core support unlocks more than $12+ in corporate, government, and incentive funding in 2026.
Net Promoter Score from the homes we serve (on a scale of –100 to +100).
$46K
What a $10K investment in one home unlocks over 20 years in matching funds, savings, and wealth.
WHAT RESILIENCE SOUNDS LIKE
“The stress level has come way down. I don’t panic the minute I see the bill.”
-SOUL program homeowner