Today, home-energy retrofit projects are among the most lucrative new green careers out there. Green careers in home energy pay very well and are on the rise. This is because the United States is involved in a total home retrofit movement, intended to make older homes, and in some ways even newer homes, more "green", or energy efficient. These home retrofits will save homeowners money, while also making homes reduce their carbon footprint.

Home-energy retrofit projects are also referred to in the following ways: green retrofit, deep energy retrofit, and home performance retrofit. They maintain and preserve homes, making them more energy efficient and less polluted on the interior.

Some of the steps involved in home energy retrofit can be achieved by the home owners themselves, but green careers in home energy retrofit projects would have to do with commercialized, more complex procedures such as purchasing distressed properties and fixing them up so that they are certifiably green. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has put hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into its "Retrofit Ramp-Up" program.

Some of the basic things involved with home energy retrofits include:

• Outfitting home interiors with compact fluorescent light bulbs

• Implementing programmable thermostats

• Performing caulking and weather stripping work on the home's interior to get rid of air leaks and draughts

• Installing custom-fitted windows and doors with low-E glass for superior heat and coolant retention and improved indoor air quality