Cash for Caulkers – The Definitive Guide To The Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010

“Cash for Caulkers” is nearly here. Last month the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5019 – also known as the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 or “Cash for Caulkers” – to kick-start construction, create jobs and cut back carbon emissions. While the bill still needs to clear the Senate, supporters predict it will pass this summer.

This is great news for homeowners and contractors alike. The bill provisions $6 billion for energy-efficient or “green” retrofits. It is expected to fund renovations for 3 million families, create 168,000 new jobs and save consumers $9.2 billion on energy bills over the next 10 years.

But in order to cash in on upcoming rebates, homeowners and contractors will need to do their homework. There are 13 types of retrofits eligible for funding. Each retrofit has unique eligibility requirements and set rebate amounts. You can read the full text here.

We made it really easy to wade through the legalese. Below is a table that breaks down the 13 retrofits of the bill, along with the requirements and rebate amount for each. In addition to the requirements we listed, each retrofit must comply with Building Performance Institute (BPI) standards or other procedures to be approved by the Secretary of Energy.

Vice President Biden will today kick off five days of administration events around the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with the announcement of the selection of 25 communities for up to $452 million in Recovery Act funding to “ramp-up” energy efficiency building retrofits. Under the Department of Energy’s Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative, communities, governments, private sector companies, and non-profit organizations will work together on pioneering and innovative programs for concentrated and broad-based retrofits of neighborhoods and towns—and eventually entire states. These partnerships will support large-scale retrofits and make energy efficiency accessible to hundreds of thousands of homeowners and businesses. The models created through this program are expected to save households and businesses about a $100 million annually in utility bills, while leveraging private sector resources, to create what funding recipients estimate at about 30,000 jobs across the country during the next three years.

“For forty years, Earth Day has focused on transforming the way we use energy and reducing our dependence on fossil fuel—but this year, because of the historic clean energy investments in the Recovery Act, we’re poised to make greater strides than ever in building a nationwide clean energy economy,” said Vice President Biden. “This investment in some of the most innovative energy-efficiency projects across the country will not only help homeowners and businesses make cost-cutting retrofit improvements, but also create jobs right here in America.”

“This initiative will help overcome the barriers to making energy efficiency easy and accessible to all—inconvenience, lack of information, and lack of financing,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “Block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, we will make our communities more energy efficient and help families save money. At the same time, we’ll create thousands of jobs and strengthen our economy.”

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=317

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Making energy efficient improvements to your home will do more than reduce your energy costs — they’ll also reduce your tax bill.

The tax credit for energy-efficient windows or doors, air conditioners or furnaces, or other energy-saving improvements disappeared in 2008, but returned for 2009 and 2010 — at an even higher value. This is one case where procrastination paid off.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, homeowners who made the improvements are eligible for a credit equal to 30 percent of the cost, up to a maximum credit of $1,500.

To get the maximum credit, a taxpayer would have to pay $5,000 on energy efficiency improvements. The previous maximum had been $500. The good news for homeowners is that they can claim the new credit even if they had taken the old one.

“You get a clean start with this one,” said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for CCH’s tax and accounting group.

To qualify, the improvements must have been made during 2009 — or 2010 if you’re going to claim them the following year. There is no income limit for the credit, and limits on individual items are gone. That means, for example, you can claim the full credit for windows, Luscombe said.

But there’s a catch. “Homeowners should be aware that the standards in the new law are higher than the standards for the credit that was available in 2007,” the Internal Revenue Service said. The IRS cautioned that not all products that carry the Energy Department’s Energy Star label qualify.

So how do you know if the furnace or hot water heater you purchased is eligible?

It’s up to the manufacturer to certify that the product qualifies. The IRS recommends that taxpayers keep a copy of the certification statement.

Homeowners who choose alternative energy could be in for a bigger tax credit.

There’s a 30 percent tax credit with no maximum for homeowners who install solar water heaters, geothermal heat pumps or small wind turbines. The credit also applies to site preparation and installation.

If you want to claim the credits, you’ll have to file Form 5695.

The tax credits for energy efficient home improvements are in addition to those for purchasing certain hybrid or alternative energy vehicles. The credit begins phasing out after the manufacturer sells 60,000 hybrids.

For 2009 model year cars, manufacturers that had hybrids still eligible for the credit are Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Mazda, Mercury, Nissan and Saturn. For the 2010 model year, the list includes hybrids manufactured by Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Mercury, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan.

There are new tax credits for plug-in electric vehicles.

The credits range from $2,500 to $15,000, depending on the kind of vehicle, its weight and its battery. ]]> http://www.pureecoes.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=463 0 http://www.pureecoes.com/blog/?p=408 http://www.pureecoes.com/blog/?p=408#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:43:14 +0000 Ryan http://www.pureecocs.com/blog/?p=408

(by Jennifer Berry of Earth 911) – No matter if you’re bundled up in Des Moines or hitting the beach in Miami, ensuring your home isn’t wasting your hard-earned cash through inefficiency is a must-do, especially during the winter months.

You may not know it, but your home is probably leaking a lot of that climate-controlled air that you’re paying so much to create every month.

Before your thoughts of “not my house!” get too loud, chew on this: The average, unweatherized U.S. home leaks air at a rate equivalent to a 4-square-foot hole in the wall, according to the ” Solar Living Sourcebook” by John Schaeffer. And with the residential sector consuming 35 percent of available energy to consumers, reducing our use of this costly resource can result in big savings.

So what should you do to prevent wasting your hard-earned cash on leaks? Check out our handy guide to weatherizing your home.

Simple Tests and Adjustments

Do an Audit: First, assess how much you’re spending each month in heating and cooling. Many electricity providers will provide you with a report that compares your energy usage with similarly sized homes in your area. ENERGY STAR also provides a similar service. Where do you fall? If you’re in the mid to high range, then there’s work to be done!

You can also pay to have an energy audit performed on your house by a professional, taking the guesswork out of where you can improve your home’s efficiency.

Make sure they conduct a blower door test, which depressurizes a home and can reveal the location of many leaks.  Without a blower door test, there are ways to find some air leaks yourself, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

If you don’t think leaks are a big problem, think twice: In California, the average duct system loses 30 percent of its heating or cooling to leaks. To detect them in your home, look to areas where different materials meet, such as between brick and wood siding, between foundation and walls and between the chimney and siding. Some of the main places in your home that you should check include:

• Door and window frames
• Mail chutes
• Electrical and gas service entrances
• Cable TV and phone lines
• Outdoor water faucets
• Where dryer vents pass through walls
• Bricks, siding, stucco and foundation
• Air conditioners
• Vents and fans

You can also try these steps to help detect leaks in your home:

1. Shine a flashlight at night over all potential gaps while a partner observes the house from outside. Large cracks will show up as rays of light. However, this is not an accurate way to detect small cracks.
2. Shut a door or window on a piece of paper. If you can pull the paper out without tearing it, you’re losing energy.
3. Check the attic, walls and floors adjacent to an unheated space, like a garage or basement. The structural elements are usually exposed in these areas, which makes it easy to see what type of insulation you have and to measure its depth or thickness.
4. Inspect exterior walls using an outside electrical outlet. Make sure to turn off the power to the outlet before removing the cover. Then, shine a flashlight into the area, where you should be able to see if there’s insulation in the surrounding walls and, potentially, how thick it is.

If you find air leaks, check out DoItYourself.com’s guide to types of caulking and weatherstripping and where and how they should be applied to the various areas in your home.

Check Your Thermostat: Set your thermostat between 65-68 degrees when you are home, and wear layers if you’re still cool. If you dread the prospect of rising to a freezing house, investing in a programmable thermostat is a great option. Set it to warm up the house just as you wake.

If the initial cost of a programmable thermostat (about $115) deters you, keep in mind that it will save you $180 every year you use it. That’s $1,800 over 10 years, making the up-front cost feel like pennies.

Other simple steps can include wrapping a water heater with an insulation blanket and replacing heating and cooling filters.

Save Money

Many cities are investigating and testing weatherization programs to help residents save money and increase home values.

The Houston Residential Energy Efficiency Program (REEP) provides about $1,000 to weatherize qualifying homes. Studies show that homeowners received dramatically reduced electricity bills after their homes were weatherized. On average, electricity usage was reduced by 12-18 percent each month.

These techniques weren’t complicated or advanced, either. Basic measures included weatherstripping, window caulking, attic insulation and energy efficient light bulbs. In fact, during the summer months (when electricity bills are higher), homeowners witnessed reductions of up to 20 percent. So far, the city has weatherized more than 7,000 homes.

But you don’t have to live in the Houston area to find huge savings on home weatherization. According to Matt Rogers, senior adviser to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, more than $5 billion was appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to draw up a weatherization program across the country.

“What we’re doing through the Reinvestment Act is both weatherizing homes, but we’re also demonstrating that this is a high-return investment for homeowners everywhere,” said Rogers. “You’ll put 20 or 30 cents back into [your] pocket every year for every $1 that you invest in energy efficiency.”

You can see how much of this funding was awarded to your state on the Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Web site.

http://solveclimate.com/blog/20090910/how-green-retrofits-could-save-world