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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES |
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Home Energy Savings Program handout (HESP) |
Are you looking for resources and financial incentives to make your home more comfortable, healthy, and energy-efficient?
Do you want to save energy - and money - in your home by weatherizing,
buying efficient appliances, or adding solar or wind energy systems? If so, we can help point you in the right direction.
With a new state weatherization program from Efficiency Maine and federal tax credits that last until the end of 2010, now is a perfect time to get your home in shape!
Why Efficiency is Important to You and the Environment Step One: Get a Home Energy Audit. Step Two: After Your Audit, What's Next? Available cost-saving programs and rebates for: |
Efficiency Matters
Whether you want to save money, increase your energy independence, improve comfort, or cut air and global warming pollution, the first step is to maximize energy efficiency. Efficiency, and conservation, is always the cheapest way to meet your energy needs. Making your home more efficient will:
- Cut your monthly energy bills. Alison and Eric of Monroe, Maine, got an energy audit and took measures to weatherize their home, including doubling their attic insulation and reducing their home's air leakage by 60%. They are expecting to save at least $1,500 on their heating bill each year!
- Make your home more comfortable for you and your family, and, in some cases, healthier, too. "One January morning, we had a 70-degree spread (-9 degrees outside to 61 degrees inside), thanks to our re-insulated house! And the furnace hadn’t been on all night!" – Alison and Eric, of Monroe, Maine
- Reduce pollution. Every kilowatt hour of electricity you use generates a pound of global warming pollution. Our electricity comes from coal, oil, gas, and nuclear-fueled power plants that produce smog, haze, acid rain, and nuclear waste. Every gallon of heating oil you burn generates about 20 pounds of global warming pollution—plus sulfur and other pollutants.
Step One – Get a Home Energy Audit:
A home energy audit by a certified professional will help you to discover the opportunities to improve your home. Does it make more sense at your house to insulate an attic, replace some windows, or improve caulking and weather-stripping first? An audit will estimate the costs and savings potential of these and other measures and help you to set priorities for making your home more energy efficient. And you’ll need one to qualify for some state weatherization incentives.
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| An infrared shot of a cold spot in a kitchen floor, under the dishwasher. |
A home energy auditor might also be a weatherization contractor or installer, or they might just do audits—either can be appropriate, depending on personal preference. We recommend that you use an auditor who is a “Participating Energy Advisor” through the Efficiency Maine Home Energy Savings Program. These are auditors who have received national BPI-certification, and they are trained and up-to-date in how the Efficiency Maine programs work, so they can usually help guide you with programs, in addition to finding energy saving opportunities in your home.
Make sure you get an audit that works for you. Energy Advisors should audit your home for efficiency improvements, help you determine if you qualify for incentives, and get you started either by offering to do the weatherization work themselves or recommending qualified contractors. Be sure to ask that the audit will be compatible with the Efficiency Maine Home Energy Savings Program when asking for pricing. While NRCM has partnered with the following Energy Advisors to provide a discount to NRCM members, we do not endorse or guarantee work by any specific Advisor. Find an Energy Advisor now.
NRCM members can receive a $75 discount on their energy audit. Click here to learn more.
Read about NRCM staffer Matt Scease’s experience having an energy audit done on his home.
** We recommend an audit because it is an important step to achieve large savings. If you can't have an audit or want to start make smaller changes at your home tomorrow, check out our Energy Saving Tips for Your Home.**
Step Two – Now That You’ve Had An Audit, What's Next?
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After you get a home energy audit, you will have a better idea of what measures you can take to begin saving energy in your home. There are a number of different programs and rebates that are available to help cover part of the costs of your investments. Below you will find information on incentives available for weatherization and energy efficiency heating systems, appliances, and lighting. And hopefully your auditor can give you some advice or assistance with these too—especially if you choose an Energy Advisor certified through Efficiency Maine.
Weatherization and Heating Systems:
These programs and incentives cover many of the types of improvements you may need to do to make your home more efficient, including weatherization of the building itself and energy efficiency in heating systems, which use most of your home’s energy. These programs and incentives can all be combined* to yield very significant rebates!
* (With the exception of the low-income program)
State Program: Efficiency Maine Home Energy Saving Program
If so, this program may be just right for you! In 2010, Efficiency Maine launched a new residential weatherization program. All homeowners, regardless of income, are eligible for help to pay for weatherization work done on their homes. Landlords of buildings with 1-4 units are also eligible. Cash incentives range from $1,500 - $3,000. An energy audit completed by a participating Energy Advisor will inform you of what savings you qualify for (receiving an audit does not guarantee incentive eligibility). Energy audits must be performed by a certified Energy Advisor, who will conduct the audit and help homeowners get the necessary pre-approval for a rebate. Be sure to ask that the audit will be compatible with the Home Energy Savings Program. Installations can be completed by any contractor, but we recommend you work with someone who has experience with energy efficiency and related moisture/air quality issues. (Some Energy Advisors also do installation work.) In order to qualify for incentive pre-approval, the audit must demonstrate at least 25% savings potential from space heating and hot water. And the Energy Advisor will need to do come back to verify the work before you get the rebate. For more details on eligibility and process, visit the Home Energy Saving Program. |
State Rebates: Water Heaters and Home Heating Equipment
Until funds are depleted, Efficiency Maine will offer mail-in rebates to help residents replace older, inefficient water heaters and home heating and cooling equipment with new, efficient ENERGY STAR® qualified models. Eligible products include:
- Gas tankless water heaters
- Electric heat pump water heaters
- Oil furnaces and boilers
- Gas furnaces and boilers
- Central air conditioners
- Air source heat pumps
Download the full list of eligible products and rebate amounts. Residents are required to show proof that they have hauled away and disposed of old units.
Federal Funding: Home Energy Efficiency Improvement Tax Credits
Consumers who purchase and install specific products, such as energy-efficient windows, insulation, doors, roofs, and heating and cooling equipment in existing homes can receive a tax credit for 30% of the cost, up to $1,500, for improvements "placed in service" starting January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2010. See ENERGY STAR's ® Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency for a complete summary of energy efficiency tax credits available to consumers.
State Program: Low-income Weatherization and Heating System Grants
Low-income homeowners and renters may be eligible for MaineHousing’s Weatherization Assistance Program and Central Heating Improvement Program, which provides grants to improve home energy efficiency and perform energy-related repairs.
Natural Gas Utility: Weatherization & Heating System Rebates
Unitil natural gas customers are eligible for rebates for energy assessments/audits ($150), weatherization improvements (up to $1,500), and heating system rebates (from $400-$1,500, depending on the system). These rebates can be combined with both the state incentives and the federal tax-credit, for $4,500 or more in weatherization incentives and/or $3,000 or more in heating system upgrades! Learn more about Unitil’s energy efficiency programs.
Energy-efficient Appliances:
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It is easy to forget that appliances come with two price tags: one when you purchase the appliance, and another each time you pay an electricity or fuel bill. Generally, an investment up-front for a more energy efficient product will repay you with real savings over time. Check out the ENERGY STAR® website for a list of appliances, information on dealers, and savings calculators for refrigerators, freezers, and other major appliances. For example: refrigerators use about 20% of a home’s electricity (not counting electric hot water heaters) and an old refrigerator may be costing you as much as $250 per year in electricity. Today’s refrigerators use half as much electricity as 15-year-old models; replacing one can save you $100 every year.
State Rebates: Efficiency Maine Appliance Rebate Program
Look for the displays at retailers statewide to take advantage of the Efficiency Maine Appliance Rebate Program. Enjoy rebate incentives today and lower bills tomorrow on selected Energy Star appliances:
- Clothes washer - $50 rebate
- Refrigerator over 7.5 cu. ft./Freezer - $75 rebate
- Refrigerator 7.5 cu. ft. or less - $25 rebate
- Air conditioner/dehumidifier - $25 rebate
Be sure to obtain a mail-in rebate form from a retailer at purchase time to submit with a copy of your receipt.
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Energy-efficient Lighting:
Modern compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) save 65% on electricity costs, last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, and provide excellent light. CLFs today come in a much wider variety of shapes, sizes, and color tones. Make sure you properly recycle any CFLs, and that you know how to properly clean them up if they break.
State Funding: ENERGY STAR® Residential Lighting Program
Efficiency Maine's Residential Lighting Program works with retailers and manufacturers to encourage the purchase of energy-efficient lighting by residential customers. The program offers an instant rebate on ENERGY STAR® CFLs, between $0.50 and $3.00 at participating retailers. Participating retailers will deduct the rebate amount at the cash register.
