Your Guide To Green

As American homeowners work hard to make their homes more energy efficient, many are surprised to discover the length and breadth of available resources for recouping a portion of the costs for energy efficient upgrades. I think you will be surprised at all of the possibilities, especially for small upgrades that may not seem like they warrant any attention.

For instance, homeowners in Anaheim, California can receive a $20 rebate for purchasing a new ceiling fan while a homeowner in Long Island, New York can get $10 just for buying a dehumidifier. These are just some of the more obscure rebates. Incentives tend to go up as the upgrades get larger, from dishwashers to clothes dryers to geothermal heat pumps.

Yet energy efficient rebates are not universal. Much depends on the state you live in and the utility that provides your power. A homeowner in Albuquerque is unlikely to receive the same rebate as a remodeler in Detroit.

Here are three sources for energy efficient rebates and incentives: federal and state governments and utilities.

Federal Residential Energy Efficiency Tax Credit

Federal energy efficient incentives take the form of tax credits, which may be claimed on yearly income tax returns and focus on larger upgrades. If you replace or update building insulation, windows, doors, roof, water heater, furnace, boiler, heat pump, or air conditioning, you may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $500. Specific tax credits vary by technology, but the total for all combined cannot exceed that $500 maximum. For more information on qualifying products, see the Energy Star website.

State Incentives

State energy efficiency rebates and incentives have, obviously, 50 different variations. See the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) for info specific to your state.

Independent of specific state-funded rebates, many states have implemented renewable portfolio standards (RPS) -- requiring a certain amount of the state's power to come from clean, renewable sources by a set year. These have stimulated many of the utility rebates that may be available now. While RPS's encourage the adoption of wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable resources, they also encourage energy efficient rebates for one overriding reason: It is beneficial to utilities, who must meet those set standards, to reduce energy consumption. For even if one vastly increases renewable power, if consumption continues to increase at a similar rate then no ground is gained in terms of percentages.

Utility Rebates

That brings us to utility rebates. The two rebates mentioned at the outset of this article are examples of utility incentives. Utility energy efficiency rebates depend largely on a state's energy conservation demands. With so many utilities in existence--from investor-owned to municipal to electric cooperatives--it is difficult to explain them in any general way.

On the other hand, there are several resources available to homeowners curious about potential energy efficiency rebates.

The vast majority of utilities have their own websites with information on rebates they offer. So check online or, if you like, you can call or visit your power provider for more information.

The DSIRE website also has extensive utility rebate information, divided by state and municipality.

Another excellent source is your remodeling contractor. Energy efficient rebates are not only an incentive for homeowners but a selling point for contractors. So most contractors make it their business to know all the inclusions and exclusions of these rebates, whether they be from the utility, city, state, or federal government.