The "Home Performance with Energy Star" program includes 50% subsidies for income-qualified households, low interest loans, and a 10% rebate for homeowners who do not utilize the subsidy.
Green Jobs - Green New York Energy Audits
GJGNY offers free and reduced-cost residential energy audits to income-eligible owners of 1- to 4-unit residential buildings. (Download an audit application here.) If you choose to opt out and pay for your audit directly, Snug Planet will refund the cost of the audit to you if you hire Snug to perform contracting services on any workscope over $3,000. You do not need to get a "free audit" to receive GJGNY rebates and access to low-interest financing.
Financing
Snug Planet is a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (HPwES) certified contractor. That means we can help you access special state and federal incentives, rebates, loans and grants to pay for your energy efficiency contracting work. We are familiar with the financing process, so we can help you choose the right options and complete all the required paperwork.
Homeowner Self-Financing
If you choose to pay for our contracting services directly, our energy audit should qualify you to receive a High Efficiency Measure Incentive from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The HEMI is a cash rebate from NYSERDA valued at 10% of much, if not all, of the workscope. For more information, see NYSERDA's Financing page.
Low-Interest Loans (including On-Bill Financing!)
If you need additional financing to complete the work on your home or building, Snug Planet will guide you towards accessible loans and grants. Homeowners can combine the 10% rebate and a low-interest (as low as 2.99%) loan, adminstered by Energy Finance Solutions. (Download the application here.) A new program enables you to make small monthly payments on your utility bill - finance today's work with future energy savings! Read the FAQ about On-Bill Financing.
Grants + Subsidies
There are subsidies available for qualifying households. Please see NYSERDA's Information on Low Income Eligibility. Check income guidelines here to see if your household qualifies. You could be eligible for $5,000 in assistance!
Renters
If you are a renter and would like more information about improving your building's comfort and energy efficiency, please visit NYSERDA's Renters page, where you can find resources for energy savings to share with your landlord.
Financing (explained)
We've been fielding many questions lately about financing, and we can understand why!
Let's assume you hire Snug to do something, and the contract is for $1200.
If you pay cash (also called paying "out-of-pocket"), there is often a HEMI ("High Efficiency Measure Incentive") of 10%, which would normally be $120 and you'd get that back in the form of a rebate. It would come as a check, in the mail, 6-8 weeks after Snug finishes the job. This is the easiest of all the financing options because you're not really "financing," you're "paying." No wonder it's easier! It's just like going to the store! It also means that the job doesn't cost you $1200, it really only costs you $1080. ($1200 - $120 = $1080) The HEMI's a 10%-off coupon!
There's also the Green Jobs Loan available, but we've also heard it called "Home Performance with Energy Star financing." It's a loan for 3.49%.
Let's assume the same thing, a Snug job for a contract of $1200, but you don't have $1200 lying around and want to "finance" it, which is banker code for "getting a loan."
You still could get that HEMI-10%-off-coupon for $120. What this means is that if the contract is for $1200, and then you factor in the $120 HEMI, you only owe $1080...just like before. So you'd borrow that amount because that's what it costs! But if you borrow $1080, and Snug still needs $1200 because that's the contract amount, then where does that last $120 come from? In the end, Snug will be paid $1080 by whomever you get a loan from, and $120 will come to us from the Energy Star program.
This is why the amount of your loan will be less than the contract amount. This is one of our most frequently asked questions.
There is another loan available as of January 31, the On-Bill Recovery Loan. It has an interest rate of 2.99%, and assumes that if energy efficiency work saves more energy than it costs, then you can repay the loan by making small payments on your NYSEG bill. No separate checks to write and as fuel costs increase, the amount you save will be greater than your payment. You'll be cash-flow positive! And, if you have to sell your house before the work has paid for itself in energy savings, the loan is transferable to the new owners!
Tax Incentives
Energy Efficiency Home Improvements
Home improvement tax credits were available in 2011 for insulation, replacement windows, non-solar water heaters, and certain high efficiency heating and cooling equipment. In most cases the maximum amount that a taxpayer may claim is $500.
For more information see Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency.
Renewable Energy
Solar
Federal and State tax credits are available for qualified solar water heating and photovoltaic (PV) systems. The Federal credit is available for systems "placed in service” from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2016, and cover 30% of the cost of the system with no cap. The NYS tax credit covers an additional 25% of the cost of the system and is capped at $5,000. These credits are completely separate from the $500 home improvement credit. Your solar installer will help you take advantage of these (and more!) incentives.
For details see the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency or Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency or the Tax Incentives Assistance Project.
Geothermal
Geothermal heat pumps use the temperature of the ground to heat and cool your building and to provide hot water. Since they use energy that is stored naturally in the earth, they are one of the most efficient and comfortable technologies currently available for residential heating and cooling. Find links to incentives for geothermal heating and cooling systems at GeoExchange.
Small Wind
Tax credits are available to homeowners who install residential small wind turbine systems. The credits are available for systems placed in service from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2016. The tax credit is for 30% of the cost of the system, up to $500 for each half kilowatt of capacity with an overall maximum of $4,000.
For more information, see the American Wind Energy Association's Small Wind database or Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency.
Local Installers
Renovus Energy is a design-build company specializing in Solar Thermal (water heating), Solar Electric, Wind Energy and Microhydro (small hydroelectric) systems. Their 100% solar powered building is located in Ithaca in the southwest industrial park behind Wegman's. Renovus is locally owned and operated and is committed to providing the highest quality renewable energy systems to its clients since 2003.
