Blog by All-Star Home Inspection Services LLC.

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Energy Tax Credits

ENERGY TAX CREDITS

That big expensive home improvement project you've wanted to do may not be that expensive after all.  Now through December 31st 2010, the Federal Government is offering tax credits on major household items such as furnaces, central air units, windows, hot water heaters etc.  For most of the products mentioned the Federal Government is offering 30% back on each unit you purchase up to $1500.  It's the type of savings Jeff Hannon took advantage of when he recently purchased a new furnace, central air system and all the duct work to go with it inside his home. "Originally the project was going to run $8000. I'm coming in at about $5200."  The only thing you'll have to make sure of is that some units you buy are at least 92% energy efficient while others carry at least 95% efficiency rating requirement.  For those that don't know how efficiency works.  95% efficient means 95 cents of your heating and cooling dollar is going to just that, heating and cooling your home.  Five cents is being wasted.  Most homes operating right now without the energy efficient systems come in somewhere around 80% at best. 

The federal tax credits aren't the only savings.  Some Companies are offering their own rebates on certain models and in some cases it's as much as $500. For example, if your looking at buying a top of the line $5000 furnace. After deducting the $1500 Federal tax credit, $500 company model rebate if you qualify, and PG&E’s $300 rebate, you're looking at paying only $2700 for the state of the art furnace.  In addition to the installation savings add on the month to month savings you'll receive after installing the energy efficient product. You're looking at 10-20% off your monthly energy bill.  If your energy bill is $200 per month, that's a 40 dollars savings per month, $480 for the year. The annual savings of $480 adds up quickly and after only 5 years the furnace is paid off. With most of these systems having 15-20 year life spans, it makes that big expensive purchase now, not look so expensive after all.