Insider: Energy Trust of Oregon Newsletter

In this month's issue of Insider, there is a breakdown of 5 ways Oregonians will see Stimulus money that is coming in to Oregon:
1. Grants to states under the State Energy Program.
2. Block Grants to State, Local and Tribal Governments with a possibility that Energy Trust can be contracted to manage these grants.
3. Weatherization Assistance, higher income limits and possibility of up to $6500 in assistance per home.
4. Residential Tax Credits, (Details and Links in March 10, 2009 blog post).
5. Renewable Energy Tax Credits.

You can read Energy Trust of Oregon's summary on these issues here:

http://www.energytrust.org/TA/insider/0903/stim_pack.html

Stimulus Bill will bring more money to homeowners

As a Green Builder and Home Performance contractor, we are constantly researching the ever changing incentives, tax credits and rebates that are out there for our customers. We believe that providing this education and information to a homeowner can be challenging when so much keeps changing. We were sent this email message from a business contact in Louisiana and thought it summarized the expectations from this Stimulus bill fairly clearly.

http://www.nbnnews.com/NBN/issues/2009-03-09/Front+Page/index.html

One thing to note is that the IRS tax form at the bottom is for 2008 and still includes the cap on renewable energy installations, where the stimulus removed caps and states that 30% of the cost can be recovered.

ENERGY STAR(R) has a link on their website detailing the changes as well. They too point to a 2008 tax form 5695 so the IRS may not publish the 2009 forms until late 2009 or early 2010 according to this site. The specific requirements on the ENERGY STAR site are very helpful for homeowners, and all of us contractors that wish to provide this information to our customers. The link can be accessed here:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits#s1

There are some exciting changes in this bill that will allow homeowners to make the investment in their homes and shorten the payback period considerably.

As always, if you have questions, we'd be happy to try to find answers for you!

Stimulus Bill = Weatherization Money for Homeowners

If you have an extra 2 days, or four, here is a link to information on the Stimulus bill and the proportioned amounts of money that will go to each area in our economy. As I find relevant information for our customers, I will pass those sections along.

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/h1/Recovery_Bill_Div_A.pdf

One exciting piece of information I've found so far is that within this proposal, the Federal Government is proposing to turn the 30% Solar Energy Tax credit into a grant. This means that instead of having to have 30% of the cost up front and have the repayment be stretched over many years, it will be paid for up front.

This is a large factor for several groups of people (mainly):

• Self-employed families that pay the majority of their federal income tax as "Self Employed" tax which can't be recovered under any current federal income tax and/or the credits can't be used at the state level either.
• Cash/Credit strapped Families/Homeowners who are very interested in the benefits of adding Solar PV or Water to their homes but don't have the large out of pocket amount up front. With tightening Home Equity Loans and credit in general, it can also be difficult to qualify for any loan to pay for Solar during these hard economic times.

As always, when we find relevant new information we will post it here. We're always interested in people's discussion and insight on these issues. We like to learn and hear all perspectives so feel free to post comments.

Southern Oregon Spring Home Show Feb. 13-15th

The Home Builder's Association is presenting the Southern Oregon Spring Homeshow this weekend at the Jackson County Expo. We will be there Friday from 12-7, Saturday 10-7 and Sunday 10-4. If you or your Valentine is thinking about a home improvement this year, come check out all there is to offer at this Annual Spring Event.

Be sure to visit us in booth 7 upper level...we'll be giving away free samples of Local natural honey!

See you there!

Incentive changes are coming in 2009

Energy Trust of Oregon will be changing their Home Energy Solutions incentives come March of 2009. What does that mean for you? If you are thinking about having a Home Performance Assessment done this year, you just may want to get it completed before these incentives are minimized. Here's a look at the most common incentive changes:

Duct Blaster Test

• Current: $50
• New: $25

Blower Door Test

• Current: $50
• New: $25

Duct Sealing

• Current: up to $400 or $1 per CFM reduction with a minimum of 200 CFM Reduction to qualify. Incentive may not exceed cost.
• New: up to $250 or $0.50 per CFM reduction with a minimum of 100 CFM Reduction to qualify. Incentive may not exceed cost.

Air Sealing

• Current: up to $400 or $1per CFM reduction with a minimum of 200 CFM Reduction to qualify. Incentive may not exceed cost.
• New: up to $250 or $0.50 per CFM reduction with a minimum of 100 CFM Reduction to qualify. Incentive may not exceed cost.

Check back for more changes coming your way. We'll keep you up to date!

Solar Estimating Tool...a must see!

If you have ever considered adding solar electricity to your Oregon home, this site is a must view. You can select the area of the state in which you live, your usage, the incentive programs available in your area, etc. It gives you just about every calculation you would want in determining if solar is right for you, your pocketbook and the earth. Happy Calculating!

Don't forget, if you are considering solar electricity, the best way to optimize your system's efficiency is to maximize energy conservervation in the home prior to installation. In Oregon, Energy Trust offers incentives to homeowners who have a Home Performance with Energy Star Assessment and subsequently have recommendations installed. Jason Vos Homes, LLC is the only General Contractor in Southern Oregon certified to perform Home Performance Assessments.

Welcome to 2009

Our desire this year is to manage changes, updates and important information through this blog site for our customers, suppliers, subcontractors and partners in energy efficienct building in Southern Oregon. We are working on connecting this blog to our home page of our website found at http://www.jasonvoshomes.com/. Changes are coming soon!!