How to Seal Air Leaks in Your Home
The Energy Star website has a thorough 13-page do-it-yourself brochure available with detailed guidance on how to seal up air leaks in the attic and basement. This makes for a nice project to tackle at this time of year since you can work inside your home, help make your home more comfortable during the winter, and attempt to reduce your utility bills.
The guide covers topics which include using foam and caulk for small gaps in the attic, sealing the attic hatch or door, sealing heating and cooling ducts, insulating recessed “can” lights, and adding attic insulation.
Keep in mind that your expenses on insulation and products that seal air such as weather stripping, spray foam in a can, and caulk designed to seal air may be eligible for a federal tax credit that expires on December 31, 2010. See the Energy Star webpage for tax credits for more information.
Each Wednesday we highlight an energy savings tip to help Milwaukee area consumers try to reduce their utility bill. Follow this link to see all of our previous energy savings tips.
Milwaukee Furnace Tune-Up Coupons
Have you changed your furnace for your air filter lately? Energy Star recommends checking the filter every month. If the filter looks dirty after a month, change it, and at a minimum, be sure to change the filter every 3 months.
If you don’t change your air filter on a regular basis, the air flow will slow down and your HVAC system will need to run harder, leading to wasted energy. In addition, a dirty filter may lead to dust and dirt accumulating in the HVAC system which could lead to expensive repairs.
If you are in need of repairs or an annual tune-up, we found several furnace tune-up coupons from Milwaukee area furnace experts that might be useful to you. If you are aware of any other quality HVAC contractors in the Milwaukee area offering a deal, please contact us and we’ll add the information to our post.
NOW Heating and Cooling has a coupon on their website for $59 Winter furnace maintenance check-up. The coupon shows an expiration of 1/31/10 but we confirmed with them that the coupon’s expiration has been extended to 3/31/10.
1st Choice Heating and Cooling has a coupon on their website for a $69.95 heating or cooling clean and check (regularly priced at $99.95 less the $30 coupon.) The coupon shows an expiration date of 12/31/09 but we confirmed with 1st Choice Heating and Cooling that they will honor the coupon and their website will soon be updated with the same coupon valid through 12/31/10.
Burant Heating and Air Conditioning LLC has a coupon on their website for $10 off a regularly priced $85 performance tune-up.
You can also use a free service called Service Magic to search for contractors. After filling out a little information on the Service Magic website, they will match you up with up to four contractors. Contractors can compete for your business and you have the opportunity to review comments from past customers in order to help you find the best match for your needs.
Each Wednesday we highlight an energy savings tip to help Milwaukee area consumers try to reduce their utility bill. Follow this link to see all of our previous energy savings tips.
Proposed Homestar “Cash for Caulkers” Program
President Obama will be delivering his State of the Union address tonight. The President will cover a lot of issues this evening, including initatives that he says are for helping the middle class. From a consumer and energy efficiency perspective, the government has recently implemented programs such as the federal tax credits for energy efficiency and the “Cash for Clunker Appliances” program, and the Obama administration has recently proposed the Homestar, or ”Cash for Caulkers”, program that may provide tax credits for homeowners who weatherize their homes. According to one report, the Homestar program could offer tax credits of 50% of the cost of home weatherization, up to a $12,000 credit. While details of this proposal are minimal at this time, perhaps the President’s State of the Union message tonight will shed more light on what is in store for “Cash for Caulkers”.
If the President reveals more information on this proposal we will keep you up to date in our weekly energy savings posts.
2010 Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency
Eric Barendsen from the U.S. Department of Energy wrote a great blog post yesterday reviewing some of the 2009 and 2010 tax credits available for energy efficient products. In a nutshell, a taxpayer can receive tax credits for 30% of the cost of eligible products, for a total tax credit of up to $1,500.
The tax credit is good for the 2010 tax year for consumers who purchase eligible biomass stoves, insulation, HVAC, roofing, non-solar water heaters, windows, and doors. Those who claimed the full $1,500 credit during the 2009 tax year are not eligible in 2010, as the $1,500 maximum credit is for the total period of 2009 and 2010.
There are also tax credits available through 2016 but they are on renewable energy products that most consumers aren’t likely to purchase this year: fuel cells, geothermal heat pumps, solar energy systems, and and wind energy systems.
Barendsen references this U.S. Department of Energy chart that details each product eligible for tax credits. Be sure to research the credits in detail before you get started on your project, and discuss the credits in advance with any contractors you use. Also, keep in mind these are simply incentives from the federal goverment. Incentives from the Wisconsin State Energy-Efficient Appliance Rebate Program and other Focus on Energy incentives can be combined with the federal incentives. If you don’t live in Wisconsin, you can search this U.S. Energy database for incentives from your local utility as well as your state and local government.
Every Wednesday we highlight an energy savings tip to help Milwaukee area consumers reduce their utility bill. See all of our previous energy savings tips here.
Home Assessment Tool from Focus on Energy
Interested in knowing how energy efficient your home is? Simply use the Home Assessment Tool from Focus on Energy to see how energy efficient your home is. Once you’ve completed all the easy to answer questions you can receive a report via email detailing suggestions for efficiency improvements and money saving energy tips. If you wish to pursue energy efficiency improvements, you can forward the report to a Home Performance with ENERGY STAR authorized consultant to conduct a home energy audit and help get you started on your projects.
Watch a short three minute video about Home Performance with ENERGY STAR to learn more about the program.
Every Wednesday we highlight an energy savings tip to help Milwaukee area consumers reduce their utility bill. See all of our previous energy savings tips here.
WE Energies Budget Billing
WE Energies customers who are tired of the volatility of their monthly energy bills can utilize a free Budget Billing service provided by WE Energies. This is a helpful tool that makes budgeting a little easier.
Here’s how the program works:
An average monthly payment is calculated based on an analysis of past energy bills. For the first six months, the customer is charged the same monthly payment. In addition to seeing the monthly payment due on the bill, customers will see the actual energy they have used and the actual charges. The difference between the monthly payment and the actual charge is tracked as a settlement balance.
A review is done at the end of six months. If energy use is not in line with the prior six months of billing then an adjustment is made to the monthly payment due.
At the end of the twelve month period the customer’s account is reviewed again. If an adjustment is necessary, those enrolled in the Periodic Plan will have a settlement balance automatically added or subtracted to the bill in the 12th month. Those enrolled in the Continuous Plan will have the settlement balance included in the calculation for the next years monthly bill amount. In the long run, customers will always pay for their actual energy useage.
WE Energies recommends that customers track the settlement balance on each bill. This will avoid any surprises during the seventh or twelfth months of the billing cycle.
To review the terms and conditions and information how to enroll, visit the WE Energies Budget Billing webpage.
Are you a fan of the Budget Billing process? Any helpful hints to share with our readers? Leave a comment here.
Wisconsin State Energy-Efficient Appliance Rebate Program
Focus on Energy has released more information on the Wisconsin State Energy-Efficient Appliance Rebate program (which some people are calling “cash for clunker appliances”). The cash back rewards will be effective January 1, 2010 and can be claimed by completing a mail-in reward form.
If you are in need of one of the following eligible appliances, it may be to your benefit to wait until after January 1st to purchase the appliance so you can take advantage of the rebate:
- Heating & Cooling Equipment:
- Boilers – $200
- Central air conditioners & Air-source Heat Pumps- $75
- Furnaces (oil and gas) – $200
- Geothermal Heat pumps – $75
- Appliances
- Clothes washers – $100
- Dishwashers – $25
- Freezers – $50
- Refrigerators – $75
- Water heaters – $150 (Electric heat pump water heaters – $50)
- Renewable Energy
- Solar hot water – $2,000
We’ll post another update when Focus on Energy releases more information on the energy efficiency requirements for each appliance. For more information, visit the Focus on Energy site for this program that is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Every Wednesday we highlight an energy savings tip to help Milwaukee area consumers reduce their utility bill. Follow this link to see all of our previous energy savings tips.
Follow us on Twitter!
-