Repower Your Home Blog

Repower Newsletter Volume 1 Issue 1

October 2009

If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you’ve got at least some interest in the topic of renewable energy. Putting it into action though – doing something that will actually make a difference in your community and without a negative impact on your net worth – is where many people get stopped.

So that’s why today’s newsletter (the first of many) is about government incentives: the ways in which our state and federal government will compensate us in return for installing renewable energy products in our homes.  Once you understand how these work (not to mention how generous they are), you’ll find the first step much easier to take.

Matt Weiner

President

Repower Home

The Government Wants to Give You Money (really)

I was having a couple of beers the other night with my friend Michael. We play basketball every Tuesday evening, and more often than not, we find ourselves afterwards at the local watering hole up the road.

Michael and I both have teenagers and so it doesn’t usually take long for one of us to start telling stories.  This week, the topic was how long our kids spend in the shower and how much it costs in hot water.

That’s when I revealed to Michael my solution to the problem: “Going solar.” I explained that since installing a solar water heating system at my house, a full 75% of my water heating energy comes from the sun.

Here’s how the numbers work…

• The system in my house retails for about $10,000.
• The Federal Government offers a 30% tax credit. Not a tax deduction… a tax credit.  A tax credit is a straight reduction in your tax bill equal to 30% of the cost of the system.  So $3,000 in my case.
• Here in Massachusetts, the state offers an additional tax credit of 15%, up to $1,000.

So bottom line, the $10,000 system cost me just $6,000 ($10,000 – $3,000 – $1,000).  Given my annual water heating bill and the amount I’m now saving, the payback is about eight years.

But that’s not all. The installation of the system itself immediately increased the value of my home. According to this paper from the American Appraisal Institute, for example, for every dollar I save in annual energy costs, my house value goes up by $15.00.  So, given my $800 annual energy savings, that’s a $12,000 increase in the value of my home.

How about property taxes? Not a problem.  The nice people over at the State House offer an exemption for the installation of a solar hot water system, so there’s no bump in property taxes at all (I told you they were trying to give you money).

So that’s how it works.  Thanks to the state and federal government’s eagerness to get you involved in solar energy, you can do as I did and put one of these in your home; without a huge cash outlay in the short term and in a way that more than pays for itself in terms of the value of your house.

(Sorry, still no government programs for getting your teenagers out of the shower sooner.)

P.S.  Last year, when I began looking into renewable energy, I found a great website, www.dsireusa.org, put together be the Department of Energy.  The site is very easy to navigate and describes all the incentives currently offered.  Give it a look.

Matt recommends:

Looking for a great hiking spot with beautiful vistas, but don’t want to travel to western Massachusetts or New Hampshire?  Try the Mount Holyoke Range State Park off of Route 116 in Amherst.

The hike takes you through a vast forest of oaks, beeches and hemlocks, and winds past mountain brooks and ponds along the way.  If you make it to  the top, you’ll be rewarded with a breathtaking view of central Massachusetts.  At 1,000 feet, it’s not too challenging and can be enjoyed by hikers of all levels.

Home Improvement Tip: Gutter Cleaning

Fall brings beautiful foliage here in New England but that foliage quickly leads to clogged gutters.  And clogged gutters may lead to ice dams and other water related problems.

So before the temperatures drop too much, be sure to clean out your gutters or (hint, hint)  invest in gutter protection, some of which offer a lifetime performance warranty.

About Repower Home

Repower Home helps homeowners reduce their dependence on fossil fuels by moving to free, sustainable renewable energy.  We work exclusively and directly with individual homeowners and take care of everything from site assessment to installation to follow-up.  Our products are low-maintenance and guaranteed to last.

Repower Home is part of the Moonworks family of businesses, serving over 40,000 New England customers over 16 years by installing premier home improvement brands, such as Gutter Helmet®, Renewal by Andersen® energy-efficient replacement windows and doors, GAF-ELK® roofing and MASTIC® siding.