How Do I Get Rebates For Doing My Insulation?

I have ended every page with "Rebates may be available depending on the state you live in." If you are asking, "What Rebates?" Here is how the rebate process breaks down.

Home Performance With EnergyStar

Energy Star started a national campaign in 2000 to push for greener and more energy efficient upgrades to be performed on a large scale. The theory was to have a consultant come to your house, go through your house using a standardized testing method to come up with solutions to fixing the issues. First, a blower door test is performed, which is nothing more than a large fan that fits into a collapsible frame and sucks the air from your house out your front door. By doing this, the consultant, as well as the homeowner, can feel the air infiltration areas. Most consultants now use an infrared thermal imaging camera to see the air infiltration, cold spots, and even moisture damage. The consultant then gives you a report which rates your house and tells you all of the improvements that can be made. It will also list what cash incentives are available for completing the projects. The homeowner then has the option to fix some or all of the suggested items. After the work is completed, the house is retested and inspected to make sure the work was satisfactorily performed. The consultant then sends in the paperwork for the rebate, and the homeowner gets a check in 3-6 weeks. The entire process usually takes about 3 months between scheduling the consultation and having the final inspection. The average cost for the consultant is $300.

If you do not want to pay for a consultant and have a particular project in mind, Home Performance has a list of contractors that participate in the program and can offer the same rebates without the additional $300 fee. This is the most popular method as it makes the most sense economically.

All of this information and more can be found at www.energystar.gov. Just do a search for the "home performance program" to navigate to their site.

Tax Incentives

These are also tax incentives that if you do the work yourself or if you hire a contractor, a certain portion of that is tax deductible. Basically how this works is you insulate with a material that has an Energy Star label on it (for insulation, this is almost everything). Save the receipt for confirmation. You will receive as a tax credit 30% of the item purchased up to a certain amount (in Wisconsin that amount is $1500). The tax credit is then added to your deductions for the fiscal year.

Whether you are doing a project on your own or are hiring the work out, you should be able to get something for it insulation wise. Please keep in mind that if you hire a contractor, you get to write off the contractors labor which is usually more than the material and you still get your Energy Star rebate. Sometimes, it is actually cheaper to hire the contractor in this situation.