The EPA Can Help You Save Big On Energy Efficient Upgrades For The Home

If you’re like most homeowners, there’s probably a laundry list of major upgrades you’d like to make to improve the efficiency, performance, and functionality of your house. However, high upfront costs and project complexity can keep you from taking action, especially when projects involve expensive but essential systems, such as heating and cooling, water heater, and home envelope. Now, though, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act (2022), there are numerous financial incentives that can significantly reduce the cost of these upgrades, making them more affordable and accessible, even for low- and middle-income households.

To help Americans take advantage of these financial opportunities and make these projects easier, ENERGY STAR recently launched a home improvement savings web tool. This handy online tool is a one-stop shop that lets you enter your ZIP code and find information on incentives available to you. Currently, it features generous tax credits and utility rebates that can help you substantially lower costs on qualifying products. Over time, it will include additional information on state energy efficiency rebates for low- and moderate-income households as they come online. Find the tool at: energystar.gov/homesavings.

What projects qualify? These incentives cover projects that tackle your home’s biggest energy users, such as heating and cooling systems, water heaters, insulation, and more. These areas are not only the biggest energy users, they’re essential systems that are expensive to upgrade. By taking advantage of these incentives, you can significantly reduce the cost of purchase, as well as your energy bills.

What savings are available? There are numerous ways homeowners can save on upfront costs:

• Federal tax credits: Tax credits provide annual discounts of 30% of project costs, up to $3,200, for products such as heat pump HVAC, heat pump water heaters, windows, and insulation.

• State Rebates: As of May 2024, state rebate programs offer incentives available depending on your income. These include a discount of up to $8,000 for switching to an ENERGY STAR-certified electric heat pump HVAC system and $1,750 for installing an ENERGY STAR-certified electric heat pump water heater. You can find rebates offered in New York on the home savings tool and learn the status of other state programs here.

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• Utility Rebates: In addition to the Inflation Reduction Act incentives, many utilities offer rebates on ENERGY STAR-certified appliances and equipment.

ENERGY STAR is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have helped American families and businesses avoid more than $500 billion in energy costs and achieve more than 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions.