My friend, Houston Neal, over at Software Advice shared some seriously good information with me recently. Not only is this good for the planet, but it’s rebate money for you by making your home more energy efficient.

The Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 is on its way. Commonly known as “cash for caulkers,” this bill has been approved in the House of Representatives and now awaits final approval by the Senate.

This is great news for homeowners and contractors. The bill provisions $6 billion for energy-efficient retrofits; it will support renovations for 3 million families; it will create an estimated 168,000 new jobs, and; it will save consumers $9.2 billion on energy bills over the next 10 years.

To cash in on upcoming rebates, homeowners will need to do their homework. The bill describes 13 types of renovations that are eligible to receive funding. Each one has unique requirements and rebate amounts. Fortunately there are a number of online resources that make it easy to wade through the legislation.
For example, Software Advice put together a starters guide to cash for caulkers. It includes an easy-to-read table with the renovation requirements, along with suggestions on how to bundle similar renovations into “project packages.”

Here’s a quick excerpt from their post. It describes the two rebate programs listed in the bill:

The Home Star bill offers two rebate programs, the “Silver Star” program and “Gold Star” program. Here are details for each:

Silver Star – Homeowners will receive a $1,000 rebate for each retrofit described in the bill. The maximum amount of rebates paid out will be $3,000 or 50% of the total cost, whichever is lower. For example, if a homeowner spends a total of $4,000 on eligible retrofits, they will get $2,000 or 50% back as a rebate. If they spend $8,000 on eligible retrofits, they would only receive $3,000 in rebates instead of $4,000 (which would be 50% of the cost).

Gold Star – To qualify for the Gold Star program, homeowners must reduce their total home energy consumption by 20%. A $3,000 rebate will be rewarded for this reduction. Homeowners can receive an additional $1,000 for each additional 5% reduction, up to a total rebate of $8,000 or 50% of the total retrofit cost. Rebates may be provided for any of the retrofits listed under the Silver Star program, or for any other energy-saving measure, including: home energy management systems, high-efficiency appliances, highly reflective roofing, awnings, canopies, and similar external fenestration (window) attachments, automatic boiler water temperature controllers, energy-efficient wood products, insulated vinyl siding, and mechanical air circulation and heat exchangers in a passive-solar home.

To learn more, visit: http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/construction/cash-for-caulkers-the-definitive-guide-to-the-home-star-bill-1061110/