RESOURCES
Currently, the federal government is offering a $2,000 tax credit to home builders who build high efficiency homes. This criteria is stricter than regular ENERGY STAR Certification, but it is achievable if planned from the beginning of the building process. According to the legislation:
“To meet the energy saving requirements a dwelling unit must be certified to provide a level of heating and cooling energy consumption that is at least 50% below that of a comparable dwelling unit constructed in accordance with the standards of section 404 of the 2004 Supplemental to the 2003 International Energy Conservation
Code (2004 IECC Supplement), and to have building envelope component improvements that provide for a level of heating and cooling energy consumption that is at least 10% below that of a comparable dwelling unit.”
By comparison, an ENERGY STAR home has to reduce its energy consumption by 15% - so tax credit certification does take more effort.
In order to claim the tax credit, the house must be analyzed by a certified HERS rater (like Home Energy Group). The analysis starts at the planning stage and we can actually analyze the house from the plans and tell you which improvements you can make to qualify for the tax credit.
To find out more information, call us, or check out links at the ENERGY STAR website - http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits#s6
The State of South Carolina also has energy incentives. Check out their web site for current information. http://www.energy.sc.gov/
