Incentives persuade homeowners to boost energy efficiency

After their 12-year-old heating and cooling system stopped working, James and Debbie Taylor found out they couldn’t get it repaired and needed to buy a new furnace.

Debbie Taylor heard from co-workers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine about the city’s participation in a program that helps customers afford to make their homes more energy efficient.

James Taylor, talks with city energy specialist Terry Freeman, center, and HVAC technician Mike Davis about his home improvements.

“Basically, my wife told me we had to do this program,” Taylor said. “She is always right, so I listened to her — clear and simple.”

After signing up for the Home Performance with Energy Star program, they purchased a new furnace, which is rated as 80 percent energy efficient, and a heat pump, which provides additional energy savings. They also reduced the draftiness of their house by sealing air leaks.

Debbie Taylor ended up being right again: the costs of the upgrades were covered by the rebates, tax breaks and energy savings over the course of three to five years.

The Taylors live on Blue Cedar Lane in southwest Columbia. Several neighbors have enrolled in the program.

The bill for the furnace replacement and heat pump was $9,080, but the couple will get a 30 percent federal percent tax break up to $1,500, and a $208 rebate for buying the heat pump. Sealing air leakage costs about $50, and the city’s rebate for completing the work will be $168.

Columbia Water and Light began offering the program, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, in January 2008.

In the first year, 25 customers signed up, according to Terry Freeman, an energy management specialist with the Water and Light department. But, so far this year, 125 customers have gone through the program and reduced their energy consumption.

“Energy has become so expensive, and more people have become aware of this,” Freeman said. “The cost of utilities has increased a lot. For some people, these energy costs are coming to be pretty close to their mortgage payments.”

The housing market downturn is another reason for the program’s popularity. Freeman said he’s found that more customers would rather spend their money on improving their homes than trying to sell them in a buyer’s market.

Electric customers can receive rebates up to $1,210 for home upgrades and up to $1,600 for highly efficient air conditioners. Some of these improvements are also eligible for federal tax breaks.

Program participants can also apply for a low-interest, 10-year loan of up to $15,000 to finance their improvements.

To keep up with the move toward energy efficiency, Columbia Water and Light recently hired three new employees, one of whom will be in charge of commercial energy efficiency.

The Water and Light department also trains contractors in energy-efficient design and renovation of residential and commercial buildings. A dozen contractors have completed the training. (List follows article)

One question that contractors are trained to answer: How long would it take until the savings on utility bills covers the cost of home improvements after rebates and tax breaks?

It depends on the type of the home upgrades. For example, to apply insulation and seal air leaks, it could cost between $100 and $1,500 with a payback period in less than five years, Freeman said. For installing more efficient cooling and heating systems, which cost above $5,000, the payback period would be five or six years, he said.

“An average payback period is about two years,” said Dan Riepe, a building analyst at Home Performance Experts. “The more money you spent on weatherization upgrades, the longer it will take to get it back in energy savings. But, your house will be more energy efficient in the long run.”

The Taylors will be reducing their annual heating and cooling costs by 28 percent, Freeman estimated.

“We never realized how much energy we were losing and from what, so the recommendations from the contractors were very helpful,” Taylor said.

They also are helping to reduce the city’s demand for electricity and the planet’s pollution.

“Homes are the leading environmental pollution because of all the materials produced for construction and the resources needed to operate them,” Riepe said. “They are even more polluting than factories and cars because there are more homes in a city than anything else.”

After the Taylors decided to participate in the Energy Star program, they chose Chapman Heating and Air Conditioning as their contractor. A Chapman technician performed the diagnostic test of the house, which took about four hours. The assessments generally cost between $250 and $400.

Davis tests the air flow at the Taylor house.

The tests include an analysis of the draftiness in the house. Chapman technician Mike Davis opened one of the outside doors and covered the entrance with orange plastic and a fan-like contraption known as a “blower-door.” The mechanism is connected to a laptop, which calculates how much air is getting into the house every hour.

Davis also used an infrared camera to scan the walls in the house and see where there were air leaks that could be sealed. The Taylor had leaks in their outlets, plumbing under the sink, attic accesses and walls surrounding the attic.

After the tests, Chapman provided the Taylors a detailed report that included possible improvements and the company’s recommendations. The Taylors took a few weeks to consider their options and decided to have Chapman take care of the HVAC system and fix the leaks themselves, Taylor said.

Davis recently performed a post-test with the blower door to determine the amount of air leakage, which is usually about 30 percent. Before sealing some of the air pockets, the Taylors’ home had air leakage of 36 percent. After the renovations, their leakage was 27 percent, Davis said.

The program is geared more toward residential buildings than commercial and is not as popular with landlords whose tenants pay the utility bills. The only commercial incentive is for businesses that are willing to convert to more efficient lightning, Freeman said.

“A lot of the commercial property is also rented,” he said. “People that are just renting the space usually do not want to spend money on improvements, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll stop trying to convince them.”

Some of the city’s approved contractors, such as Meek’s the Builders Choice, are already working with small businesses. But their commercial projects are limited because the testing equipment can only work with smaller buildings, said Kevin Johnson, building analyst at Meek’s.

John Howland, building analyst at Evergreen Energy Solutions, already has his residential qualifications and is in the process of receiving his commercial certification.

“There is not a big demand for commercial yet,” he said, “but it’s good to be ready.”

Columbia Water and Light approved contractors:

Chapman Heating & Air Conditioning

Building analyst: Phil Figueiredo

573-445-4489

Enhanced Energy Solutions

Building analyst: Trevor Banning

573-837-4378

Evergreen Energy Solutions

Building analyst: John Howland

573-289-2601

Home Performance Experts

Building analyst: Dan Riepe

573-999-1196

Meek’s the Builders Choice

Building analyst: Kevin Johnson

573-442-3032

Mid-Missouri Home Energy Services

Building analyst: Paul (Brad) McConnell

573-673-5726

Nemow Insulation Company

Building analyst: Erik Ensley

573-474-2018

Prodecktion Construction Co.

Building analyst: Weston Warren

573-636-6114

Rescom Energy Consultants

Building analyst: Henry Rentz

573-874-5709

Simple Energy Solutions

Building analysts: Travis Condict and Trent Brackenridge

573-489-8281

Swift Company

Building analyst: Dyarl Lewis

573-446-0677

Tru-Pro

Building analyst: Charles Gilmore

573-489-9311