Stephanie Edwards-Musa, Realtor ® Spring/Woodlands, TX Real Estate

The Stimulus Bill, it's rather confusing. I have previously posted some of the Positive Sides to the Bill and this is part 3 of my Energy Efficiency Tax Credits in the '09 Stimulus Bill.

If you have been following my Webinar Series through 'Turning Houston Green' on Greening the Existing Home, you know that this Saturday, Michael Strong and I will be going over Water and Lighting Fixtures. Part of this will be in regards to Energy Efficient Water Heating Solutions which includes Tankless and Solar Water Heating.

In doing our research, we noted that the Stimulus Bill changed the Tax Credits for this also. Because the changes go through 2010, we think it is important for people to understand what it is you can actually get with your Tax Credits. Be an educated consumer so that you can make the most of you upgrades.

So, here's the 411:

Tankless Water Heaters - Whether you get one that is Gas or Electric, it still needs Electricity. Why? There is an actual start for these babies to kick in and start heating your water. So, with a Gas Tankless Water Heater, it still uses ELECTRICITY to start up. THEN uses the Gas to heat the water. This means that during a power outage, you will STILL NOT HAVE HOT WATER. Because of this, Tankless Hot Water Heaters fall under the Energy Efficiency portion of the Stimulus Bill.

What does that mean to you? You can get a Tax Credit for 30% of the purchase UP TO $1500 on ALL of your Energy Efficient Improvements - (such as windows which will be another post) Max. That's It. $1500.

Now, Solar Water Heating:

This is considered to be Renewable Energy. No electricity or gas is really required. That means that you are solely using electricity derived from a Renewable Source, in this case THE SUN. During a power outage you WILL HAVE Hot Water. (not that the power outage has anything to do with, just making a point)

For these reasons, it falls under a completely different category. Actually, it falls under the same category as GeoThermal and traditional Solar Panels.

What does this mean to you? You can get a Tax Credit for 30% WITH NO CAP!!

Personally, I would use the Energy Efficient Tax Credit for Windows, Insulation, etc. and maximize by upgrading to Solar Hot Water. You can only get a Maximum One Time Tax Credit of $1500 for Energy Efficiency, yet there is no cap on Solar/Renewable Energy right now.

With a typical cost of $5000 for Solar Water Heaters - That would give you an ADDITIONAL $1500 Tax Credit if you are making other Energy Efficient Improvements to your home.

Just a little food for thought. To sign up for our Webinar Series on Saturday for more details on the Benefits of Energy Efficient Water Fixtures in your home, you can register here.

***Source: Pages 125-127 of the Division B Tax, Unemployment, Health, State Fiscal Relief and Other Provisions from the Department of Energy Website***

***Photos: These are from Houston's First LEED Certified Home Built by Greenhaus Builders***

This past Saturday Michael Strong and I held the 3rd Seminar in the set of 8 on Greening the Existing Home.  We reviewed HVAC and Insulation - What is SEER - Kinds of Insulation - What part is DIY if you wanted?

The Series is really coming along, the crowd is starting to open op and ask more questions.  If you think you would like to know about any of this, we would love to have you!

To sign up for Future Webinar Series, I invite you to register with this link.  We have the registration links posted for the duration of the Series and is expected to end on April 2nd.

Here is the rest of the schedule right now - Again, all links are for registration.

• Feb. 24th from 7p-8p       Radiant Barrier and Windows
• Feb. 26th from 7p-8p     Water Conservation Fixtures and Delivery Systems
• March 28th from 11a-12p         Indoor Air Quality
• March 31st from 7p-8p       Durability
• April 2nd from 7p-8p       Top 10 Practices and Green Guidelines

And now, the recorded session.  :0)  You can read the Chat Archive here

I would also like to take a quick moment to Thank our Sponsors for helping to bring this to you:

Pella Windows

Bluegill Energy Management

Lutron Lighting and Electronics

***

For those that have been around the Houston area for an extended amount of time, you are familiar with North Harris Montgomery College - The local College that not only offers courses for those starting out their College Education, BUT ALSO a Huge Variety of Continuing Education Courses for both Professionals AND Homeowners!

North Harris College this past year changed their name to Lone Star College Systems!

One of the Courses that is on the Spring 2009 Schedule for the location on WW Thorne by Intercontinental Airport is 'How To Make Your Home More Energy Efficient'!  If you follow my blog, you guessed it right.  It's being taught by Yours Truly - Stephanie Edwards-Musa - Houston's Realtor and Certified EcoBroker -

The course costs $35 and I guarantee that I will have that money back to you through a lower Utility Bill with what you learn in the class.

The Course runs 2 nights a week for 2 weeks in both March and April from 6p-8p in the evening.  The majority of the coursework will be what you can do yourself over a weekend with some Homework at the end of each day to make it a little more fun learning and so that you can get a good idea of how YOUR particular home works.

Every home is different, this course will teach you about YOURS in particular.

It's not just about Light Bulbs!  We will go in to how you need to have a strategic approach when sealing up your home and step by step what should be done to maximize the money you spend so that it is not wasted.

To register for the class you can call the College at 281-618-5400 and ask for the Continuing Education Dept.  I hope to see you there!  Below is a Calendar that has the Courses. 

March 17-26 on Tuesdays and Thursdays

April 20-29 on Mondays and Wednesdays

Just a quick reminder that the 3rd part of our Webinar series on how to make an Existing Home Green with myself and Michael Strong of Brothers Strong is this Saturday February 21st at 11 am.  The topic this week will be HVAC and Insulation. 

We will go over what you need to know about changing out and upgrading your existing Heat and A/C system to one that is more efficient and everything in regards to Insulation. 

We have changed the initial dates for the rest of the Series so that we can be all finished up by April 2nd that will have you ready to go for the HOT and HUMID Summer here in Houston!  You can take everything you learn to get those summer utility bills down! 

Here are the topics for the rest of the Series and below is the Calendar for TurningHoustonGreen.  Just take a quick look through and see if there is anything you are interested in!

Register for Part 3 Webinar

I would also like to take a quick moment to Thank our Sponsors for helping to bring this to you:

Pella Windows

Bluegill Energy Management

Lutron Lighting and Electronics

***

Because negativity, whining and otherwise just Chicken Little type complaining makes me tired I always try to find the positive side to things. Since the Big News has been the Stimulus Package the past couple days, that's where I was trying to find something positive.

It should be no surprise that Energy Efficiency and Green Collar Jobs have a potential WIN with the Bill. I ran across an article on CNET that laid out much of this information and MORE

• Tax Credits for projects that have Electricity derived from Biomass, Landfills, etc. were extended through 2013.

Which we will Desperately NEED because they are now offering a $7500 Tax Credit for Plug In Electric Vehicles. That should put a nice little strain on some already Taxed Grids throughout the US.

• The $2000 Cap on the 30 percent Tax Credit for Solar Hot Water was lifted and now matches the 30% on Solar from the October Bailout.

Which Homeowners in Houston TOTALLY wish they had during Hurricane Ike last year when we had no power for weeks on end!

• $30B to spend on Smart Grid, Advanced Batteries and Energy Efficiency
  

Although much of the Energy Efficiency will go toward Federal Buildings - Advanced Batteries for Solar Systems is Fantastic!

All of that is great, but probably the ONE thing that I am personally the MOST excited about is this- According to the article that I read on CNET:

"To retrofit existing homes to be more efficient, the bill extends and expands tax credits for purchase "such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation," according to the committee report. The House and Senate versions extended these credits to 2010 and increased the level to 30 percent with a cap of $1,500 on combined purchases, according to Environment and Energy Daily (subscription required)."

These credits were set to expire at the end of 2009. With much education still in order for Homeowners on how to Make the Homes more Energy Efficient, I am THRILLED that this was in there.

So, you have another year to replace your Furnace, get new insulation and all that other SEXY GREEN stuff that makes your electric bill lower!