Tuesday, December 22, 2009
IRS Tax Credit Form 5695
The IRS has posted a link to the tax credit form 5695. It's self-explanatory. As far as I know, all of the tax filling software walks users through the process to ensure they qualify for the tax credits.
Cash for Caulkers Update from the Huffington Post
An Explanation of the Home Star Program - How to Retrofit 40% of American Homes
There are some interesting comments from viewers that you can read here.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Continuing Education - Better Buildings By Design Conference
Learn the latest techniques and technologies for superior building performance, energy efficiency, and indoor air quality. Choose from more than 30 workshops in four different learning tracks.
Register or learn more about this great opportunity. Read more here...
Send me an email if you've decided to attend...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies reports...
Kermit Baker, Senior Research Fellow at Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies announced to attendees at the Greenbuild conference in Phoenix recently that energy-efficient remodeling is the market coming to the forefront. The federal tax credits, which will play a significant role in inspiring home-owners to invest in their homes, have been in the news for several months. I just spoke with Coleen Krauss, the Director of Economic Development and Community Programs at the Vermont Office of Economic Stimulus and Recovery (there's a mouthful!). Coleen said that stimulus funds are only just now hitting the streets. Millions of dollars is about to be released in Vermont (and across the country) which is going to have a huge affect on the contracting market. The question is who is going to be ready for it? There are strings attached in order to qualify for the tax credits and grants and contractors need to understand what needs to happen in order to ensure compliance. We here at Bethel Mills are trying to stay informed in order to assist our customers. Also, organizations like Efficiency Vermont can play a significant role in helping sort this all out for contractors.
Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies reports that the next decade is shaping up to be strong in the renovation market. They report that over half of the 130 million-unit housing stock was built prior to the OPEC oil embargo of 1973. The "echo boomers" are entering the market and are even surpassing the number of baby boomers. Echo-boomers are more environmentally conscious than other generations and are investigating the implications of the tax credits and a down economy and coming to the clear conclusion that investing in the down economy makes the most sense. The decline in housing prices has changed homeowners' perspectives. (You can see where people are getting the best return on their investment in another of my articles...) Performance and quality are far outweighing luxury upgrades and energy management is finally getting people's attention. The echo-boomers are approaching their prime remodeling years (30s and 40s) over the next two decades which will provide an opportunity to update or existing housing stock.
Harvard's report is free and a critical read for contractors...
Monday, November 23, 2009
Report Announces New Returns on Investments in Your Home
An interesting article about returns on investment in your home. However, it fails to take into account the tax credits. In any case, knowing the results might help you steer your customers in the right direction.
House prices are still dropping, so it pays to know which upgrades will deliver the best return when you sell your home. An annual remodeling report finds 4 basic replacements are likely your smartest choice.
Read the entire article...
House prices are still dropping, so it pays to know which upgrades will deliver the best return when you sell your home. An annual remodeling report finds 4 basic replacements are likely your smartest choice.
Read the entire article...
Friday, November 20, 2009
Recovery Through Retrofit
Vice President Biden's Middle Class Task Force Council on Environmental Quality released a report entitled, "Recovery Through Retrofit". The following is the Executive Summary.
Executive Summary:
Making American homes and buildings more energy efficient presents an unprecedented opportunity for communities throughout the country. The Recovery Through Retrofit Report builds on investments made in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to expand the home energy efficiency and retrofit market. Home retrofits can potentially help people earn money, as home retrofit workers, while also helping them save money, by lowering their utility bills. By encouraging nationwide weatherization of homes, workers of all skill levels will be trained, engaged, and will participate in ramping up a national home retrofit market.
There are almost 130 million homes in this country. Combined, they generate more than 20 percent of our nation's carbon dioxide emissions, making them a significant contributor to global climate change. Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting can reduce home energy use by up to 40 percent per home and lower associated greenhouse gas emissions by up to 160 million metric tons annually by the year 2020. Furthermore, home energy efficiency retrofits have the potential to reduce home energy bills by $21 billion annually, paying for themselves over time.
By implementing Recovery Through Retrofit’s recommendations, the Federal Government will lay the groundwork for a self-sustaining home energy efficiency retrofit industry. This Report provides a roadmap of how the Federal Government can use existing authorities and funds to unlock private capital and mobilize our communities.
You can view Biden discussing the Task Force Report...
Executive Summary:
Making American homes and buildings more energy efficient presents an unprecedented opportunity for communities throughout the country. The Recovery Through Retrofit Report builds on investments made in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to expand the home energy efficiency and retrofit market. Home retrofits can potentially help people earn money, as home retrofit workers, while also helping them save money, by lowering their utility bills. By encouraging nationwide weatherization of homes, workers of all skill levels will be trained, engaged, and will participate in ramping up a national home retrofit market.
There are almost 130 million homes in this country. Combined, they generate more than 20 percent of our nation's carbon dioxide emissions, making them a significant contributor to global climate change. Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting can reduce home energy use by up to 40 percent per home and lower associated greenhouse gas emissions by up to 160 million metric tons annually by the year 2020. Furthermore, home energy efficiency retrofits have the potential to reduce home energy bills by $21 billion annually, paying for themselves over time.
By implementing Recovery Through Retrofit’s recommendations, the Federal Government will lay the groundwork for a self-sustaining home energy efficiency retrofit industry. This Report provides a roadmap of how the Federal Government can use existing authorities and funds to unlock private capital and mobilize our communities.
You can view Biden discussing the Task Force Report...
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Customer Service Isn't What It Used To Be
A recent study out of Vanderbilt University found that up to 40% of satisfied customers do not return to those businesses who gave them the satisfactory service.
Do we know where our lost customers went or why they went there? Can we afford NOT to know? Do we really know what it takes to make our existing customers satisfied? Just because a customer isn't complaining doesn't make them a satisfied customer.
Consider this:
•The average “wronged customer” will tell 8-l6 people about their negative experience. Over 20% will tell more than 20.
•It takes 12 positive service incidents to make up for one negative incident.
•For every customer who bothers to complain, 26 other customers remain silent.
I believe that true customer service means far more than simply delivering on the promises you make to your customers. Customer service that seperates you from the rest of the pack is what you do BEYOND the promise. It's what you do to engage your customers and build your relationship that makes the eperience memorable. We need to understand our customers' needs better than ever before. Exceeding the customer's expectations is easier than you might think... it just takes a little thinking and putting it into action.
Do we know where our lost customers went or why they went there? Can we afford NOT to know? Do we really know what it takes to make our existing customers satisfied? Just because a customer isn't complaining doesn't make them a satisfied customer.
Consider this:
•The average “wronged customer” will tell 8-l6 people about their negative experience. Over 20% will tell more than 20.
•It takes 12 positive service incidents to make up for one negative incident.
•For every customer who bothers to complain, 26 other customers remain silent.
I believe that true customer service means far more than simply delivering on the promises you make to your customers. Customer service that seperates you from the rest of the pack is what you do BEYOND the promise. It's what you do to engage your customers and build your relationship that makes the eperience memorable. We need to understand our customers' needs better than ever before. Exceeding the customer's expectations is easier than you might think... it just takes a little thinking and putting it into action.
National Weatherization Program Proposed by Peter Welch
Nicole Gaudiano of the Gannett Washington Bureau reports that Rep. Peter Welch has asked the Obama administration to create a national program for making homes more energy efficient.
In a Wednesday letter, the Vermont Democrat proposed using funds from this year’s economic stimulus package to weatherize 5 million homes, a program he said would create up to 850,000 local jobs and save homeowners $3 billion per year on energy bills.
The letter was signed by 44 other members of Congress. “By investing in energy efficiency, we can create jobs that cannot be exported and provide a much-needed boost to our economy,” Welch said in a statement. His proposal is based on a provision he wrote in a climate change bill that passed the House this summer. The legislation is supported by a coalition of industry, trade, conservation and labor groups, he wrote.
In a Wednesday letter, the Vermont Democrat proposed using funds from this year’s economic stimulus package to weatherize 5 million homes, a program he said would create up to 850,000 local jobs and save homeowners $3 billion per year on energy bills.
The letter was signed by 44 other members of Congress. “By investing in energy efficiency, we can create jobs that cannot be exported and provide a much-needed boost to our economy,” Welch said in a statement. His proposal is based on a provision he wrote in a climate change bill that passed the House this summer. The legislation is supported by a coalition of industry, trade, conservation and labor groups, he wrote.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Energy Efficiency is Cheaper Than Energy Production
From the Times Argus
The numbers say: Close Vt. Yankee
By JOHN GREENBERG - Published: November 13, 2009
If Vermont Yankee is not relicensed, how will we replace the power, and with what consequences to electric rates?
These questions are easy to pose, harder to answer: uncertainties abound. Without power contracts, we do not know how much Vermont Yankee power will cost, should the plant be relicensed. And with a volatile economic environment, and many possible replacement alternatives, it is hard to nail down those costs either. Nevertheless, we can now ballpark-guess enough of this information to make policy decisions.
Vermont Yankee supplies approximately 275-plus megawatts of electricity to customers of Central Vermont Public Service and Green Mountain Power. Under the current contract, this power will cost 4.5 cents per kilowatt hour from January to March 2012, when the plant's operating license expires. Both utilities have stated that they intend to buy less power if the plant is relicensed than they do now.
The cheapest source for power – and overwhelmingly the best from an environmental point of view – is energy efficiency: using less power to do what we are now doing. Examples include energy-saving lighting, replacing old refrigerators and freezers (newer models use considerably less power than older ones), etc. A report commissioned by the Vermont Department of Public Service in 2007 conservatively estimated that 19 percent of Vermont's electric energy could be saved by 2017, at a savings to Vermonters of just under $1 billion.
Energy Efficiency Vermont has been saving approximately 2 percent of Vermont's power demand each year, statewide, at a cost of under 3 cents per kilowatt hour. In the areas of the state which have been specially targeted because of transmission bottlenecks, they've saved twice as much What can be done in these target areas can be done statewide: 4 percent annual savings is an achievable, conservative goal for efficiency efforts. This translates to a per-year savings of 30 megawatts, totaling more than 60 megawatts before closure in 2012. These figures do not include any of the additional efficiency which will stem from federal stimulus money, or from the recently announced federal grant of $69 million for smart grid technology, though both should encourage additional large efficiency gains. In short, these savings can – and in my view, should – be carried forward indefinitely, and at the fastest possible pace: they are an economic-environmental win-win. Vermont policy makers should choose efficiency before considering anything else.
That said, the choice of which generating sources will ultimately be chosen to replace the remainder of the power is a decision for CVPS and GMP to make, unless the legislature intervenes with mandates. What alternatives are available?
To examine potential sources, a consortium of Vermont utilities commissioned a study issued last year as the "CEA report." Based on this report, the Department of Public Service provided testimony to the Public Service Board in the relicensing docket (No. 7440), which included, among others, a portfolio of renewables including mainly wood biomass costing 7.1 cents and wind power at an estimated cost of 7.8 cents. Market prices beginning in 2012 are now expected to be in the 7-plus cents range as well, and there is considerably more excess capacity in our region than will be needed to replace Vermont Yankee.
In other words, by choosing power from either the market, a portfolio of wind and biomass, or some mix of all three, the cost of power is likely to be in the 7 to 8 cents per kilowatt hour range. If efficiency efforts successfully reduce the amount of power to be replaced, however, this cost would probably fall into the 6 to 7 cents range.
Electricity accounts for only about half of our electric bills (the remainder being distribution, transmission, overhead, etc.), and Vermont Yankee represents only about a third of Vermont's electricity. So if Vermont Yankee were offering power at 4.5 cents after relicensing, and if we assumed a portfolio consisting of some mix of efficiency, biomass, wind and market based power (costing on average somewhat less than 7 cents overall), the rate increase for commercial and residential customers would be in the 5 percent range.
Remember, though, that this assumes that Vermont Yankee is offering power in a new contract at the old price of 4.5 cents. If this were the case, however, is it probable that the utilities have missed four contract deadlines and still be haggling?
We cannot know with any precision what options the utilities will choose, but we can now see that, regardless of their choice, the consequences to Vermont ratepayers are unlikely to be dramatic if Vermont Yankee shuts down in 2012. Indeed, depending on what rate is ultimately offered to Vermont ratepayers, there may be no impact at all.
Alternative sources are readily available, in plenty of time to replace Vermont Yankee when its current license expires. Efficiency efforts should be maximized, because efficiency is the cheapest available source, creates the least environmental damage of any kind, and creates more jobs (per megawatt) than either Vermont Yankee or many alternative generating sources. Development of in-state renewable resources also creates good jobs for Vermonters. In addition, both wind and biomass are greenhouse gas neutral.
Depending on the amounts of in-state renewables which are chosen, bringing some projects on line may take longer than the two-plus years now remaining before Vermont Yankee's license expires. Having spoken to many sources, I was told to expect a five-six year period from inception to power production, due mostly to the permitting and appeals process. However, it is important to note that a number of projects have gone part or even most of the way through this process already. To the extent that any gap remains, there is plenty of similarly priced power available in the region to fill any temporary gaps.
We can and should allow Vermont Yankee to retire when its license expires in 2012 to make way for a new and brighter vision of the Vermont economy. The costs will be minimal; the rewards will be great.
John Greenberg is a citizen activist living in Marlboro. Since 1975, he has owned and operated The Bear Bookshop.
The numbers say: Close Vt. Yankee
By JOHN GREENBERG - Published: November 13, 2009
If Vermont Yankee is not relicensed, how will we replace the power, and with what consequences to electric rates?
These questions are easy to pose, harder to answer: uncertainties abound. Without power contracts, we do not know how much Vermont Yankee power will cost, should the plant be relicensed. And with a volatile economic environment, and many possible replacement alternatives, it is hard to nail down those costs either. Nevertheless, we can now ballpark-guess enough of this information to make policy decisions.
Vermont Yankee supplies approximately 275-plus megawatts of electricity to customers of Central Vermont Public Service and Green Mountain Power. Under the current contract, this power will cost 4.5 cents per kilowatt hour from January to March 2012, when the plant's operating license expires. Both utilities have stated that they intend to buy less power if the plant is relicensed than they do now.
The cheapest source for power – and overwhelmingly the best from an environmental point of view – is energy efficiency: using less power to do what we are now doing. Examples include energy-saving lighting, replacing old refrigerators and freezers (newer models use considerably less power than older ones), etc. A report commissioned by the Vermont Department of Public Service in 2007 conservatively estimated that 19 percent of Vermont's electric energy could be saved by 2017, at a savings to Vermonters of just under $1 billion.
Energy Efficiency Vermont has been saving approximately 2 percent of Vermont's power demand each year, statewide, at a cost of under 3 cents per kilowatt hour. In the areas of the state which have been specially targeted because of transmission bottlenecks, they've saved twice as much What can be done in these target areas can be done statewide: 4 percent annual savings is an achievable, conservative goal for efficiency efforts. This translates to a per-year savings of 30 megawatts, totaling more than 60 megawatts before closure in 2012. These figures do not include any of the additional efficiency which will stem from federal stimulus money, or from the recently announced federal grant of $69 million for smart grid technology, though both should encourage additional large efficiency gains. In short, these savings can – and in my view, should – be carried forward indefinitely, and at the fastest possible pace: they are an economic-environmental win-win. Vermont policy makers should choose efficiency before considering anything else.
That said, the choice of which generating sources will ultimately be chosen to replace the remainder of the power is a decision for CVPS and GMP to make, unless the legislature intervenes with mandates. What alternatives are available?
To examine potential sources, a consortium of Vermont utilities commissioned a study issued last year as the "CEA report." Based on this report, the Department of Public Service provided testimony to the Public Service Board in the relicensing docket (No. 7440), which included, among others, a portfolio of renewables including mainly wood biomass costing 7.1 cents and wind power at an estimated cost of 7.8 cents. Market prices beginning in 2012 are now expected to be in the 7-plus cents range as well, and there is considerably more excess capacity in our region than will be needed to replace Vermont Yankee.
In other words, by choosing power from either the market, a portfolio of wind and biomass, or some mix of all three, the cost of power is likely to be in the 7 to 8 cents per kilowatt hour range. If efficiency efforts successfully reduce the amount of power to be replaced, however, this cost would probably fall into the 6 to 7 cents range.
Electricity accounts for only about half of our electric bills (the remainder being distribution, transmission, overhead, etc.), and Vermont Yankee represents only about a third of Vermont's electricity. So if Vermont Yankee were offering power at 4.5 cents after relicensing, and if we assumed a portfolio consisting of some mix of efficiency, biomass, wind and market based power (costing on average somewhat less than 7 cents overall), the rate increase for commercial and residential customers would be in the 5 percent range.
Remember, though, that this assumes that Vermont Yankee is offering power in a new contract at the old price of 4.5 cents. If this were the case, however, is it probable that the utilities have missed four contract deadlines and still be haggling?
We cannot know with any precision what options the utilities will choose, but we can now see that, regardless of their choice, the consequences to Vermont ratepayers are unlikely to be dramatic if Vermont Yankee shuts down in 2012. Indeed, depending on what rate is ultimately offered to Vermont ratepayers, there may be no impact at all.
Alternative sources are readily available, in plenty of time to replace Vermont Yankee when its current license expires. Efficiency efforts should be maximized, because efficiency is the cheapest available source, creates the least environmental damage of any kind, and creates more jobs (per megawatt) than either Vermont Yankee or many alternative generating sources. Development of in-state renewable resources also creates good jobs for Vermonters. In addition, both wind and biomass are greenhouse gas neutral.
Depending on the amounts of in-state renewables which are chosen, bringing some projects on line may take longer than the two-plus years now remaining before Vermont Yankee's license expires. Having spoken to many sources, I was told to expect a five-six year period from inception to power production, due mostly to the permitting and appeals process. However, it is important to note that a number of projects have gone part or even most of the way through this process already. To the extent that any gap remains, there is plenty of similarly priced power available in the region to fill any temporary gaps.
We can and should allow Vermont Yankee to retire when its license expires in 2012 to make way for a new and brighter vision of the Vermont economy. The costs will be minimal; the rewards will be great.
John Greenberg is a citizen activist living in Marlboro. Since 1975, he has owned and operated The Bear Bookshop.
General Interest Arcticles
Hill Heat
Science Policy Legislation Action
Who's Who on the EPW: Senate Committee Begins Landmark Climate Hearings
This week, hearings begin in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733). This comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation, co-sponsored by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA), will establish a mandatory global warming pollution reduction market that will fund clean energy and climate adaptation, as well as establish new renewable energy and energy efficiency standards. The 19 members of the committee – 12 Democrats and 7 Republicans – are overseeing a three-day marathon of legislative hearings this week, starting with Administration witnesses today.
The committee members can be sorted by their degree of support for clean energy, progressive reform, and strong climate action:
■STRONGEST ACTION: Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
■STRONG ACTION: Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Tom Udall (D-CO)
■CENTRIST: Max Baucus (D-MT), Tom Carper (D-DE), Arlen Specter (D-PA)
■ANTI: Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), George Voinovich (R-OH)
■EXTREME ANTI: John Barrasso (R-WY), Kit Bond (R-MO), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), David Vitter (R-LA)
Below is the Hill Heat’s summary of some key issues that will be debated at the hearings.
CLEAN FUTURE
CLEAN AIR: “We must act to reduce black carbon,” Carper says, “a dangerous pollutant emitted by old, dirty diesel engines like those in some school buses and thought to be the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide.” “Among my top priorities was to be sure that we not only address challenges that carbon dioxide poses to our planet, but sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide and mercury.”
COAL PLANT GREENHOUSE GAS REGULATION: Kerry-Boxer follows Gillibrand’s call that “the EPA has to have authority to regulate coal plants under the Clean Air Act.” Baucus opposes the retention of this authority.
EMISSIONS LIMITS: As Sens. Cardin, Lautenberg, Merkley, Sanders, Whitehouse requested, the 2020 target for greenhouse pollution reductions has been strengthened to 20 percent below 2005 levels, instead of Waxman-Markey’s 17 percent target. Baucus has criticized the stronger targets.
GREEN TRANSPORTATION: Kerry-Boxer includes Sen. Carper’s push for green transportation, devoting “a guaranteed share of revenues from carbon regulation to transit, bike paths, and other green modes of transport.” The SmartWay Transportation Efficiency Program is modeled on the Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable, New Transportation Efficiency Act (S. 575 / H.R. 1329), co-sponsored by Sens. Specter, Merkley, Lautenberg, and Cardin.
NATURAL RESOURCE ADAPTATION: Whitehouse and Baucus have submitted language to support efforts for natural resource adaptation.
INDUSTRY
ALLOWANCE ALLOCATION: As chair of the Finance Committee, Baucus can assert authority over emission allowance distribution. Baucus has raised the possibility of “auctioning allowances to cut taxes by cutting marginal rates, by cutting capital gains rates, by cutting payroll taxes or by doing all of the above,” although he doubts there will be “major” changes to the House allocation formula, which is supported by the Edison Electric Institute, the main utility trade group. Baucus has supported additional allocations to rural electric cooperatives and “solid relief to low-income Americans.” Carper supports the existing allocation formula, saying, “I thought the utility industry did a great service by coming up with a compromise that all of them could live with.”
COAL SUPPORT: Carper led what he calls the “clean coal group,” an “ad-hoc group that helped craft the coal provisions,” including a change that “allows for advanced distribution of the bill’s bonus allowances” for carbon capture and sequestration projects with at least 50% efficiency. The National Mining Association still says the legislation “doesn’t work for coal.”
NUCLEAR SUPPORT: Carper wants “an expanded role for nuclear” and is “working with Joe Lieberman and others to create a more robust nuclear title when the bill comes to the floor.” However, he recognizes that “there’ll be a lot of incentives, just from the way the allowance system will be set up,” and has called for expanding the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, rather than increasing subsidies for the nuclear industry. Alexander believes “we should build 100 new nuclear plants” but has offered no proposal on how to achieve that, while dismissing estimates that the legislation under consideration would accomplish his goals.
TRADE: Baucus supports “ways to make sure U.S. companies are not taken advantage of, or discriminated against.” Specter supports “strong provisions to ensure the strength and viability of domestic manufacturing,” including a “border adjustment mechanism” if “other major carbon emitting countries fail to commit to an international agreement requiring commensurate action on climate change.”
OPPOSITION
CLIMATE DENIAL: Barrasso, Bond, Crapo, Inhofe, and Vitter question the consensus that manmade climate change is a significant threat. Barrasso has said: “I don’t believe it is a problem at this point.” “None of the farmers I have talked to in Missouri,” said Bond, “have expressed concerns about human-caused global climate change.” Crapo argues “the underlying cause of these climactic shifts is ultimately not well-understood and is a matter of vigorous debate.” “God’s still up there,” said Inhofe. “We’re going through these cycles.” “I don’t think it is clear and settled,” Vitter has said, “the extent of the human impact on temperature trends.”
EPA AND CAROL BROWNER: Barrasso, Crapo, Inhofe, Vitter, and Voinovich have repeatedly criticized the EPA and their analyses of the legislation. Voinovich has a hold on EPA deputy administrator nominee Robert Perciasepe. Inhofe, Barrasso, and Vitter have attacked Browner as an unaccountable “czar” and are requesting White House documents about her actions.
FILIBUSTER THREAT: The Republicans on the committee were all co-signatories of a letter in March that called for the preservation of a GOP filibuster threat against climate legislation. None of the seven Democratic signatories are members of the environment committee.
FUEL COSTS: Bond co-authored a report that argues clean energy legislation is the equivalent of a $3.6 trillion gas tax, totalling over 40 years extremely pessimistic estimates of fuel prices based on a National Black Chamber of Commerce report, without taking into account fuel economy. Other studies predict that gas prices will fall, as demand lessens and oil company profit margins are lessened.
JOB ASSISTANCE: Inhofe and Voinovich argue that provisions for unemployment benefits and job relocation provide evidence that the legislation will destroy jobs. “There’s no credible analysis that suggests this bill will be a net job creator,” claimed Voinovich. “Less energy production,” says Barrasso, “will mean fewer jobs for Americans.”
Science Policy Legislation Action
Who's Who on the EPW: Senate Committee Begins Landmark Climate Hearings
This week, hearings begin in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733). This comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation, co-sponsored by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA), will establish a mandatory global warming pollution reduction market that will fund clean energy and climate adaptation, as well as establish new renewable energy and energy efficiency standards. The 19 members of the committee – 12 Democrats and 7 Republicans – are overseeing a three-day marathon of legislative hearings this week, starting with Administration witnesses today.
The committee members can be sorted by their degree of support for clean energy, progressive reform, and strong climate action:
■STRONGEST ACTION: Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
■STRONG ACTION: Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Tom Udall (D-CO)
■CENTRIST: Max Baucus (D-MT), Tom Carper (D-DE), Arlen Specter (D-PA)
■ANTI: Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), George Voinovich (R-OH)
■EXTREME ANTI: John Barrasso (R-WY), Kit Bond (R-MO), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), David Vitter (R-LA)
Below is the Hill Heat’s summary of some key issues that will be debated at the hearings.
CLEAN FUTURE
CLEAN AIR: “We must act to reduce black carbon,” Carper says, “a dangerous pollutant emitted by old, dirty diesel engines like those in some school buses and thought to be the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide.” “Among my top priorities was to be sure that we not only address challenges that carbon dioxide poses to our planet, but sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide and mercury.”
COAL PLANT GREENHOUSE GAS REGULATION: Kerry-Boxer follows Gillibrand’s call that “the EPA has to have authority to regulate coal plants under the Clean Air Act.” Baucus opposes the retention of this authority.
EMISSIONS LIMITS: As Sens. Cardin, Lautenberg, Merkley, Sanders, Whitehouse requested, the 2020 target for greenhouse pollution reductions has been strengthened to 20 percent below 2005 levels, instead of Waxman-Markey’s 17 percent target. Baucus has criticized the stronger targets.
GREEN TRANSPORTATION: Kerry-Boxer includes Sen. Carper’s push for green transportation, devoting “a guaranteed share of revenues from carbon regulation to transit, bike paths, and other green modes of transport.” The SmartWay Transportation Efficiency Program is modeled on the Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable, New Transportation Efficiency Act (S. 575 / H.R. 1329), co-sponsored by Sens. Specter, Merkley, Lautenberg, and Cardin.
NATURAL RESOURCE ADAPTATION: Whitehouse and Baucus have submitted language to support efforts for natural resource adaptation.
INDUSTRY
ALLOWANCE ALLOCATION: As chair of the Finance Committee, Baucus can assert authority over emission allowance distribution. Baucus has raised the possibility of “auctioning allowances to cut taxes by cutting marginal rates, by cutting capital gains rates, by cutting payroll taxes or by doing all of the above,” although he doubts there will be “major” changes to the House allocation formula, which is supported by the Edison Electric Institute, the main utility trade group. Baucus has supported additional allocations to rural electric cooperatives and “solid relief to low-income Americans.” Carper supports the existing allocation formula, saying, “I thought the utility industry did a great service by coming up with a compromise that all of them could live with.”
COAL SUPPORT: Carper led what he calls the “clean coal group,” an “ad-hoc group that helped craft the coal provisions,” including a change that “allows for advanced distribution of the bill’s bonus allowances” for carbon capture and sequestration projects with at least 50% efficiency. The National Mining Association still says the legislation “doesn’t work for coal.”
NUCLEAR SUPPORT: Carper wants “an expanded role for nuclear” and is “working with Joe Lieberman and others to create a more robust nuclear title when the bill comes to the floor.” However, he recognizes that “there’ll be a lot of incentives, just from the way the allowance system will be set up,” and has called for expanding the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, rather than increasing subsidies for the nuclear industry. Alexander believes “we should build 100 new nuclear plants” but has offered no proposal on how to achieve that, while dismissing estimates that the legislation under consideration would accomplish his goals.
TRADE: Baucus supports “ways to make sure U.S. companies are not taken advantage of, or discriminated against.” Specter supports “strong provisions to ensure the strength and viability of domestic manufacturing,” including a “border adjustment mechanism” if “other major carbon emitting countries fail to commit to an international agreement requiring commensurate action on climate change.”
OPPOSITION
CLIMATE DENIAL: Barrasso, Bond, Crapo, Inhofe, and Vitter question the consensus that manmade climate change is a significant threat. Barrasso has said: “I don’t believe it is a problem at this point.” “None of the farmers I have talked to in Missouri,” said Bond, “have expressed concerns about human-caused global climate change.” Crapo argues “the underlying cause of these climactic shifts is ultimately not well-understood and is a matter of vigorous debate.” “God’s still up there,” said Inhofe. “We’re going through these cycles.” “I don’t think it is clear and settled,” Vitter has said, “the extent of the human impact on temperature trends.”
EPA AND CAROL BROWNER: Barrasso, Crapo, Inhofe, Vitter, and Voinovich have repeatedly criticized the EPA and their analyses of the legislation. Voinovich has a hold on EPA deputy administrator nominee Robert Perciasepe. Inhofe, Barrasso, and Vitter have attacked Browner as an unaccountable “czar” and are requesting White House documents about her actions.
FILIBUSTER THREAT: The Republicans on the committee were all co-signatories of a letter in March that called for the preservation of a GOP filibuster threat against climate legislation. None of the seven Democratic signatories are members of the environment committee.
FUEL COSTS: Bond co-authored a report that argues clean energy legislation is the equivalent of a $3.6 trillion gas tax, totalling over 40 years extremely pessimistic estimates of fuel prices based on a National Black Chamber of Commerce report, without taking into account fuel economy. Other studies predict that gas prices will fall, as demand lessens and oil company profit margins are lessened.
JOB ASSISTANCE: Inhofe and Voinovich argue that provisions for unemployment benefits and job relocation provide evidence that the legislation will destroy jobs. “There’s no credible analysis that suggests this bill will be a net job creator,” claimed Voinovich. “Less energy production,” says Barrasso, “will mean fewer jobs for Americans.”
Green or Gold
Reported from the Providence Journal
Experts say ‘green’ economy won’t save New England
01:00 AM EST on Sunday, November 15, 2009
By Alex Kuffner - akuffner@projo.com
Journal Staff Writer
BOSTON — Green technology may help drive an economic recovery in New England but the fledgling industry will not be a major engine of growth for the region in the foreseeable future, economists said at a recent conference.
The sobering assessment came during the New England Economic Partnership’s fall conference, which was held last week in Boston and focused on so-called “green-collar jobs” and whether their creation will help pull Rhode Island and its neighbors out of recession.
President Obama has pushed renewable power, energy efficiency and the like as potential growth industries for the country. His administration has steered billions of dollars in stimulus funds to the creation of jobs in green businesses. Likewise, in Rhode Island, Governor Carcieri has thrown support behind two offshore wind farms, touting their potential to bring high-paying jobs to the state in the manufacturing, assembly and installation of wind turbines.
Speakers at the conference last Tuesday, however, said that although the sector will generate jobs, it could take years before it has a large impact on the economy as a whole.
“I think the green economy is part and should be part of an economic recovery, but it can’t be counted on as the single source of growth,” said NEEP vice president Ross Gittell, the James R. Carter Professor at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics.
He and other economists said there is hope for green industries in New England, and the country as a whole. They pointed to a study issued in June by a Washington nonprofit that determined between 1998 and 2007 green-collar jobs in the United States grew at a faster rate than overall jobs. The difference — 9.1 percent compared to 3.7 percent — was significant, but the total number of green jobs is still tiny.
The same is true in New England, where the study by the Pew Charitable Trusts counted 51,000 green jobs — or 0.66 percent of total employment in the region. Even in Massachusetts, which has the most jobs in the sector of the six New England states, the number is only 0.69 percent of overall employment. In Rhode Island, which has 2,328 green jobs, the share is 0.42 percent.
In a presentation of an economic forecast for Rhode Island, Edinaldo Tebaldi, assistant professor of economics at Bryant University, questioned whether green industries will stimulate growth in the rest of the state’s economy. The offshore wind farms proposed by the New Jersey-based Deepwater Wind are projected to create 800 jobs at a staging facility in Quonset Point, but Tebaldi said that’s a relatively small number in and of itself.
The hope of Carcieri and other state leaders is that Deepwater’s projects will act as a catalyst to turn Rhode Island into a hub for the offshore wind manufacturing and construction. They believe that wind resources off the East Coast will lead to wind farms being built from Maine to the Carolinas. If that happens, thousands of more jobs in the offshore wind industry could flow into the Ocean State.
Gittell’s written report to the conference makes note of policy support for renewable energy in New England, including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and participation in Renewable Portfolio Standards. He wrote that the New England states must play to regional strengths in developing the green economy. One possibility for job creation is in weatherization and improving energy efficiency in the region’s large stock of older buildings.
The only New England states with high rates of growth in green jobs are Maine (23 percent) and Vermont (15 percent). Maine has achieved its growth by developing land-based wind projects, including the 38-turbine Stetson Wind, the largest wind farm in New England.
Vermont is working to brand itself as a green industry leader, according to the state’s governor, James H. Douglas. In the keynote speech at the conference, Douglas called the green sector a small part of the economy, but an important one
Experts say ‘green’ economy won’t save New England
01:00 AM EST on Sunday, November 15, 2009
By Alex Kuffner - akuffner@projo.com
Journal Staff Writer
BOSTON — Green technology may help drive an economic recovery in New England but the fledgling industry will not be a major engine of growth for the region in the foreseeable future, economists said at a recent conference.
The sobering assessment came during the New England Economic Partnership’s fall conference, which was held last week in Boston and focused on so-called “green-collar jobs” and whether their creation will help pull Rhode Island and its neighbors out of recession.
President Obama has pushed renewable power, energy efficiency and the like as potential growth industries for the country. His administration has steered billions of dollars in stimulus funds to the creation of jobs in green businesses. Likewise, in Rhode Island, Governor Carcieri has thrown support behind two offshore wind farms, touting their potential to bring high-paying jobs to the state in the manufacturing, assembly and installation of wind turbines.
Speakers at the conference last Tuesday, however, said that although the sector will generate jobs, it could take years before it has a large impact on the economy as a whole.
“I think the green economy is part and should be part of an economic recovery, but it can’t be counted on as the single source of growth,” said NEEP vice president Ross Gittell, the James R. Carter Professor at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics.
He and other economists said there is hope for green industries in New England, and the country as a whole. They pointed to a study issued in June by a Washington nonprofit that determined between 1998 and 2007 green-collar jobs in the United States grew at a faster rate than overall jobs. The difference — 9.1 percent compared to 3.7 percent — was significant, but the total number of green jobs is still tiny.
The same is true in New England, where the study by the Pew Charitable Trusts counted 51,000 green jobs — or 0.66 percent of total employment in the region. Even in Massachusetts, which has the most jobs in the sector of the six New England states, the number is only 0.69 percent of overall employment. In Rhode Island, which has 2,328 green jobs, the share is 0.42 percent.
In a presentation of an economic forecast for Rhode Island, Edinaldo Tebaldi, assistant professor of economics at Bryant University, questioned whether green industries will stimulate growth in the rest of the state’s economy. The offshore wind farms proposed by the New Jersey-based Deepwater Wind are projected to create 800 jobs at a staging facility in Quonset Point, but Tebaldi said that’s a relatively small number in and of itself.
The hope of Carcieri and other state leaders is that Deepwater’s projects will act as a catalyst to turn Rhode Island into a hub for the offshore wind manufacturing and construction. They believe that wind resources off the East Coast will lead to wind farms being built from Maine to the Carolinas. If that happens, thousands of more jobs in the offshore wind industry could flow into the Ocean State.
Gittell’s written report to the conference makes note of policy support for renewable energy in New England, including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and participation in Renewable Portfolio Standards. He wrote that the New England states must play to regional strengths in developing the green economy. One possibility for job creation is in weatherization and improving energy efficiency in the region’s large stock of older buildings.
The only New England states with high rates of growth in green jobs are Maine (23 percent) and Vermont (15 percent). Maine has achieved its growth by developing land-based wind projects, including the 38-turbine Stetson Wind, the largest wind farm in New England.
Vermont is working to brand itself as a green industry leader, according to the state’s governor, James H. Douglas. In the keynote speech at the conference, Douglas called the green sector a small part of the economy, but an important one
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tax Credits Can Be a Boon for Business
Make sure you market and sell them in a way that fits who you are and what you do.
Source: ProSales Magazine
By Jim Cory
Window companies build marketing strategies around it. HVAC and insulation contractors – usually not the most aggressive marketers – hit the airwaves to promote it. The metal roofing industry wants it all.
"It," of course, is the increased business resulting from federal tax credits on energy-efficient home improvements; credits equal to 30% of cost, up to $1,500, for windows, doors, certain kinds of roofing, water heaters, biomass stoves, insulation, and qualifying HVAC units. When all is said and done, experts suggest that such improvements will add about $6 billion worth of volume to the total amount of remodeling activity in 2009.
Many products qualify, and already in the first half of this year many types of contractors are using the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act tax credits to generate new business. Tax credits can help produce inquiries, close pending business, shut out competitors, and solidify existing relationships with customers.
To do one or all of those, you need a strategy appropriate to your image. Is your company a closing machine that lives and breathes lead flow? Consider giving tax credits a prominent spot in your marketing message and sales presentation. Are you an up-market design/build remodeler with a portfolio of award-winning projects? If so, you need to know as much as you can about the products that qualify for the credits and why they qualify, to incorporate them when you can into specifications and design plans. You should also be prepared to explain to clients how and why they benefit from using these products.
Long and Short Cycle
The approach you take will likely depend on the type of remodeling or home improvements you sell. If your company is set up to sell and install short-cycle jobs of a day to a week in length, jobs that typically sell for less than $15,000 or $20,000, having Uncle Sam reward that purchase by knocking $1,500 off someone's taxes might be an inducement for some homeowners to get in touch with you.
Of course that also depends on where your prospects are in the buying cycle for windows or a new roof. If small jobs are what your company is about, you have nothing to lose by putting tax credits front and center in your advertising, on your Web page, and in the scripts used by the demonstrators and canvassers representing you in stores, at events, or on doorsteps.
In fact, that's what many home improvement companies are now doing. Windowizards, in Levittown, Pa., for instance, saw mass e-mail blasts to its database produce an immediate sales uptick. Of course, that was in the heady days of March.
The difficulty now may be that with an increasing number of home improvement companies talking tax credits, yours could end up being just another voice in the choir. In fact, if your company doesn't offer qualifying windows, it could place you and your product at a competitive disadvantage.
But that doesn't mean that full-service, even design/build, remodelers can't get a piece of the tax credit action. Far from it. Companies that specialize in larger projects, built over weeks and months and often for referred clients, simply need to take a different approach. Here the value of those credits lies in suggesting appropriate upgrades or additions to the scope of work to help homeowners take advantage of a unique opportunity.
In either case, you generate additional revenue, build trust by using your expertise to help clients save money, and come out the hero. Earlier this year, for instance, Andy Ault, owner of Little River Carpentry, in Laurel, Md., had a client who had contracted for a master suite bath. Ault suggested that instead of replacing the existing hot water heater with something similar, the client should go for a tankless heater that, though it would cost roughly three times as much, would work better with the design and would reduce the $3,000 price by a third, with the energy tax credits factored in. The client agreed with Ault's recommendation. He also appreciated Ault's guidance.
For the full-service remodeler seeing fewer jobs and jobs with a smaller scope of work, the tax credits are an opportunity to add value to projects that involve HVAC systems, appliances, or weatherization products at a time when luxury items are often viewed with disfavor.
"Granite, heated tile floors, home theaters, all those are getting cut," Ault says. "But clients will find money for these other things because they're more central to the project and they can take advantage of the tax credits."
The Time Is Now
Many replacement contractors now incorporate tax credits into their marketing. But is that enough to prompt homeowners to call? And if they call, why shouldn't they offer objections to stall the sale? That's when tax credits become not just a way to prompt inquiries but yet another means to help close.
"The real tool is in the hands of the astute sales rep," contends Vaughn McCourt, general manager for Penguin Windows, in Mukilteo, Wash. In the minds of some customers, McCourt says, "the difference between a $4,500 job and a $6,000 job is huge. People didn't think windows were affordable, and now they become affordable." So big are the savings, relative to the size of the job, that they feel they can afford more windows. Since the tax credits came into play, Penguin Windows' average sale is up by $2,000 and its close ratio by half a point, not small change if you're running 150 to 160 appointments a day.
The tax credit message lends urgency both to lead generation and closing by reminding prospects that there's no time like the present to take advantage of a situation that benefits them, is good for a limited time, and won't be repeated. The message in brief: If you're thinking about windows, need a new roof, or would like the house properly insulated, the federal government is giving you an excellent reason to get it done now, since that reason won't exist in two years.
Don't expect homeowners to know any of this on their own. Think they do? Try asking. An April survey by Opinion Research Corp., sponsored by building products manufacturer Johns Manville, has 68% of homeowner respondents saying that they know about energy tax credits. But 72% of respondents were unaware of how to apply for them, and 53% said that they didn't intend to make a purchase that would qualify.
In other words, most understand or have heard about the concept, but they know little or nothing about the particulars, such as the time frame, the products covered, or how the credits work. They may not know the difference between a tax credit and a tax deduction.
Earlier this year, for instance, demonstrators working a local event for Larmco Windows and Siding, in Ohio, asked visitors if they were familiar with how energy tax credits could save money on a home improvement purchase. Almost uniformly, according to vice president Joe Talmon, the answer was No. Talmon points out that this provides an opportunity to get the conversation started, especially in face-to-face marketing.
"If you're going to wait for people to know before they respond, it's not going to happen," he says. Larmco Windows and Siding put tax credits front and center in TV and radio ads, as well as on its website, which not only notes that just 20% of replacement windows currently qualify for tax credits, but also explains the company's discount offer and features an energy savings calculator that visitors can use.
One other thing that Larmco found out was that tax credits alone usually don't get the phone to ring. "We had a few commercials where tax credits were the thrust of the message, and they underperformed," Talmon says. Instead, talking about tax credits lets you talk about the value of your company's product and service and how those distinguish you from competitors.
Dollar For Dollar
The more aggressive home improvement companies didn't stop at simply calling attention to tax credits. They sweetened the pot with a discount. The most popular promotions offer customers who buy qualifying windows or insulation a dollar-for-dollar match on their tax credit. Say, for instance, you bought $10,000 worth of windows from Weather Tight Corp., a Milwaukee company. Even minus the 20% installation cost ($2,000) you, the customer, qualify for the full $1,500 tax credit as applied to the $8,000 materials cost of that purchase. But while the tax credit shows up next year, Weather Tight will discount your cost today by exactly the amount you qualify for in tax credits. Not only do all the company's windows qualify, but that easily comprehensible discount provides a strong incentive to buy.
Weather Tight's discount offer, and a strategy for marketing around the ARRA tax credits, was in place within days of the legislation being signed into law. Before the company crafted its offer, says director of marketing Michelle Vincent, canvassers and demonstrators were given an information packet and were coached in a new script explaining how homeowners could use the tax credits to buy energy-efficient windows. Sales reps "practiced and practiced" incorporating tax credits and the dollar-for-dollar discount into their presentation, sales manager Eric Folsom says.
Weather Tight, Penguin Windows, Larmco Windows and Siding, Cardinal Builders in Columbus, Ohio, and Power Windows & Siding in the Philadelphia area are five of many home improvement companies now offering a dollar-for-dollar discount on windows or other products such as insulation.
But mostly windows. It's been a while since anything stirred the window replacement industry like the 2009 ARRA. Even the low-price dealer network Window World scrambled to get qualified product into place.
All this is leaving some people wondering if we're not suffering from a case of "stim fatigue." "Everybody's talking about tax credits," says Ken Moeslein, CEO of Legacy Remodeling, in Pittsburgh. "We quickly make it known that we have windows that qualify, then we move on."
Rather than run the risk of getting lost in the shuffle, Legacy Remodeling decided to steer clear of tax credits in its marketing. On their laptops, the company's salespeople take prospects to the National Fenestration Rating Council website to show them which of the windows they're considering from various manufacturers qualify. Since Legacy Remodeling counts about 20 products in the Pittsburgh market that do qualify, Moeslein says he prefers to market and sell around other strengths.
Nimble on the Web
The marketing around tax credits shows just how fast messages must change in an online world. For instance, no sooner was the ink dry on the ARRA than Cardinal Builders had a red banner at the top of its home page announcing that the composite windows it carries qualify for tax credits. As interest developed, the company was able to change site content overnight to add its dollar-for-dollar discount to the educational material and site links.
Vice president of operations Michael Lelasher says that he chose the Web as his focus – "Our website is our pitch book" – because that's where anyone in Central Ohio who is curious about energy tax credits would go to get information. "They may not even know they need windows or that they can get a tax credit for them," he says. "I want them to go into Google, type in 'tax credit,' and we show up."
Cardinal Builders' heavily optimized site appears on the first page of Google's organic search results. This March, unique visitors more than tripled: from 518 a year ago to 1,780 this year. The caveat: There are four other window companies on the first page of search results when Central Ohio residents go online and search on "energy tax credits."
While individual window replacement companies look for ways to get public attention, the Metal Roofing Alliance, an industry group of manufacturers and contractors, put together an integrated vertical marketing campaign using TV and radio commercials, plus Facebook and Twitter pages, to drive traffic to the group's site. Besides links to the Energy Star page on qualifying metal roofs and to an IRS page, visitors can type in their ZIP code to connect with a roofing contractor in their area. "Anybody chasing that $1,500 is a competitor," says Ryan Katz, of Congruent Media, which planned the site and the marketing campaign.
Low-Key Approach
Among those doing the chasing are more than a few full-service and design/build companies. Since a lot of the work for such companies comes from past customers or referrals, opportunities to market and sell around the tax credits may not be as obvious.
But they certainly exist. In a relationship-driven sale, an effective approach tends to be more about quality and service and less about price, though clients definitely appreciate being able to save money or upgrade components at a savings.
There are two reasons why full-service remodelers might not want to wave the price flag. One is the size of the tax credits relative to the project. Twenty-five percent savings or more may well prompt an inquiry or close a sale; 1% or 2% is unlikely to do so. In other words, no one's going to contract for an addition or a whole-house remodel because of the $1,500 they can save on their taxes. But if they're already interested in those projects, your ability to talk about energy tax credits and green remodeling could be persuasive.
"It's tough to close a deal right now," says John Sperath of Blue Ribbon Construction, in Raleigh, N.C. Which is why, he feels, "It's important to let people know we have our ear to the ground, that we're the professionals. It gives consumers a sense that these guys know what they're doing."
The other reason is that while, like anyone, affluent customers thinking about a large remodel want to save money, their first concern is finding a contractor who will design and build to their satisfaction. So price promotions may not only fail to connect, they may even damage your brand among the demographic you seek and service.
"In design/build, [price marketing] is kind of hokey," says Bob DuBree, owner of Creative Contracting, in North Wales, Pa. "We're going for higher-income people who are savvier than that."
Marketing expert David Alpert, of Continuum Marketing, in Great Falls, Va., whose clients are primarily design/build contractors, suggests that the company website is an excellent place for full-service contractors to talk about not only federal energy tax credits but rebates available through states and local utilities.
"Do a little research. Pull the information together. Include all the links where they could fill out applications or get more detail." Let your circle of influence know, he advises. But, Alpert cautions, don't let discussion of energy tax credits overshadow your brand message. For instance, if your website is full of before and after pictures of award-winning projects, would you really want to steer visitors to a landing page informing them about energy tax credits and qualifying products? Tax credit information belongs "off to the side," he says.
Newsletters, both print and electronic, are also a great way to get the message out. In April, for instance, Creative Contracting used its e-newsletter to inform its database of mostly past customers about energy tax credits. The message: Now's a great time to change out old windows to new ones that qualify.
DuBree says that, as a result, his company has sold replacement windows as an add-on for a porch project and a master suite.
Recently, Ken Adams, owner of Adams Design Construction, in Madison, Wis., sent a letter to "a few hundred" clients and potential clients, talking about tax credits. Because these are people who may be doing one project after another with his company, Adams sought to position himself as an expert while at the same time avoiding anything like a hard sell. "If your goal is to try to get as many contacts as possible, you go out and beat the drums," he says. "But if you want to be seen as a high-end service organization, you have to be more careful how you target people, and try to develop a deeper relationship with potential and existing clients."
Adams says that the response to his letter was not necessarily what he expected. It included a customer who wanted a screened porch built and another who upped a $2,000 job to $25,000 worth of work.
Upgrades and Expertise
Another approach is to explain to homeowners how they can take advantage of tax credits as part of a larger remodel. Before moving to draw attention to the tax credits as part of a project, know which type of products that you might install are covered under the ARRA (click here to see our "Stimulus at a Glance" chart) and familiarize yourself with rebate programs available from the state you live in and from local utilities.
Recently, for instance, a homeowner in the Seattle area wanted a complete renovation of a 1914 house that had never had any energy upgrades. Paul Kocharhook, owner of Pathway Design & Construction, in Seattle, asked the HVAC trade contractor he works with for a list of heating units that qualify for both energy tax credits and a $350 rebate from the local utility. He incorporated these, along with windows and full insulation, into the design plan. Then Pathway Design & Construction's HVAC contractor presented a plan to the client showing exactly how new windows and new insulation values would maximize the efficiency of their new heater, and just how much money they would save in one-, five-, and 10-year time frames. The company got the job, which four other remodeling firms were also competing for.
In addition, tax credits can be a great way to open a conversation about upgrading components or expanding the scope of work. For instance, many of the Raleigh, N.C., houses that Sperath works on are anywhere from 15 to 30 years old. Fifteen years is the typical life of the original HVAC system. Sperath's suggestion for kitchen, bath, and addition clients is that now is a great time to put in a qualifying HVAC system so that they can take advantage of the energy tax credits. Or, "if you're discussing an addition," says the owner of Blue Ribbon Residential Construction, "you can talk about upgraded windows."
Setting Priorities
The best way, many remodelers and energy auditors say, to determine how a homeowner should use the $1,500 tax credit for their home, is to first conduct an energy audit.
"You need to look at the whole picture and decide on priorities," says Darren Lombardo of Home Energy Solutions , an auditor in Salisbury, Md. "For example, it does not matter how efficient an HVAC system is – the house still has to retain the heating and cooling it provides."
Remodeler Andrew Shore uses audits to prioritize energy-efficient home improvement options from least to most effective for his clients. "We rank them so homeowners can see what will result in the biggest energy savings. That is critical in providing value. Do not pitch the most expensive things to them, but what is most cost-effective," says the owner of Sea Pointe Construction, in Irvine, Calif.
Last year, Case Design/Remodeling, in Bethesda, Md., began offering a complementary evaluation to its clients. The evaluation, conducted by Case staff, includes a review of existing equipment and conditions and utility bills. "We then use this information during the design stage to suggest places to improve performance," says project designer Matt Dirksen. Often small improvements relating to sealing the building envelope result in a greater savings and increased comfort level. "I recently watched a homeowner receive a 9% drop in air leakage simply due to one hour's worth of caulking and sealing," Dirksen says.
Case Design/Remodeling clients can also choose to pay for a full audit conducted by an outside firm, such as Amicus Green, in Kensington, Md. This company uses custom software to analyze existing conditions. It then suggests improvements and re-tests the house after the updates have been made. In addition, "using the audit as a baseline, we offer strategies for future changes," president Jason Holstein says.
The proof, Lombardo says, is ultimately in the client's utility bills: "When people see a 35% reduction, they know that what I do works."
Holstein advises homeowners against basing their improvement decisions solely on the tax credits. "It should be more of tie-breaker to assist in the decision. Use the stimulus money as an extra tool to prioritize what you will do."
–N.P.
Offer Ends Soon
Window replacement companies are among the home improvement industry's most skilled and aggressive marketers. No sooner was the ARRA signed into law than many window companies revamped their marketing to call attention to the tax credits as well as to whatever offers they had crafted around the stimulus.
Vaughn McCourt, director of operations for Penguin Windows, in the Pacific Northwest, says that the legislation's passage and provisions caught his company off-guard. "We scrambled big-time" to research the act's language and its implications, he says, then to "get it into our advertising, onto our website, and into our salesroom training."
Nor was Penguin Windows alone. "What's interesting to me is how quickly the right people can put something out there in just under 24 hours," says Joe Talmon, vice president of Larmco Windows and Siding, in Ohio.
Not all companies were prepared to go as far as Larmco or Weather Tight Corp., in Milwaukee, both of which match whatever tax credit consumers earn with a discount of their own.
But many were. And by the end of May, window replacement companies with products that qualified, even if they weren't heavily marketing or discounting those products, found that tax credits were helping them to close sales. "Everybody seems to ask about it," notes Bill Clifford, a sales rep for Windows and Doors of Indianapolis Today.
Brien Murphy, of EZ Home Exteriors, in Pittsburgh, who sells two window lines, both of which qualify, guesses that tax credits could boost product sales in the region anywhere from 10% to 15%. "If they need windows, they need windows," he says. The message: Now's the time to buy them.
Murphy suggests that the size of the tax credit, relative to the average cost of a window replacement job, "will enable some homeowners to do a whole job instead of half a job."
That the time is right to buy windows is a message that resonates through all parts of the country. Dale Brenke, president of Schmidt Siding & Window Co., in Mankato, Minn., reports a 10% increase in sales of the company's Renewal by Andersen replacement windows. After a slow fall and winter, the ARRA credits gave the firm the boost it needed. "Without the stimulus plan, I don't know where we'd be," Brenke says.
With the credits set to expire at the end of 2010, companies know that time is limited and they want to make the most of their opportunity. McCourt says that Penguin Windows is preparing a fall campaign that will urge home-owners to act now so they can claim tax credits on their 2009 returns. On the Weather Tight website, a button reads, "Click for details; offer ends soon."
Source: ProSales Magazine
By Jim Cory
Window companies build marketing strategies around it. HVAC and insulation contractors – usually not the most aggressive marketers – hit the airwaves to promote it. The metal roofing industry wants it all.
"It," of course, is the increased business resulting from federal tax credits on energy-efficient home improvements; credits equal to 30% of cost, up to $1,500, for windows, doors, certain kinds of roofing, water heaters, biomass stoves, insulation, and qualifying HVAC units. When all is said and done, experts suggest that such improvements will add about $6 billion worth of volume to the total amount of remodeling activity in 2009.
Many products qualify, and already in the first half of this year many types of contractors are using the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act tax credits to generate new business. Tax credits can help produce inquiries, close pending business, shut out competitors, and solidify existing relationships with customers.
To do one or all of those, you need a strategy appropriate to your image. Is your company a closing machine that lives and breathes lead flow? Consider giving tax credits a prominent spot in your marketing message and sales presentation. Are you an up-market design/build remodeler with a portfolio of award-winning projects? If so, you need to know as much as you can about the products that qualify for the credits and why they qualify, to incorporate them when you can into specifications and design plans. You should also be prepared to explain to clients how and why they benefit from using these products.
Long and Short Cycle
The approach you take will likely depend on the type of remodeling or home improvements you sell. If your company is set up to sell and install short-cycle jobs of a day to a week in length, jobs that typically sell for less than $15,000 or $20,000, having Uncle Sam reward that purchase by knocking $1,500 off someone's taxes might be an inducement for some homeowners to get in touch with you.
Of course that also depends on where your prospects are in the buying cycle for windows or a new roof. If small jobs are what your company is about, you have nothing to lose by putting tax credits front and center in your advertising, on your Web page, and in the scripts used by the demonstrators and canvassers representing you in stores, at events, or on doorsteps.
In fact, that's what many home improvement companies are now doing. Windowizards, in Levittown, Pa., for instance, saw mass e-mail blasts to its database produce an immediate sales uptick. Of course, that was in the heady days of March.
The difficulty now may be that with an increasing number of home improvement companies talking tax credits, yours could end up being just another voice in the choir. In fact, if your company doesn't offer qualifying windows, it could place you and your product at a competitive disadvantage.
But that doesn't mean that full-service, even design/build, remodelers can't get a piece of the tax credit action. Far from it. Companies that specialize in larger projects, built over weeks and months and often for referred clients, simply need to take a different approach. Here the value of those credits lies in suggesting appropriate upgrades or additions to the scope of work to help homeowners take advantage of a unique opportunity.
In either case, you generate additional revenue, build trust by using your expertise to help clients save money, and come out the hero. Earlier this year, for instance, Andy Ault, owner of Little River Carpentry, in Laurel, Md., had a client who had contracted for a master suite bath. Ault suggested that instead of replacing the existing hot water heater with something similar, the client should go for a tankless heater that, though it would cost roughly three times as much, would work better with the design and would reduce the $3,000 price by a third, with the energy tax credits factored in. The client agreed with Ault's recommendation. He also appreciated Ault's guidance.
For the full-service remodeler seeing fewer jobs and jobs with a smaller scope of work, the tax credits are an opportunity to add value to projects that involve HVAC systems, appliances, or weatherization products at a time when luxury items are often viewed with disfavor.
"Granite, heated tile floors, home theaters, all those are getting cut," Ault says. "But clients will find money for these other things because they're more central to the project and they can take advantage of the tax credits."
The Time Is Now
Many replacement contractors now incorporate tax credits into their marketing. But is that enough to prompt homeowners to call? And if they call, why shouldn't they offer objections to stall the sale? That's when tax credits become not just a way to prompt inquiries but yet another means to help close.
"The real tool is in the hands of the astute sales rep," contends Vaughn McCourt, general manager for Penguin Windows, in Mukilteo, Wash. In the minds of some customers, McCourt says, "the difference between a $4,500 job and a $6,000 job is huge. People didn't think windows were affordable, and now they become affordable." So big are the savings, relative to the size of the job, that they feel they can afford more windows. Since the tax credits came into play, Penguin Windows' average sale is up by $2,000 and its close ratio by half a point, not small change if you're running 150 to 160 appointments a day.
The tax credit message lends urgency both to lead generation and closing by reminding prospects that there's no time like the present to take advantage of a situation that benefits them, is good for a limited time, and won't be repeated. The message in brief: If you're thinking about windows, need a new roof, or would like the house properly insulated, the federal government is giving you an excellent reason to get it done now, since that reason won't exist in two years.
Don't expect homeowners to know any of this on their own. Think they do? Try asking. An April survey by Opinion Research Corp., sponsored by building products manufacturer Johns Manville, has 68% of homeowner respondents saying that they know about energy tax credits. But 72% of respondents were unaware of how to apply for them, and 53% said that they didn't intend to make a purchase that would qualify.
In other words, most understand or have heard about the concept, but they know little or nothing about the particulars, such as the time frame, the products covered, or how the credits work. They may not know the difference between a tax credit and a tax deduction.
Earlier this year, for instance, demonstrators working a local event for Larmco Windows and Siding, in Ohio, asked visitors if they were familiar with how energy tax credits could save money on a home improvement purchase. Almost uniformly, according to vice president Joe Talmon, the answer was No. Talmon points out that this provides an opportunity to get the conversation started, especially in face-to-face marketing.
"If you're going to wait for people to know before they respond, it's not going to happen," he says. Larmco Windows and Siding put tax credits front and center in TV and radio ads, as well as on its website, which not only notes that just 20% of replacement windows currently qualify for tax credits, but also explains the company's discount offer and features an energy savings calculator that visitors can use.
One other thing that Larmco found out was that tax credits alone usually don't get the phone to ring. "We had a few commercials where tax credits were the thrust of the message, and they underperformed," Talmon says. Instead, talking about tax credits lets you talk about the value of your company's product and service and how those distinguish you from competitors.
Dollar For Dollar
The more aggressive home improvement companies didn't stop at simply calling attention to tax credits. They sweetened the pot with a discount. The most popular promotions offer customers who buy qualifying windows or insulation a dollar-for-dollar match on their tax credit. Say, for instance, you bought $10,000 worth of windows from Weather Tight Corp., a Milwaukee company. Even minus the 20% installation cost ($2,000) you, the customer, qualify for the full $1,500 tax credit as applied to the $8,000 materials cost of that purchase. But while the tax credit shows up next year, Weather Tight will discount your cost today by exactly the amount you qualify for in tax credits. Not only do all the company's windows qualify, but that easily comprehensible discount provides a strong incentive to buy.
Weather Tight's discount offer, and a strategy for marketing around the ARRA tax credits, was in place within days of the legislation being signed into law. Before the company crafted its offer, says director of marketing Michelle Vincent, canvassers and demonstrators were given an information packet and were coached in a new script explaining how homeowners could use the tax credits to buy energy-efficient windows. Sales reps "practiced and practiced" incorporating tax credits and the dollar-for-dollar discount into their presentation, sales manager Eric Folsom says.
Weather Tight, Penguin Windows, Larmco Windows and Siding, Cardinal Builders in Columbus, Ohio, and Power Windows & Siding in the Philadelphia area are five of many home improvement companies now offering a dollar-for-dollar discount on windows or other products such as insulation.
But mostly windows. It's been a while since anything stirred the window replacement industry like the 2009 ARRA. Even the low-price dealer network Window World scrambled to get qualified product into place.
All this is leaving some people wondering if we're not suffering from a case of "stim fatigue." "Everybody's talking about tax credits," says Ken Moeslein, CEO of Legacy Remodeling, in Pittsburgh. "We quickly make it known that we have windows that qualify, then we move on."
Rather than run the risk of getting lost in the shuffle, Legacy Remodeling decided to steer clear of tax credits in its marketing. On their laptops, the company's salespeople take prospects to the National Fenestration Rating Council website to show them which of the windows they're considering from various manufacturers qualify. Since Legacy Remodeling counts about 20 products in the Pittsburgh market that do qualify, Moeslein says he prefers to market and sell around other strengths.
Nimble on the Web
The marketing around tax credits shows just how fast messages must change in an online world. For instance, no sooner was the ink dry on the ARRA than Cardinal Builders had a red banner at the top of its home page announcing that the composite windows it carries qualify for tax credits. As interest developed, the company was able to change site content overnight to add its dollar-for-dollar discount to the educational material and site links.
Vice president of operations Michael Lelasher says that he chose the Web as his focus – "Our website is our pitch book" – because that's where anyone in Central Ohio who is curious about energy tax credits would go to get information. "They may not even know they need windows or that they can get a tax credit for them," he says. "I want them to go into Google, type in 'tax credit,' and we show up."
Cardinal Builders' heavily optimized site appears on the first page of Google's organic search results. This March, unique visitors more than tripled: from 518 a year ago to 1,780 this year. The caveat: There are four other window companies on the first page of search results when Central Ohio residents go online and search on "energy tax credits."
While individual window replacement companies look for ways to get public attention, the Metal Roofing Alliance, an industry group of manufacturers and contractors, put together an integrated vertical marketing campaign using TV and radio commercials, plus Facebook and Twitter pages, to drive traffic to the group's site. Besides links to the Energy Star page on qualifying metal roofs and to an IRS page, visitors can type in their ZIP code to connect with a roofing contractor in their area. "Anybody chasing that $1,500 is a competitor," says Ryan Katz, of Congruent Media, which planned the site and the marketing campaign.
Low-Key Approach
Among those doing the chasing are more than a few full-service and design/build companies. Since a lot of the work for such companies comes from past customers or referrals, opportunities to market and sell around the tax credits may not be as obvious.
But they certainly exist. In a relationship-driven sale, an effective approach tends to be more about quality and service and less about price, though clients definitely appreciate being able to save money or upgrade components at a savings.
There are two reasons why full-service remodelers might not want to wave the price flag. One is the size of the tax credits relative to the project. Twenty-five percent savings or more may well prompt an inquiry or close a sale; 1% or 2% is unlikely to do so. In other words, no one's going to contract for an addition or a whole-house remodel because of the $1,500 they can save on their taxes. But if they're already interested in those projects, your ability to talk about energy tax credits and green remodeling could be persuasive.
"It's tough to close a deal right now," says John Sperath of Blue Ribbon Construction, in Raleigh, N.C. Which is why, he feels, "It's important to let people know we have our ear to the ground, that we're the professionals. It gives consumers a sense that these guys know what they're doing."
The other reason is that while, like anyone, affluent customers thinking about a large remodel want to save money, their first concern is finding a contractor who will design and build to their satisfaction. So price promotions may not only fail to connect, they may even damage your brand among the demographic you seek and service.
"In design/build, [price marketing] is kind of hokey," says Bob DuBree, owner of Creative Contracting, in North Wales, Pa. "We're going for higher-income people who are savvier than that."
Marketing expert David Alpert, of Continuum Marketing, in Great Falls, Va., whose clients are primarily design/build contractors, suggests that the company website is an excellent place for full-service contractors to talk about not only federal energy tax credits but rebates available through states and local utilities.
"Do a little research. Pull the information together. Include all the links where they could fill out applications or get more detail." Let your circle of influence know, he advises. But, Alpert cautions, don't let discussion of energy tax credits overshadow your brand message. For instance, if your website is full of before and after pictures of award-winning projects, would you really want to steer visitors to a landing page informing them about energy tax credits and qualifying products? Tax credit information belongs "off to the side," he says.
Newsletters, both print and electronic, are also a great way to get the message out. In April, for instance, Creative Contracting used its e-newsletter to inform its database of mostly past customers about energy tax credits. The message: Now's a great time to change out old windows to new ones that qualify.
DuBree says that, as a result, his company has sold replacement windows as an add-on for a porch project and a master suite.
Recently, Ken Adams, owner of Adams Design Construction, in Madison, Wis., sent a letter to "a few hundred" clients and potential clients, talking about tax credits. Because these are people who may be doing one project after another with his company, Adams sought to position himself as an expert while at the same time avoiding anything like a hard sell. "If your goal is to try to get as many contacts as possible, you go out and beat the drums," he says. "But if you want to be seen as a high-end service organization, you have to be more careful how you target people, and try to develop a deeper relationship with potential and existing clients."
Adams says that the response to his letter was not necessarily what he expected. It included a customer who wanted a screened porch built and another who upped a $2,000 job to $25,000 worth of work.
Upgrades and Expertise
Another approach is to explain to homeowners how they can take advantage of tax credits as part of a larger remodel. Before moving to draw attention to the tax credits as part of a project, know which type of products that you might install are covered under the ARRA (click here to see our "Stimulus at a Glance" chart) and familiarize yourself with rebate programs available from the state you live in and from local utilities.
Recently, for instance, a homeowner in the Seattle area wanted a complete renovation of a 1914 house that had never had any energy upgrades. Paul Kocharhook, owner of Pathway Design & Construction, in Seattle, asked the HVAC trade contractor he works with for a list of heating units that qualify for both energy tax credits and a $350 rebate from the local utility. He incorporated these, along with windows and full insulation, into the design plan. Then Pathway Design & Construction's HVAC contractor presented a plan to the client showing exactly how new windows and new insulation values would maximize the efficiency of their new heater, and just how much money they would save in one-, five-, and 10-year time frames. The company got the job, which four other remodeling firms were also competing for.
In addition, tax credits can be a great way to open a conversation about upgrading components or expanding the scope of work. For instance, many of the Raleigh, N.C., houses that Sperath works on are anywhere from 15 to 30 years old. Fifteen years is the typical life of the original HVAC system. Sperath's suggestion for kitchen, bath, and addition clients is that now is a great time to put in a qualifying HVAC system so that they can take advantage of the energy tax credits. Or, "if you're discussing an addition," says the owner of Blue Ribbon Residential Construction, "you can talk about upgraded windows."
Setting Priorities
The best way, many remodelers and energy auditors say, to determine how a homeowner should use the $1,500 tax credit for their home, is to first conduct an energy audit.
"You need to look at the whole picture and decide on priorities," says Darren Lombardo of Home Energy Solutions , an auditor in Salisbury, Md. "For example, it does not matter how efficient an HVAC system is – the house still has to retain the heating and cooling it provides."
Remodeler Andrew Shore uses audits to prioritize energy-efficient home improvement options from least to most effective for his clients. "We rank them so homeowners can see what will result in the biggest energy savings. That is critical in providing value. Do not pitch the most expensive things to them, but what is most cost-effective," says the owner of Sea Pointe Construction, in Irvine, Calif.
Last year, Case Design/Remodeling, in Bethesda, Md., began offering a complementary evaluation to its clients. The evaluation, conducted by Case staff, includes a review of existing equipment and conditions and utility bills. "We then use this information during the design stage to suggest places to improve performance," says project designer Matt Dirksen. Often small improvements relating to sealing the building envelope result in a greater savings and increased comfort level. "I recently watched a homeowner receive a 9% drop in air leakage simply due to one hour's worth of caulking and sealing," Dirksen says.
Case Design/Remodeling clients can also choose to pay for a full audit conducted by an outside firm, such as Amicus Green, in Kensington, Md. This company uses custom software to analyze existing conditions. It then suggests improvements and re-tests the house after the updates have been made. In addition, "using the audit as a baseline, we offer strategies for future changes," president Jason Holstein says.
The proof, Lombardo says, is ultimately in the client's utility bills: "When people see a 35% reduction, they know that what I do works."
Holstein advises homeowners against basing their improvement decisions solely on the tax credits. "It should be more of tie-breaker to assist in the decision. Use the stimulus money as an extra tool to prioritize what you will do."
–N.P.
Offer Ends Soon
Window replacement companies are among the home improvement industry's most skilled and aggressive marketers. No sooner was the ARRA signed into law than many window companies revamped their marketing to call attention to the tax credits as well as to whatever offers they had crafted around the stimulus.
Vaughn McCourt, director of operations for Penguin Windows, in the Pacific Northwest, says that the legislation's passage and provisions caught his company off-guard. "We scrambled big-time" to research the act's language and its implications, he says, then to "get it into our advertising, onto our website, and into our salesroom training."
Nor was Penguin Windows alone. "What's interesting to me is how quickly the right people can put something out there in just under 24 hours," says Joe Talmon, vice president of Larmco Windows and Siding, in Ohio.
Not all companies were prepared to go as far as Larmco or Weather Tight Corp., in Milwaukee, both of which match whatever tax credit consumers earn with a discount of their own.
But many were. And by the end of May, window replacement companies with products that qualified, even if they weren't heavily marketing or discounting those products, found that tax credits were helping them to close sales. "Everybody seems to ask about it," notes Bill Clifford, a sales rep for Windows and Doors of Indianapolis Today.
Brien Murphy, of EZ Home Exteriors, in Pittsburgh, who sells two window lines, both of which qualify, guesses that tax credits could boost product sales in the region anywhere from 10% to 15%. "If they need windows, they need windows," he says. The message: Now's the time to buy them.
Murphy suggests that the size of the tax credit, relative to the average cost of a window replacement job, "will enable some homeowners to do a whole job instead of half a job."
That the time is right to buy windows is a message that resonates through all parts of the country. Dale Brenke, president of Schmidt Siding & Window Co., in Mankato, Minn., reports a 10% increase in sales of the company's Renewal by Andersen replacement windows. After a slow fall and winter, the ARRA credits gave the firm the boost it needed. "Without the stimulus plan, I don't know where we'd be," Brenke says.
With the credits set to expire at the end of 2010, companies know that time is limited and they want to make the most of their opportunity. McCourt says that Penguin Windows is preparing a fall campaign that will urge home-owners to act now so they can claim tax credits on their 2009 returns. On the Weather Tight website, a button reads, "Click for details; offer ends soon."
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Whole-House Retrofits Shows Bigger Returns
Whole-house retrofits of older homes have a far greater payback as it relates to the energy savings, the environment and carbon emissions than building new "green" homes. The ARRA Tax Credits are a huge benefit to all three of those categories as well as to home-owners' bank accounts.
It's reported that 77 million homes in the U.S. that need improvements are 25 years or older. Retrofitting those homes with the current building science technologies for energy-efficiency and eco-friendliness is substantially hampered but the lack of contractor training. Efficiency Vermont helps train, certify and accredit contractors and other businesses in auditing and inspection skills including the Home Performance with Energy Star program. One of the objectives of these programs is to approach the home holistically - looking at the entire home rather than a piece-meal approach. This approach requires that contractors need to educate homeowners about the building science that leads to the most cost-effective energy improvements. The stimulus package tax credits worth thousands of dollars may convince homeowners that whole-house retrofits are worth the investment.
Contact Efficiency Vermont for help.
It's reported that 77 million homes in the U.S. that need improvements are 25 years or older. Retrofitting those homes with the current building science technologies for energy-efficiency and eco-friendliness is substantially hampered but the lack of contractor training. Efficiency Vermont helps train, certify and accredit contractors and other businesses in auditing and inspection skills including the Home Performance with Energy Star program. One of the objectives of these programs is to approach the home holistically - looking at the entire home rather than a piece-meal approach. This approach requires that contractors need to educate homeowners about the building science that leads to the most cost-effective energy improvements. The stimulus package tax credits worth thousands of dollars may convince homeowners that whole-house retrofits are worth the investment.
Contact Efficiency Vermont for help.
Monday, November 2, 2009
ARRA TAX CREDIT INFORMATION
ACT BEFORE DECEMBER 31st TO QUALIFY FOR 2009 TAX CREDIT
AFTER 12/31/09 TAX CREDITS WILL APPLY TO TAX 2010 TAX YEAR
INCREASE YOUR REFUND OR REDUCE YOUR LIABILITY – EITHER WAY YOU WIN!
IRS, WASHINGTON — Go Green and Save - People can now weatherize their homes and be rewarded for their efforts. According to the Internal Revenue Service, homeowners making investments in qualified energy-saving improvements like windows, doors, insulation, roofing and more, can significantly cut their 2009 tax bill as well as their winter heating bills. Also, making these improvements between 01/01/10 and 12/31/10 STILL QUALIFIES for a tax credit but it will be for the 2010 tax year.
NO MINIMUM PURCHASE REQUIRED
(e.g. $100 investment gets a $30 tax credit!)
To qualify for the maximum, $1,500.00 tax credit, invest as little as $5,000 on these eligible energy-saving improvements.
The incentive gives 30% of what a homeowner invests in eligible energy-saving improvements, as a tax credit.
There is a maximum tax credit of $1,500 for combined 2009 and 2010 tax years and, generally, labor costs are not included when calculating this credit.
It’s Even Retroactive!
If you are a contractor or a homeowner who has already installed qualified materials into a primary residence since February 18th, 2009, you can still get this significant tax credit.
Ask us how
Join our email list and we’ll keep you up-to-date on current and future tax credit information.
To join, email Robert Farnham at robertf@bethelmills.com or ask an associate.
For a prompt response, put “TAX CREDIT” in the subject line of your email or call 802-234-9951.
How to claim the tax credit. An eligible taxpayer can claim these credits, regardless of whether he or she itemizes deductions on Schedule A. Use Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits, to figure and claim these credits. The form can be found at www.IRS.gov.
AFTER 12/31/09 TAX CREDITS WILL APPLY TO TAX 2010 TAX YEAR
INCREASE YOUR REFUND OR REDUCE YOUR LIABILITY – EITHER WAY YOU WIN!
IRS, WASHINGTON — Go Green and Save - People can now weatherize their homes and be rewarded for their efforts. According to the Internal Revenue Service, homeowners making investments in qualified energy-saving improvements like windows, doors, insulation, roofing and more, can significantly cut their 2009 tax bill as well as their winter heating bills. Also, making these improvements between 01/01/10 and 12/31/10 STILL QUALIFIES for a tax credit but it will be for the 2010 tax year.
NO MINIMUM PURCHASE REQUIRED
(e.g. $100 investment gets a $30 tax credit!)
To qualify for the maximum, $1,500.00 tax credit, invest as little as $5,000 on these eligible energy-saving improvements.
The incentive gives 30% of what a homeowner invests in eligible energy-saving improvements, as a tax credit.
There is a maximum tax credit of $1,500 for combined 2009 and 2010 tax years and, generally, labor costs are not included when calculating this credit.
It’s Even Retroactive!
If you are a contractor or a homeowner who has already installed qualified materials into a primary residence since February 18th, 2009, you can still get this significant tax credit.
Ask us how
Join our email list and we’ll keep you up-to-date on current and future tax credit information.
To join, email Robert Farnham at robertf@bethelmills.com or ask an associate.
For a prompt response, put “TAX CREDIT” in the subject line of your email or call 802-234-9951.
How to claim the tax credit. An eligible taxpayer can claim these credits, regardless of whether he or she itemizes deductions on Schedule A. Use Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits, to figure and claim these credits. The form can be found at www.IRS.gov.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tax Credits are Driving Sales
Credits for Existing Homes
Many other tax credits are available in other product categories than are listed below...
Definitions
Windows and Doors (and potentially Skylights)
To qualify, after June 1, 2009, products in this category must have a U-factor<=0.30 and an SHGC <=0.30 and the value of the credit is 30% of the cost of the materials (no installation labor), up to $1,500.
To qualify for the tax credit for improvements made prior to June 1, 2009, the products must meet Energy Star criteria.
Storm Windows and Storm Doors
In combination with the exterior window over which it is installed, the U-factor and the SHGC must be <=0.30. Same as above, the value of the credit is 30% of the cost of the materials (no installation labor), up to $1,500.Time frames for this credit are the same as for windows and doors above.
Insulation
The product must meet the 2009 IECC & Ammendments standards. Not ALL insulation products qualify and the manufacturer (and we) will supply documentation. The tax credit is the same, 30% of the cost of the material, up to $1,500.
Roofs (Metal and Asphalt)
Presently, the only product available to Bethel Mills for qualifying roofing is Everdrain. There is an asphalt roof supplier presently going into production to provide us with a qualifying product. Until we carry that product, Everdrain is the only roofing product that qualifies in this category.
Many other tax credits are available in other product categories than are listed below...
Definitions
- "Tax Credit" and a "Tax Deduction" - The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) offers a tax CREDIT for Energy Efficiency measures. It's important to explain the difference between a "credit" and a "deduction" to customers - the value is far greater for the credit than the deduction. A tax credit reduces the actual amount of taxes owed. For example, if you owe $1,500 in Federal Tax and you qualify for a $1,500 Energy Efficiency Tax Credit then you owe nothing in Federal Tax. A tax deduction only reduces taxable income and so the reduction in tax due is only a fraction of the deduction.
- "U-factor" - The U-value (or U-factor) describes how well a building element conducts heat. The smaller the U-value number, the better. Under standardized conditions, it measures the rate of heat transfer through a building element over a given area. The usual standard is at a temperature gradient of 75F°, at 50% humidity with no wind.
- "SHGC factor" - Solar Heat Gain Coefficient - SHGC is the amount of solar radiation that makes its way through glass and is expressed as a number between 0 and 0.87. The lower a window's SHCG, the less solar heat it transmits, and the greater its shading ability. SHGC may be expressed in terms of the glass alone or may refer to the entire window or door assembly.
- "30% of product cost, up to $1,500" - The $1,500 credit maximum is per homeowner for all improvements combined not per category group.
- "IECC" - International Energy Conservation Code. For detailed information.
Windows and Doors (and potentially Skylights)
To qualify, after June 1, 2009, products in this category must have a U-factor<=0.30 and an SHGC <=0.30 and the value of the credit is 30% of the cost of the materials (no installation labor), up to $1,500.
To qualify for the tax credit for improvements made prior to June 1, 2009, the products must meet Energy Star criteria.
Storm Windows and Storm Doors
In combination with the exterior window over which it is installed, the U-factor and the SHGC must be <=0.30. Same as above, the value of the credit is 30% of the cost of the materials (no installation labor), up to $1,500.Time frames for this credit are the same as for windows and doors above.
Insulation
The product must meet the 2009 IECC & Ammendments standards. Not ALL insulation products qualify and the manufacturer (and we) will supply documentation. The tax credit is the same, 30% of the cost of the material, up to $1,500.
Roofs (Metal and Asphalt)
Presently, the only product available to Bethel Mills for qualifying roofing is Everdrain. There is an asphalt roof supplier presently going into production to provide us with a qualifying product. Until we carry that product, Everdrain is the only roofing product that qualifies in this category.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
States Invest More in Energy Efficiency - WSJ.com
Vermontbiz.com says: Vermont #6 in the country for energy efficiency efforts
Vermont has one of the strongest Energy Efficiency programs in the country. Galen Barbose, a staff research associate at the national lab, said the spending increase for energy efficiency programs has been so sharp "that there's an emerging shortage of trained professionals to design the programs, measure results and do the actual work of retrofitting buildings."
Fill the need and profit... Nationally, efficiency program spending is expected to rise from $3.1 billion in 2008 to $7.5 billion to $12.4 billion by 2020. "It's far cheaper to invest in energy efficiency than to build new power plants. A separate study by ACEEE, the scorecard author, found that it costs an average of 2.5 cents to save a kilowatt hour of electricity through the programs. Building new resources like power plants, by contrast, would cost three or more times as much, not counting pollution costs."
Take action:
Efficiency Vermont can help contractors become certified so that they are eligible for substantial incentives - homeperformance@veic.org
These incentives include:
$ Project Bonus: Efficiency Vermont pays participating contractors a cash bonus for each satisfactorily completed and reported Home Performance with ENERGY STAR project.
$ Discount Incentives and Financing: Home Performance with ENERGY STAR contractors can offer their customers access to cash incentives and/or reduced rate fi nancing for qualifying home energy improvements.
$ Diagnostic Equipment Incentives: Rebates on equipment costs are available to help BPI-certified contractors purchase diagnostic testing equipment.
$ Marketing Support: Advertising templates and materials, marketing leads, technical assistance, and financial incentives for cooperative advertising are available from Efficiency Vermont to help contractors market Home Performance with ENERGY STAR services.
$ Reduced Cost BPI Training and Certifi cation: Efficiency Vermont offers discounts on technical training and certifi cation to contractors who become BPI certified and meet Home Performance with ENERGY STAR participation requirements. Training is designed to meet BPI’s Building Analyst, Heating, and Envelope Specialist certifi cations. Training topics include health and safety, basic building science, combustion principles, inspections and diagnostics, and installation and maintenance.
$ No-Cost Mentoring: Efficiency Vermont experts provide training to help contractors prepare for BPI certification, and ongoing field mentoring to assist certified contractors in delivering high quality Home Performance with ENERGY STAR services.
$ Advanced Training: Efficiency Vermont offers free advanced technical training for BPI continuing education credit to Home Performance with ENERGY STAR contractors. In addition to technical subjects, advanced training covers sales and marketing techniques and customer service best practices.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Stimulus A - Z: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and You
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and its agressive tax credits, have proven successful, at least in the construction industry. More and more customers are investing in window and door replacement, insulating and roofing. Their justifiable concern over rising energy costs, (they may fluctuate but no one expects them to go down) are driving the investments.
Tax credits are available in many industries. Let's explore the three areas that affect our business.
Here is the short form - Requirements and deadlines for remodeling-related energy improvements.
Credit available: 30% of cost, materials only, $1,500 maximum for all improvements combined.
Timeline: Must be "placed in service" (ready and available for use) January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2010.
Windows and Skylights:
Before June 1, 2009: Must meet Energy Star criteria
After May 31, 2009: U-factor and SHGC less than or equal to 0.30.
Storm Windows:
Must comply with International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) bfor abpplicable climate zone in combination with window over which it is installed. (Use either the 2001 Supplement to the 2000 IECC or the 2004 Supplement to the 2003 IECC.)
Exterior Doors:
U-factor and SHGC less then or equal to 0.30.
Storm Doors:
Must comply with IECC default U-factor in combination with primary door.
Insulation:
Must meet 2009 IECC and amendments. Must be expected to last five years or have two-year warranty. Primary purpose must be to insulate. As of mid-September, the IRS had not ruled on SIPs or insulated siding but it is believed that SIPs are eligible.
Metal and Asphalt Roofs:
Energy-Star qualified.
We can help make sure your customers qualify and get these tax credits. Use Bethel Mills as your clearinghouse for this service.
Tax credits are available in many industries. Let's explore the three areas that affect our business.
Here is the short form - Requirements and deadlines for remodeling-related energy improvements.
Credit available: 30% of cost, materials only, $1,500 maximum for all improvements combined.
Timeline: Must be "placed in service" (ready and available for use) January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2010.
Windows and Skylights:
Before June 1, 2009: Must meet Energy Star criteria
After May 31, 2009: U-factor and SHGC less than or equal to 0.30.
Storm Windows:
Must comply with International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) bfor abpplicable climate zone in combination with window over which it is installed. (Use either the 2001 Supplement to the 2000 IECC or the 2004 Supplement to the 2003 IECC.)
Exterior Doors:
U-factor and SHGC less then or equal to 0.30.
Storm Doors:
Must comply with IECC default U-factor in combination with primary door.
Insulation:
Must meet 2009 IECC and amendments. Must be expected to last five years or have two-year warranty. Primary purpose must be to insulate. As of mid-September, the IRS had not ruled on SIPs or insulated siding but it is believed that SIPs are eligible.
Metal and Asphalt Roofs:
Energy-Star qualified.
We can help make sure your customers qualify and get these tax credits. Use Bethel Mills as your clearinghouse for this service.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Can We Stop Global Warming Without Giving Away the Store?
Margie Alt - Executive Director of Environment America - seems to think we can.
She believes that we should repower America with 100% clean energy. She refers to a number of energy sources in her article. I encourage you to read it yourself and let me know what you think... you can read it here:
Can we stop global warming?
She believes that we should repower America with 100% clean energy. She refers to a number of energy sources in her article. I encourage you to read it yourself and let me know what you think... you can read it here:
Can we stop global warming?
Friday, October 16, 2009
Huttig Greener Selections Workshop
Oct. 14, 2009 - Sheraton Hotel, Norwood MA
Huttig Building Products generously sponsored this Greener Selections Workshop. With "green" being the buzzword for our industry, Huttig realized that contractors and suppliers need real knowledge about what that means. Industry experts Mark LaLiberte and Gord Cooke spoke at the workshop.
Sponsors on hand, to answer questions about energy-efficiency and tax credits, were ThermaTru, Masonite, Typar, Huttig Windows and Owens Corning. Each had displays and were put to the test by the nearly 200 event participants with questions about features, advantages and benefits of their products.
Mark LaLiberte spoke, in significant detail, about "Implementing Green" and related it to building science. His slides and presentation style kept it interesting and informative. There were several examples of poor building practices and their end results.You can visit his website to see much more about him.
Gord Cooke too, was a fantastic speaker and spoke about what green really means to the building industry. Gord spoke more about the selling of green. Showing how customers, investing in green, is the best investment available today. With much greater returns on investment than savings accounts or even funds in the stock market, green, energy-efficient investments in the home give the greatest return.
Both speakers spoke highly of the Energy and Environmental Building Association (EEBA)and visiting their website was strongly encouraged.
Overall, the conference was informative and entertaining. The venue was great as was the food!
Huttig Building Products generously sponsored this Greener Selections Workshop. With "green" being the buzzword for our industry, Huttig realized that contractors and suppliers need real knowledge about what that means. Industry experts Mark LaLiberte and Gord Cooke spoke at the workshop.
Sponsors on hand, to answer questions about energy-efficiency and tax credits, were ThermaTru, Masonite, Typar, Huttig Windows and Owens Corning. Each had displays and were put to the test by the nearly 200 event participants with questions about features, advantages and benefits of their products.
Mark LaLiberte spoke, in significant detail, about "Implementing Green" and related it to building science. His slides and presentation style kept it interesting and informative. There were several examples of poor building practices and their end results.You can visit his website to see much more about him.
Gord Cooke too, was a fantastic speaker and spoke about what green really means to the building industry. Gord spoke more about the selling of green. Showing how customers, investing in green, is the best investment available today. With much greater returns on investment than savings accounts or even funds in the stock market, green, energy-efficient investments in the home give the greatest return.
Both speakers spoke highly of the Energy and Environmental Building Association (EEBA)and visiting their website was strongly encouraged.
Overall, the conference was informative and entertaining. The venue was great as was the food!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
David Allen on "Getting Things Done"
David Allen and Getting Things Done
I was going to attempt to explain who David Allen is and about his book "Getting Things Done". A explanation, better than I can produce, can be found at Wikipedia. Also, the video below, produced by Fast Company Magazine, is an interview with David where you can hear, in his own words, some of the ideas and principles he has compiled to create his overall system of Getting Things Done.
Here's a video produced by David's company...
I was going to attempt to explain who David Allen is and about his book "Getting Things Done". A explanation, better than I can produce, can be found at Wikipedia. Also, the video below, produced by Fast Company Magazine, is an interview with David where you can hear, in his own words, some of the ideas and principles he has compiled to create his overall system of Getting Things Done.
Here's a video produced by David's company...
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Low VOC Adhesives - Liquid Nails moving into the market
As VOC restrictions tighten, some companies turn to newer technologies. Read this complete article here.
Liquid Nails Polyurethane Construction Adhesive has entered the low VOC product market. This new product, and other products like it save contractors from being exposed to the volatile compounds during installation and saves homeowners from having to live with the gassing off of these compounds.
Liquid Nails Polyurethane Construction Adhesive has entered the low VOC product market. This new product, and other products like it save contractors from being exposed to the volatile compounds during installation and saves homeowners from having to live with the gassing off of these compounds.
Energy Tax Credits - Benefits to All
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has provided a significant tax credit through the "Federal Tax Credit for Energy Efficiency" program. The credits are on the purchase of a number of items for home renovation or for new construction. Qualifying windows, doors, insulation, etc. can get the consumer a 30% tax credit - up to $1,500. This credit allows the customer to take the total amount of the credit directly off the bottom line of the taxes they owe. If they owe $5,000 in taxes and they qualify for the $1,500 credit then their tax liability is reduced to $3,500. This is a great deal for the customer, saves on their energy costs, helps contractors make sales and ultimately boosts the overall economy.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Department of Energy - Online Training - Energy Codes and Standards
Online Energy Code Training
Energy codes and standards play a vital role in the marketplace by setting minimum requirements for energy-efficient design and construction. They outline uniform requirements for new buildings as well as additions and renovations. This course covers basic knowledge of codes and standards; development processes of each; historical timelines; adoption; implementation, and enforcement of energy codes and standards; and voluntary energy efficiency programs. Most sections have links that provide additional details on that section's topic as well as additional resources for more information if you are interested.
CEUs: Participants who successfully complete the course and test and enter their AIA numbers will be submitted to AIA by BECP for 1.0 AIA/CES LU (HSW). A certificate of completion is available for participants who can self-report for CEUs, including for ICC renewal certification. Note: you must be a registered user of the BECP Training site to access course quizzes and tests.
Energy codes and standards play a vital role in the marketplace by setting minimum requirements for energy-efficient design and construction. They outline uniform requirements for new buildings as well as additions and renovations. This course covers basic knowledge of codes and standards; development processes of each; historical timelines; adoption; implementation, and enforcement of energy codes and standards; and voluntary energy efficiency programs. Most sections have links that provide additional details on that section's topic as well as additional resources for more information if you are interested.
CEUs: Participants who successfully complete the course and test and enter their AIA numbers will be submitted to AIA by BECP for 1.0 AIA/CES LU (HSW). A certificate of completion is available for participants who can self-report for CEUs, including for ICC renewal certification. Note: you must be a registered user of the BECP Training site to access course quizzes and tests.
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