Builders: Get up to a $2,000 Rebate from Xcel with New Program

Yesterday (2/23/09) I was in a training session put on by Xcel Energy in Denver aimed at training Energy Raters (aka HERS Raters) on a new program targeting builders that the company is about to roll out. It appears to be a very good program with some very decent rebates available to builders for building more energy-efficient homes. The key criteria is Energy Star -- in order to qualify for even the first level of rebates, homes must meet the minimum Energy Star for Homes Energy Rating criteria (which means among other things that the home must score a HERS Index of 85 or less.) It should be clarified that homes don't actually have to end up qualified as Energy Star to get the rebate - though most will anyway - they must simply get a Final HERS Index rating of 85 or better.

Here are the rebate amounts at each qualification level:

$350: Energy Star minimum (80 or 85 depending on climate zone) to HERS 76
$500: HERS 75 - 66
$700: HERS 65 - 56
$1,200: HERS 55 - 46
$2,000: HERS 45 or less

That's pretty good, but that's not all! Because qualifying for this rebate requires a an energy rater to be involved, which obviously costs money, Xcel is also contributing to the cost of the rating by directly paying the rater a fee of $460. This way the cost to the builder of getting the energy rating services should be significantly reduced, though it's not likely to be completely eliminated.

Criteria are simple. A home must:
1) Be in the Xcel NATURAL GAS service area in Colorado, and
2) Have undergone, or will undergo, the Thermal Bypass Checklist (TBC) after Jan. 1, 2009. That's right, if you're a builder with a house in pre-drywall condition right now, you could qualify!

To sign up, you first need to contact a participating Xcel-authorized HERS Rater-Consultant who will manage the program and do the energy rating work for builders for each house. A list of authorized Raters should be on Xcel's site soon, or you could just call Inhabit -- we're on the list!