First responders offered increased incentives for home energy assessments

Energize Delaware has opened its assisted home performance with Energy Star program for military and first responders.

That means military active duty, military retirees, firefighters, police and emergency medical technicians can receive a home energy audit performed by a professional energy auditor ($450 value) for $25 and receive higher rebates on energy-efficiency work that is completed.

“The assisted home performance and home performance programs have been tremendously successful in reducing energy usage and saving residents money. Today, we are delighted to announce that as of July 1, our military and first responders will be eligible for increased incentives through the assisted home performance program,” said Drew Slater, Energize Delaware executive director.

A home energy assessment gives homeowners or renters a detailed report of their home’s energy-related issues and energy-efficiency upgrade opportunities. When a house is not energy efficient, it results in higher utility bills.

After the energy assessment, Energize Delaware incentivizes homeowners to make the energy-efficiency upgrades with a variety of rebates after the work is completed by a program participating contractor. The rebates could be for weatherization measures such as insulation, crawlspace encapsulation, insulated siding, air sealing or duct sealing. There are also rebates for HVAC and water heating measures like adding a new heat pump, mini-splits, furnaces, heat pump and tankless water heaters, smart thermostats, whole house dehumidifiers and more.

Renters who have an energy assessment done have a whole house report they can share with their landlords to show them what could be done to make the house more energy efficient and reduce utility bills, improve comfort and extend the home’s durability.

Energize Delaware also offers low-interest loans to help eligible borrowers complete projects.

For more information, go to energize.delaware.org.