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More than 40 million Americans spread across 75 percent of the landmass rely upon electric cooperatives like Hancock-Wood for safe, reliable power at an affordable price. As the demand for energy increases -- becoming more energy efficient is important. Hancock-Wood is proud to offer this special section with valuable tips and resources designed to promote energy efficiency.
Blower Door Testing and Home Energy Audits
Blower door tests help determine and improve a home’s air tightness:
- Reduce energy consumption due to air leaks.
- Avoid moisture condensation problems.
- Avoid uncomfortable drafts caused by cold air leaking in.
- Make sure the home’s air quality is not contaminated by indoor air pollution (such as mold) from a house that is too tight where fresh air is not exchanged.
A blower door is a powerful fan that mounts inside the frame of an exterior door. The fan pulls air out of the house, lowering the air pressure inside. The higher outside air pressure then flows in through all unsealed cracks and openings. These tests determine the air-infiltration rate of a building. Blower doors consist of a flexible frame that you can place in a doorway, a variable-speed fan, a gauge to measure the pressure differences inside/outside the home, an airflow meter, and hoses to measure airflow.
Having a home that is too loose will cost a lot more to heat and cool. However, having a house that is too tight can be unhealthy because it is not exchanging fresh air that you need and dangerous in the same way for gas appliances.
Our fees:
- $150 - Home Energy Audit with blower door testing
- $50 - Walk-thru 30 min audits
It gets even better, because both of these fees are 100% fully refundable by simply: A. Providing copies of receipts where you showed good faith effort to take action on our recommended energy improvements, B. Demonstrating energy savings on your bill. And see for yourself: watch a 90 second video about the benefits of a blower door test. To schedule an appointment and start saving energy, simply contact us.
Government Assistance / Rebates
- Energy Efficiency Tax Credits - Tax credits for windows, doors, insulation, roofs, HVAC, water heaters
and biomass stoves expired on 12-31-2011. However, tax credits are still available for various
renewable products (see next bullet).
- Renewable Energy Tax Credits - Get tax credit for 30% of cost (no cap) for installing renewable energy generation: for both existing & new construction now through 12-31-2016; ex’s: geothermal, solar water heaters, photovoltaic systems, wind turbine, fuel cells. www.energystar.gov, keyword “tax credits"
- Home Weatherization Assistance Program (HWAP) - This is a residential energy efficiency program that reduces the energy use of qualified households. It is free to income-eligible households. At no cost, the household could receive: new furnace, insulation, CFLs, refrigerator, new energy efficient water measures (low flow showerheads, aerators, hot water heater blanket), consumer education. www.wsos.org
- Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction (CBTD) - A financial incentive designed to reduce the initial cost of investing in energy-efficient lighting and other building systems via an accelerated tax deduction. This special tax deduction allows building owners (or tenants) to write off the complete cost of upgrading a building’s indoor lighting, HVAC/hot water and building envelope in the year the new equipment is placed in service, capped at $1.80/sq.ft. Alternately, the owner (or tenant) could upgrade one of these three systems to earn the CBTD capped at $0.60/sq.ft. Deadline 1-1-2014. www.lightingtaxdeduction.org/tax_deduction.html
- ECO-Link - A State of Ohio energy efficiency loan program for residents completing energy efficient improvements in their homes. http://ohiotreasurer.gov/ECOLINK
Kill A Watt Meter Rental
The Kill A Watt Meter helps you learn which appliances cost you the most , and you can rent it for free from Hancock-Wood. Simply plug your appliance into Kill A Watt and assess its efficiency, and its display measures consumption by the kilowatt-hour, so you can quickly calculate costs.
If you'd like to rent it for a two-week time period, contact us to get your name on the list, and we'll let you know when it is available next for pick up.
Online Tools
- Touchstone Energy Savers - A consumer website filled with tools and tips to help with home energy management.
- Touchstone Energy Kids Zone - A neat place where kids can learn about electricity, energy savings and electrical safety through games and activities.
Free Brochures
Current Programs
Energy efficiency is nothing new to us. In fact, we've long had a strong presence in this realm. As much as we're in the business of selling energy, we're also in the business of saving energy -- that's because we're member-owned. We encourage you to take part in any of these ongoing EE programs:
Commercial Accounts
- Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction (CBTD) - A financial incentive designed to reduce the initial cost of investing in energy-efficient lighting and other building systems via an accelerated tax deduction. This special tax deduction allows building owners (or tenants) to write off the complete cost of upgrading a building’s indoor lighting, HVAC/hot water and building envelope in the year the new equipment is placed in service, capped at $1.80/sq.ft. Alternately, the owner (or tenant) could upgrade one of these three systems to earn the CBTD capped at $0.60/sq.ft. Deadline 1-1-2014. www.lightingtaxdeduction.org/tax_deduction.html
- Commercial & industrial energy audits - An energy audit of your facility can help identify how to improve energy efficiency. This service is provided by an outside independent contractor who can help your business realize energy savings. To request an audit, contact Go Sustainable Energy, a Columbus-based company which specializes in C&I energy audits.
- C&I energy audit funding - Our statewide office, OREC, has a limited amount of energy audit funding that may be available to your business. For more details, simply contact us.
- Questline - This free resource provides technical, business and research assistance to business members. Sign-up is free.
- On the Level - A free quarterly newsletter for builders, developers, home and insulation contractors. Sign-up is free.
Some sources: U.S. Department of Energy
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list of helpful energy-saving tips to better manage home energy costs