I like it when I can learn something new, help the environment and save for my household, too. So if you own a home and you live in Bloomfield, Maplewood, Montclair, South Orange, West Orange – or anywhere in New Jersey – listen up for a few ways you can save some energy and probably save some money on home heating costs while you’re at it.
If you’re considering a home to buy, this is good information to know about especially if you’re buying a home “as is”; you just might not have to spend as much money on repairs and/or upgrades as you think.
Bob and I were meeting homeowners to talk about the market. As we were going through their home they kept talking about an energy audit. How they went through the process to have a Home Energy Audit – Home Performance with ENERGY STAR by a certified contractor. They told us how they had to pull their oil tank and convert to gas, but by doing it through the Audit program they were able to get thousands of dollars back from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
“The most important thing is that you save money and your home is more energy efficient. It also reduces your homes carbon footprint. It felt good knowing I was playing a role in the environment no matter how small (converted from oil to gas),” said West Orange Homeowners.
I immediately went online and made a few calls to the certified contractors in the Essex County area to see how this worked. The website says the following: the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program is offering assessments to New Jersey homeowners for just $125* (a $300 value).
This is where you have to be careful. After talking to some of the certified contractors, I found one that adheres to this $125, the others said they weren’t supporting this number and it would cost $400 – $500. They noted that at $125 you can’t get a blower or fan test which is suppose to show efficiency (I think).
The reimbursement rules are also changing in January to make it a little harder for a homeowner to get big rebates back. Either way, I’ve signed up for this 3-5 hour test to be done in mid-February for $125 and will let you know how it turns out. I like the fact that my house will be fully measured and diagnostic tests will be run to figure out air leakage, air quality, etc, with recommendations and, visuals and diagrams of the house. If the house meets the criteria I could even get insulation for free.
Who knows. I do know the West Orange homeowners we met couldn’t stop talking about the benefits of going through this exercise. The replacement furnace they have had gadgets and things I’ve never seen before — and I’ve seen a lot of furnaces. For sellers, you can walk away with a state audit that says your home is energy efficient, which is a nice selling feature and could probably help during home inspection.
If you don’t want to do the full blown audit, at least sign up for the New Jersey Clean Energy program newsletter to stay informed, see how to get money back for recycling your freezer and/or refrigerator the right way, and do the free online energy analysis for your particular house.
This site provides many ways to make sure you’re running your household as cost-effectively and efficiently as possible.
Give it a try. You just might save yourself some money in the new year.
