It seems like there’s a “cash for…” just about everything these days. First clunkers, then fridges, now… caulk?
Well, not exactly, the $6 billion dollar so called “Cash for Caulkers” bill that just passed in Congress is also knows as the “Home Star Energy Retrofit Act” – basically, the idea is to help Americans retrofit their homes to make them greener, which will make the world a little greener, provide jobs for laborers and help people save on electrical bills.
The bill, which still needs to be approved by the Senate, has two tracks. Consumers using the Silver Star program would receive up-front rebates up to $3,000 covering installation costs for water heaters, air duct sealing and improved window and door seals. If you want the $8,000 Gold Star rebate, however, you’ll have to arrange for an energy audit and put all of the recommended measures in place in order to get your rebate.
The sponsors of the bill expect 3 million families will be eligible to retrofit their homes for energy efficiency and save an estimated $9.2 billion over the next 10 years on their utility bills. The bill is also expected to create 168,000 jobs.
This bill is the second wave of Federal energy efficiency stimulus. The early version, dubbed Cash for Fridges, distributed $300 million to state governments to dole out as rebates for Energy Star appliances as each state chose. In some states the money alloted ran out in hours. In some programs are still going.
Check out rebates and other incentives at the Energy Star website.
