What to ask before going solar?

Congratulations on making a commitment to a more sustainable future by reducing your electricity consumption with solar electricity.

Here are a list of questions to consider before purchasing solar panels.

What to ask for purchasing solar panels?
1. How do the APS rebates work/ how do the SRP rebates work?
2. How do the state and federal rebates work?
3. Who is the ideal homeowner to purchase solar panels?
4. Who is the ideal homeowner to lease solar panels?




What to ask for a solar lease?
1. Is it a one time payment or monthly payment?
2. Who takes over the lease if I sell the house?
3. How is the lease transferred if I sell the house?




General questions to ask before going solar
1. How long do the solar panels last?
2. How long do the inverters last?
3. What is the warranty for the solar panels and the inverter?
4. What happens if your company goes out of business?
5. What is the timeline for installation of solar?
6. How much does the efficiency of the panel really matter?
7. Why is a southern orientation the best for my western facing roof?
8. Will I be able to monitor my power output?
9. Where the solar panels manufactured?
10. How long has the manufacturer been in business?
10. Do you suggest having a BPI energy audit done on my home?

Energy efficiency mortgages in Phoenix

This is not a secret and is accessible to any lender, there are standard guidelines through FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac.

Energy efficiency (EE) is a great selling point.

There is strong consumer demand nationwide, from the National Association of Realators, Time Magazine, and the buyers. Everyone asks about energy efficiency from buyers to tenants. In 2010 apartments.com did a survey have found that 89% preferred a green apartment community and more than 25% would pay higher rent. Green also includes low VOC homes and use of recycled content in buildings.

So how as sellers and contractors do we differentiate ourselves? The answer is energy efficiency. EE homes sell for more and at a higher prices. Homeowners want lower utility bills and EE delivers.

An EE home also means fewer buyer inspections with a HERS report already done which can help close a home quickly.

Seattle, Portland and California have all shown an 8.5 to 12% premium for EE homes.

For buyers you can have the dream kitchen you've always wanted plus energy efficient appliances. Plus Energy efficiency mortgages gives better income ratios which means buyers qualify for higher mortgage amounts. Sometimes the air conditioner will get up and walk away during the middle of the night and an EEM will cover the cost of that built into the mortgage.

Plus there are rebates from APS and SRP... up to $1000 is available to put more insulation, duct and air seal a home and shade screens.

An energy audit should be as important as a home warranty or home inspection for all homes. If a homeowner gets a $500 summer bill their first month in their home is not a pleasant surprise for a new homeowner.

Myths
- a bigger AC is better
- an Energy Efficient Home means a homeowner has to go solar
- underwater homes cannot be refinanced (you can refiance without a new appraisal through a new Energy Efficiency Mortgage)
- buyers cannot qualify (more buying power to make the appraisal work in some cases, the more information the better and can be the tipping point)

There are two designations for green realtors.
1. NAR green (how to run a green business)
2. Eco broker (more technical)

If you are not doing green mortgage or energy efficiency mortgage you are leaving money on the table.

FYI- a 203k loan can let you do the kitchen remodel with 5% of the appraised value available

From a real estate perspective, there are two types of energy audits.
1. BPI is required for the utility company
2. RESNET is critical to the mortgage

Real estate agents and loan officers can recommend a HERS rater. The lender will typically have an approved list of contractors.

Builders can use a HERS Index to also differient a builder in the marketplace.

What to look for in an energy efficient home?

A home energy audit is:
- Looking at how the energy is being consumed in the house
- duct leakage test
- combustion safety test
- lighting and appliances
- attic inspection and insulation inspection and quality and quantity
- how the house performs as a system
- measurements of the building dimensions and geometry
- report, HERS Index, improvement analysis report

The lender will check that the EEM premium is greater than the installed cost or the improvements are cash flow positive. This is required for the energy efficiency mortgage can proceed. The certificate of completion is signed by the loan Officier, HERS rater, and contractor. The lender will then release the funds.

It has to be cost efficient to be approved by the loan officer. All parties have to work well together.

What's available out there?

HUD energy action plan
Weatherization- add up to $2000 to any FHA Loan without a value determination on the property. There is no rating, all you need is a contractor and a bid. For the consumer the loan Officier will add it to the sales price. This can be done in every single loan

EEM energy efficient mortgage
FHA is 5% of the value of the property. Energy efficient components to a home and finance right into the main mortgage. No additional appraisal is required.

Fannie Mae- has to have an appraisal

VA - can do up to $6000 out right

Solar package - cost of solar maybe added directly to the base loan amount

Renovation loans (203k) - full renovation options for making several upgrades to improve quality of a home

Weatherization only applied to existing homes.

We can combine an EEM and Wearherization.

What upgrades can be done
- AC replacement
- insulation
- water heaters
- windows
- pool pumps
- appliances

This stuff with everyday expenses. If this is done right APS and SRP rebates can be included and the homeowner will recieve a nice rebate check to offset the initial costs of purchasing or refinancing a home.

Education is key and good expectations should be set, an initial audit is essential (any home built pre 2003 are good candatiates)

After the energy audit contractors will be obtained and the upgrades will be deemed cost effective or not. $5000 can go very fast and different upgrades need to be worked out between the contractor, lender and the homeowner. A $99 APS and SRP energy audit is a good first step to find out what is needed. Usually a good relationship between lenders and HERS raters helps if any of this falls through. It is also a good idea for the homeowner to have some skin in the game. An actual HERS index will cost between $250-$500. A 45 day close to escrow can be done and all this stuff can be done in parallel to what's happening in an energy efficient mortgage.

The improvements need to be completed between 30 and 90 days.

The biggest hurdle is industry professional not knowing about these but we hope that changes.

Appraisers can try to justify value, they cannot create value and these upgrades provide the justification for kWH savings.

www.dsireusa.org is an excellent resource for rebates.

Disclosure: Green ID is both BPI and RESNET certified and performs HERS Indexes and is a certified contractor with APS and SRP's Home Performance With Energy Star's national program and a Phoenix home energy auditor.

What Are APS’s Energy Saving Hours?

It’s obvious that APS makes money the more energy you use but there are times when even their power plants get stressed from too much, or peak demand.  In Arizona, guess when that happens?  When it’s 110 degrees outside and you want to keep a cool 78 degrees in your home.  With your air conditioner being the biggest energy user in your home, it’s no wonder why APS gets a little stressed during these times… and it’s because of those peak demands that the utility company incentives it’s customers to lower its energy use during those times.  To further the energy issue, the Federal government has mandated that APS reduce its electric usage by 20% by 2020.  That is the main reason why APS is paying its customers to make their homes more energy efficient and sponsoring the Home Performance With Energy Star energy audit program.  The APS energy audit program has the same affect on you, the homeowner in that it is designed to lower your energy bill each month but there is a big difference in the way that is accomplished. 

The biggest difference is the APS time-of-use plan and residential rate plan is about energy conservation, whereas the energy upgrades to make your home more efficient is about energy efficiency.  Saving energy at home through conservation is about tweeking your lifestyle to save energy, putting on a sweater when it gets cold outside rather than turning the heater on, turning the thermostat up in the summer even while you are home are energy conservation examples.

What I love and do everyday is about energy efficiency, and that is designing and installing a better constructed home to work more efficiently, so your energy bills go down every month, but you don’t have to change a thing and you are more comfortable.  These are things like checking and sealing the ductwork for leaks, airflow and room pressure issues and adding more insulation which can make a huge difference in how your home operates as a system.  So that was your tip for the day, now let’s get back to APS rate plans.

APS has several rate plans and depending on your schedule.  They are best suited for people that are regularly done for work Monday to Friday. 

http://www.aps.com/main/services/residential/rates/rates_29.html#standard

I thought APS had another 9 am – 6 pm rate plan, but as of this blog, I couldn’t find it on their website.  There is also the equalizer plan which many people like because of its predictability… except when it’s not predictable.  Under the Equalizer Plan you may the same amount on your bills each month as your usage is averaged over 9 to 12 months.  More information on the APS Equalizer Plan can be found below:

http://www.aps.com/main/services/residential/FAQ/ResFAQ_50.html

If you are interested in other energy efficiency ideas, take our quick quiz to the right sidebar and we’ll send you some insider DIY tips to save money on you bills.

Sell your old stuff and gadgets online

Being a Phoenix energy auditor is not all about crawling around insulation, measuring duct leakage and sizing solar electric systems for homes.  We are all about reducing your utility bills but there are many other benefits to an energy efficient home such as a more comfortable home, a home with less dust and a quieter heating and cooling system.  We recommend both conservation and efficiency upgrades to reduce your APS or SRP electric bills.  Conservation recommendations are if it is cold in your home, rather than turning on the heater, you put on a sweater.  Efficiency upgrades have to do with upgrading your insulation, ductwork sealing and window treatments so your home is more comfortable and you don’t have to change a thing.  

Here is a recommendation we don’t always talk about but many homeowners may find useful and that is what you can do with open, unwanted gifts or extra stuff lying around your home.  Lots of us have old books and other knacks we never use and you may not want to go through the effort of a garage sale.  With the web there are many places where you can sell your old stuff rather than the trash.  www.amazon.com is a great place to get rid of old books as is www.ebay.com.  If you aren’t getting any takers on those websites, try www.swap.com.  For your old gadgets try www.gazelle.com  and for your cell phones www.recellular.com or try your local women’s shelter.  Have old Apple iPod or a used iPhone?  www.tunecycle.com is a great place to sell old iPhones and Apple products.  

We hope you have a great holiday season and if you enjoyed this blog, please leave a comment or like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/aGreenID.  

A visit to Hoover Dam Can Teach Lessons in Quality Building

This past Fourth of July my family made a stop at the Hoover Dam on route to Las Vegas.  The Hoover Dam is an engineering marvel on a massive scale.  For more than 70 years the damn has stood with almost no structural and decorative changes taken place.  You can still see the surveying notes along the tunnel walls and the original tiling is a work of art.  I felt like a lot more care and craftsmanship went into building the damn and all structures before the days of commodity construction.  Take old sheet metal ductwork for example, only a tin knocker had the knowledge and skill to install a home’s duct system.  These days flex duct is used and can be installed by almost anyone, which has lead to excessive conditioned air wasted to the outside and huge inefficiencies.  How long have these careless installations been doing on?  One indicator is that it is not hard to find an HVAC contractor who has been “doing this for 20 years” and has never sealed a duct system.  I’m not saying we need to go back to the days of painfully slow production and growth, but perhaps a little more common sense and a sense of pride in ones work will go a long way and have positive impacts for generations to come.

APS Rebates for Home

APS has come out with great rebate programs and solidified their commitment to 1) energy retrofits upgrades like duct sealing and insulation, 2) renewable energy products like solar panels for electricity and hot water and finally for 3) switching out old appliances.  Each of these rebate programs are separate entities that sometimes get confused since they are always changing.  For example, APS solar rebate program has seen better days when solar electricity rebates used to be at $3.00 per watt.  Every couple of months for the last 2 years APS has dropped their solar rebates until the current amount of $1.45 per watt.  Now the best and most affordable way to get solar is through a solar lease program that significantly buys down the costs of solar panels.

APS Home Energy Audit Rebates

Now the hot program is APS’s and SRP’s Home Performance With Energy Star.  This is a national Energy Star program to make homes more healthy, comfortable and efficient.  APS and SRP adopted the program to ensure a whole-home approach to reducing energy bills while keeping homeowners safe and with better indoor air quality.  APS requires a $99 energy audit be performed on a home to diagnose the causes of high energy bills, uncomfortable rooms or excessive dust.  Once the audit is complete a report will be generated using building modeling software that gives cost savings for each upgrade.  The APS rebates will help pay up to $1,000 (or more if you have two or more AC units) off the costs of the energy retrofit.  The rebates for the Home Performance With Energy Star program are broken down below.

Duct sealing 75% off up to $250 per unit.  For most homeowners, 20% of their heating and cooling bill is wasted from duct leakage.

Air sealing 75% off up to $250.  Air sealing work can be complex as your auditor must determine

Insulation75% off up to $250

Shade screens $1 per sq ft up to $250

APS has a great visual summary of their rebate program here.

http://www.aps.com/main/rebates/residential.html?source=pgrj

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=hpwes_profiles.showSplash

APS rebates for pool pumps

$200 for variable speed pool pump.  Each pump has to be calibrated to your pool to ensure that it is not over turning your pool.  This upgrade will reduce your bills $200 - $350 per year.  APS also provides a $75 rebate for pool timers.

APS Rebates for AC units

Air conditioning systems have become more efficient from federal standards and better technologies.  Surprisingly, APS does not overlap its duct sealing rebates with its air conditioning rebates.  With every unit we install, we include a whole home duct seal to maximize the high efficiency AC unit with a properly sealed duct system, otherwise it’s like using an umbrella with holes in it.  APS will help you pay for a higher efficiency AC unit depending on the efficiency ratings.  In the AC efficiency world there is a SEER rating, the seasonal energy efficiency ratio, EER rating, the energy efficiency ratio, and HPSF or .  In Phoenix, the EER is a more important number to pay attention to because of how hot it gets here.  The EER ratio gives a better idea of how an AC will perform under very hot conditions (100 degrees) were the SEER rating gives an idea of performance under milder conditions (89 degrees).  SRP recognizes and awards a higher rebate with higher EERs in their AC rebate program, but APS does not.

APS also has a quality installation standard similar to the post test done for the home energy audits that has to be met when installing heat pumps and furnaces in the Phoenix area also.  Only APS qualified AC companies can apply for their rebate for you, but not all of them will perform a duct testing and sealing upgrade.  These rebates and companies are separate from the solar rebates and the home energy audit rebates.  All the APS approved AC companies are required to do a sizing calculation called the Manual J calculation.  You should ask to see the results from your own home to ensure this was done.  The AC rebate program also includes a check of the refrigerant charge to make sure that the unit is properly charged to manufacture specifications and a check of the air flow.  Below is a list of the AC rebates available from APS.

SEER 13 with EER 10.8 receives $175 APS rebate

SEER 14 – 16 with EER 10.8 receives $425 APS rebate

SEER 17 with EER of 10.8 receives $525 APS rebate

All units must be installed by and APS approved AC contractor.

All contractors must perform a Manual J calculation to properly size the unit (you should verify this since it is not something a typical contractor will do).

All contractors should properly charge the unit and check airflow.

For more information on APS AC rebates, check out their link here.

http://www.aps.com/main/green/choice/choice_3.html

APS Solar Rebates

APS solar rebates are divided into solar electricity rebates and solar hot water rebates.  Solar electricity for my home was my dream growing up and has proven to be an attractive idea to thousands of homeowners across the Phoenix valley.  APS perhaps did not realize how attractive solar electricity would be since they have lowered their rebate amount dramatically since its inception.  As of May 2011, APS solar electricity rebate is at $1.45 per watt.  You can view their current budget and remaining monies available at the link below.

http://www.aps.com/main/green/choice/solar/funding.html

APS Solar Hot Water Rebates

After City and County applications have been approved, APS does random inspections of the installation.  The solar hot water system must be SRCC rated and have proof onsite.  The first 5 feet of your hot and cold water piping should be insulated to at least R-2.6.  The panels must be un-shaded during the day for the entire year.  The APS solar water heater rebates are currently at $0.50 per kWh of estimated first year savings (based on the OG-300 ratings), up to 505 off the system’s cost.  The OG-300 rating system is based on the manufacturer’s rating by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation.  Also important to consider for solar hot water systems is the federal tax credit of 30% off the cost and Arizona state tax credit of $1,000, which makes solar hot water much more attractive.  Typical solar hot water rating systems are around 2,890 kWh per year.  An example rebate table is shown below.

Solar Hot Water Cost $5,400

APS Solar Rebate $1,445

 Arizona Tax Credit $1,000

Federal Tax Credit $1,620

Net Cost $1,335

Annual Savings $425

Simple Payback 3 years

APS Appliance and Tree Shading Rebate

APS also provides a $30 rebate to replace your old refrigerator and they will even come and pick it up for free.  Also, a understated home comfort and energy saving rebate APS offers is to plant external shading along your home to block direct sunlight.  The requirements of this rebate are that you attend a free tree shade workshop and can legally and physically plant shading trees along your home.  Visit the link below for more information.

http://www.aps.com/main/green/choice/choice_126.html

Save Energy While on Vacation or Away for the Summer

A good number of the APS and SRP home energy audits I do are for eco-conscience snowbirds.  These residents typically reside in the Phoenix, Surprise and Scottsdale areas during the winter and go back north for the summer months.  Even though homeowners are only here for part of the year, many are still motivated to have the upgrades done because of comfort and air quality problems.  Other homeowners will have efficiency upgrades like duct sealing, air sealing and insulation work done because of the APS and SRP rebate program and to drive down energy costs.  During the homeowner interview, I am always interested to find out what each homeowner does to “summarize” their home.  For Phoenix’s permanent residents, the summer is a time many will take vacation for more temperate climates.  Either way presents opportunities listed below to save energy and money while away.

Tips for “Summerizing” Your Home While on Vacation

-          Turn the water heater off completely at the breaker or shut the gas line off.  At the least, set the dial to vacation mode to minimize stand by losses.

-          Turn the thermostat up to 90 degrees.  This will keep your home cool enough to not damage the structure or your belongings.

-          Fill gallons of water and place several throughout the house to add moisture over time.

-          Unplug energy vampire’s aka electronic devices.  TV’s will use more energy in stand by mode than when turned on.  Prevent wasteful spending by simply unplugging your electronics while away.

-           Keep window shades closed and sun screens on the exterior windows to minimize heat gain during the daytime.

For more tips on “summarizing” your home while away, visit here.