Homeowners could collect thousands of dollars in Cash for Caulkers rebates for renovating their homes with better insulation and energy-saving windows and doors under a new economic stimulus bill the House passed Thursday.

The Home Star bill, passed 246-161, would authorize $5.7 billion over two years for a program that supporters – mostly Democrats – said would have the added benefits of invigorating the slumping construction industry and making the earth a little cleaner.

Republicans overwhelmingly opposed the bill, and they were able to attach a condition that it would be terminated if Democrats do not come up with a way to pay for it.

The measure has come to be dubbed Cash for Caulkers, a takeoff on the popular 2009 Cash for Clunkers initiative that rewarded people for replacing gas-guzzling vehicles with more fuel-efficient models.

The bill now needs Senate approval.

The initiative is separate from an energy tax credit of up to $1,500 that was included in last year’s economic stimulus act. That credit for energy efficiency improvements runs through the end of this year.

Supporters estimate that 3 million households would make use of the new program, saving $9.2 billion in energy costs over a 10-year period. They said it would create 168,000 jobs, mainly in the recession-hit construction industry..
Under Home Star, rebates or discounts would be provided to homeowners at the time of sale. The retailer or contractor then would submit documentation to a processing office, which would verify the information and forward the request to the Energy Department for payment.

To prevent fraud, the program would require licensing for all participating contractors and a certain percentage of projects would be inspected.

The bill has two parts:

Under the Silver Star program, homeowners would get rebates of between $1,000 and $1,500 for each improvement installed, or $250 per appliance, with a benefit not exceeding $3,000 or 50 percent of total project costs.

Covered measures include air sealing; attic, wall and crawl space insulation; duct sealing; replacement of windows and doors, furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps, water heaters and appliances.
Under the Gold Star program, consumers would be eligible for $3,000 when they conduct whole-house energy analyses and install technology that improves their overall home energy efficiency by 20 percent. They could receive an additional $1,000 rebate for each additional 5 percent improvement, to a maximum of $8,000. The rebate could not represent more than 50 percent of the total cost of the project.

The initiative is different from the provision in last year’s economic stimulus bill that provides a tax credit of up to $1,500 for energy efficiency improvements. That tax credit expires at the end of this year.

What does this mean?

Well first the bill has to pass the Senate where they do not expect to get to it until June.
The goal of the bill is two fold, to assist homeowners in addressing energy efficiency projects and too assist the flagging economy by providing more “green” jobs to the construction industry. This is not a popular bill with the Republicans “who like the pay before you play bills” (except with the banking industry) and could end up being tacked to other more unpalatable bills.

As I am writing this, a last minute change was added to the bill (which I find it hilarious) Six minutes ago the bill was amended to say that no money from the so-called Cash for Caulkers rebate program could be spent on travel to “gambling or gaming establishments.” Well just who is that for?

If it passed, it is an opportunity for many homeowners to take some serious steps in improving the efficiency of their homes before we get another difficult winter. Often insulation can give the most immediate results to a drafty home. Add caulking, pipe wrapping and window sealing to that and you have taken great steps in cutting back on heat loss.

There will be a huge demand for energy auditors (and we really do not have enough of them trained).

To take advantage of this, keep an eye on how the bill does in the Senate, have a preliminary talk with an auditor and hope that a local politician who wants to curry favor with his constituency doesn’t sidetrack any of the money.

If you need help with finding qualified professionals, email me at susan@susanpomerantz.com.