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New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program™
Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® helps residents lower energy bills and save energy! Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® (HPwES) offers “whole house” solutions to reduce your energy costs and your carbon footprint. Installing energy efficient upgrades in your home can save you up to 30% on energy costs and increase the comfort, safety, and durability of your home. New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program™ (NJCEP) offers up to $4,000 in rebates and zero- or low-interest loans towards energy efficiency upgrades through the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® Program.
Complete information about the HPwES Program and all NJCEP incentives for residents, including special incentives designed for low-income residents, can be found at NJCleanEnergy.com/residential. Steps for homeowners to participate in the HPwES Program STEP 1: Have a Home Energy Assessment. The first step to participate in the HPwES Program is to have a home energy assessment performed by a HPwES Building Performance Institute (BPI) GoldStar certified auditor. Residents can get a $49 home energy assessment from an South Jersey Gas selected BPI contractor. https://southjerseygas.com/save-energy-money/energy-efficiency-loans-and-rebates.aspx This home energy assessment will include a health and safety check for carbon monoxide levels, moisture issues, and indoor air quality problems. You will receive a detailed written report that prioritizes and identifies energy-conserving fixes, with recommendations on how to proceed after inspecting for comfort issues, air sealing opportunities, insulation levels, heating system efficiency, cooling system/central air conditioning efficiency, and hot water system efficiency. STEP 2: Get Multiple Price Estimates. NJCEP recommends that residents use the report to get price estimates from three different BPI GoldStar contractors. NJCEP has a full list of participating contractors on their Trade Ally tool. STEP 3: Select a Contractor and Scope of Work. After reviewing the three price estimates, the homeowner selects a contractor and a scope of work. Each price estimate may not include the same recommended measures in the scope of work proposal. Contractors have specialties that may affect their recommendations. For example, a contractor specializing in HVAC will likely suggest changes to the HVAC system. Homeowners should expect to see some variation in the recommended measures between contractors. HPwES projects include mandatory measures and optional measures. All projects must install air sealing, add to existing attic insulation if current insulation levels are below seven inches, and address health and safety issues such as mold, asbestos, and electrical issues. Optional measures include insulation upgrades, duct sealing, duct insulation, and water heater measures as well as additional measures from the eligible measures list, such as heating and cooling. The full list of eligible measures can be found at NJCleanEnergy.com/HP. While some of the energy saving measures are required to receive HPwES incentives, residents are not required to do all the work recommended in the home energy assessment report. Talk to the BPI GoldStar contractor about adjusting the proposed scope of work to fit your budget and your priorities. You can ask the contractor to break out the pricing by measure and explain which measures are required. Contractors should be able to advise you about which of the optional measures have the highest return on investment. The amount of incentives is determined by the estimated total energy savings. See the full chart of NJCEP Benefits and Incentives. If you wish to move forward on a proposal from a participating BPI GoldStar contractor that did not do the initial home energy assessment, that contractor must perform their own home energy assessment before work begins. BPI GoldStar contractors will often do this second home energy assessment for free, since the resident has already indicated interest in moving forward on the project. Complete information about the HPwES Program and all NJCEP incentives for residents, including special incentives designed for low-income residents, can be found at https://njcleanenergy.com/residential NJCEP has a detailed FAQ with answers to additional questions. Download this page click here For more info contact:
LuAnne McCardell Township of Hamilton Public Works at: 609 625 6311 lmccardell@townshipofhamilton.com or Green Team Chair Susan Lazarchick at 609 517 6586 slazarchick@gmail.com |
