Category: financing

Top Down Support for Heat Pump Production

Posted by on in heat pumps, Inflation Reduction ActLeave a comment

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $169 Million to Accelerate Electric Heat Pump Manufacturing as Part of Investing in America Agenda

https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-169-million-accelerate-electric-heat-pump

“Getting more American-made electric heat pumps on the market will help families and businesses save money with efficient heating and cooling technology,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, these investments will create thousands of high-quality, good-paying manufacturing jobs and strengthen America’s energy supply chain, while creating healthier indoor spaces through home-grown clean energy technologies.”

“Today’s Defense Production Act funds for heat pump manufacturing show that President Biden is treating climate change as the crisis it is,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation. “These awards will grow domestic manufacturing, create good-paying jobs, and boost American competitiveness in industries of the future.”

Heat pumps are critical to reducing the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels, bolstering national security, and boosting energy independence to strengthen national defense, lowering consumer energy costs, improving energy efficiency, and mitigating the climate crisis.  This portfolio of selections will boost manufacturing of electric heat pump (air-to-air, geothermal, and air-to-water) and key components (compressors and refrigerants) This portfolio will lead to manufacturing in 13 states.

100 Women Who Care to Fund New Alaska Heat Smart ‘HELP’ Program!

Posted by on in financing, ProgramsLeave a comment

AHS is proud to announce that the Juneau 100 Women Who Care has chosen Alaska Heat Smart during its second philanthropic offering of 2023! The many caring women involved have raised more than $30,000 for Alaska Heat Smart and the foundation of a new, quick and nimble, Heating Emergency Lower-Income Program, or HELP. 

Since its first Juneau ‘giving event’ in early 2020, the Juneau 100 Women Who Care organization has raised nearly $400,000 for local nonprofit causes. The group has grown from roughly 100 women to nearly 350 members so each quarter’s offering to the chosen nonprofit can be quite substantial. Previous recipients of the generosity of Juneau’s 100 Women Who Care include the United Human Services of Alaska, Juneau Animal Rescue, The Glory Hall, and Renewable Juneau’s Carbon Offset Fund. 

Alaska Heat Smart board members and two friendly dogs join leaders from Juneau’s 100 Women Who Care to celebrate!

Current heating assistance programs offered by AHS are federally-funded and subject to income verification, home surveys, environmental reviews, historic preservation office constraints, and more. In short, while the end result of these programs is warm, dry, efficient, and economical homes, months can pass from the time of a homeowner’s application to the completion of work.

If a family’s heating system is failing or fails, especially during winter months, there is little time to act. Both the family’s health and that of the home are potentially at risk. Our HELP program will move the family in need to the top of the AHS project lists. Staff will work with the family to verify that gross household income is below 80% median area income. Pre-established arrangements with local contractors will allow for quick deployment of services. AHS and contractor staff will assess the home’s needs, form a work plan, order equipment if needed, and proceed with heating system improvements. If necessary, interim measures will be taken to provide temporary heat while parts are acquired and work performed. 

Please help us spread the word to Juneau families who may be able to benefit from this new assistance program. Winter has just ended, but we all know that the next cold and snowy season is not all that far off. Awareness of this new and valuable program will help to ensure its success.

More information will be available soon! For questions, contact AK Heat Smart at 907-500-5050.

Save money with incentives for home heating and efficiency!

Posted by on in financing, heat pumpsLeave a comment

The Juneau Empire covers Alaska Heat Smart’s most popular money-saving home heating programs!

Heat Smart heat pump program story in Juneau Empire

In short, there really has never been a better time to add a heat pump to your home. Alaska Heat Smart can connect you to low-interest traditional financing, provide a financial incentive of up to $3,000 towards your heat pump purchase, or offer up to $15,000 in funds to improve your home’s heating, air sealing, and safety. Alaska Heat Smart can guide you along your pathway to clean and affordable renewable energy heating with a free home heat pump assessment.

How the Inflation Reduction Act Can Save You Money

Posted by on in Inflation Reduction ActLeave a comment

A Consumer’s Guide – The New York Times

Alaska Heat Smart is finding many IRA articles out there in internet land. When we stumble upon a good one, we’ll share it with you. This summary of the IRA’s diverse credits and rebates in the New York Times is easily digested and is clear and concise. There should be no paywall for this article. If you come upon one in using the link below, copy and paste the headline into a new browser window.

Many American consumers are now eligible to save thousands of dollars when they buy an electric car, heat pump, solar panels or energy-efficient appliances.

How the Inflation Reduction Act Can Save You Money: A Consumer’s Guide – The New York Times

Also, be sure to visit Alaska Heat Smart’s FAQ page on the Inflation Reduction Act where we regularly update the most pressing questions and answers that have come our way over the past month or two.

Your Electric Bank Account!

Posted by on in financing, Inflation Reduction ActLeave a comment

The Inflation Reduction Act is live!

Tax credits available under the August 2022 Inflation Reduction Act are now yours! There are no income limits to block the availability of these credits. If you incur tax liability in 2023, you may be eligible for some of these fantastic financial catalysts for energy efficiency action. And, these credits are not limited to just 2023! Unless something changes at a congressional level, these credits reset every year until 2032. This means that a bit of project planning will be to your benefit. By organizing your energy efficiency home improvement projects, you may be able to take $1,200 in tax credits for a number of years. You cannot carry over any unused credit but you can stagger your expenditures to enable the credits over multiple years.

The Inflation Reduction Act tax credits are like having your own ‘electric bank account’!

Rewiring America

For example, you could upgrade your electrical panel this year to allow for the addition of a heat pump, grabbing the $600 panel credit and the 30% of cost (up to $2,000) heat pump credit. (Note: the 30 percent tax credit up to $600 for an electrical panel upgrade is only an option if the panel upgraded in conjunction with another upgrade, like a heat pump.) Next year, a bit of air sealing and insulation work will allow another $1,200 in tax credit. Maybe the following year you upgrade a door and a couple of windows, netting yet another $1,200 in credit. By working with the annual cap of $1,200, this credit can be applied to numerous cost-saving improvements, saving you thousands of dollars and lowering annual energy costs

Here are some great resources to get you thinking about your home improvements, energy efficiency, and IRA tax credits:

OUR FAVORITE! https://www.rewiringamerica.org/app/ira-calculator

Alaska Heat Smart’s IRA FAQ page

DOE: Making Our Homes More Efficient: Clean Energy Tax Credits for Consumers

https://www.rewiringamerica.org/

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/frequently-asked-questions-about-energy-efficient-home-improvements-and-residential-clean-energy-property-credits-qualifying-residence

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/12/29/climate-tax-credits-clean-energy/

Upfront Discounts and Energy Efficiency Rebates

These very generous financial incentives will not be available until later into 2023 or even sometime in 2024. These upfront cost discounts differ from tax credits in that your gross household may not exceed designated income caps. While we have not yet seen these final income caps, we assume that they will be similar to those that apply to the Alaska Heat Smart Clean Heat Incentive Program, though the upper limit of the IRA rebates will be a bit more generous.

Alaska Heat Smart is increasingly asked whether or not a homeowner should hold off on a heat pump installation or weatherization upgrades, and choose to hold out for the IRA rebates. This is a personal decision and there are many factors that come into play. How long do you want to wait to start your savings? How imminent is your boiler or furnace failure? Can you go another winter with the systems you currently have? Should you act now and combine existing benefit programs, taking advantage of the rebates one they become available?

If in doubt, be sure to take a look at our existing programs. It is possible to mix and match some of these, allowing you to act now. The combination of a heat pump incentive, a tax credit, and even a low interest heat pump loan can you have you saving in no time.

Heat Pump Loan Cap Raised!

Posted by on in financing2 Comments

2022 may just be Juneau’s ‘Year of the Heat Pump’! It seems that everybody’s doing it. The word is out that heat pumps will save you money, heat your home nearly all year long, provide air conditioning, keep your home heating local, eliminate oil hazards, and shrink your carbon footprint in one of the most impactful ways possible.

Demand for both heat pumps and the contractors to install them is at an all-time high! If you are ready to move on a heat pump, yet you’re finding that cash flow is an issue, our Heat Smart – True North FCU (TNFCU) heat pump loan may just be the solution for you. The hurdle of high up front initial costs is a common stumbling block for many and this loan is one of our tools that can help you make the leap.

In response to local demand for heat pumps atop a surge in interest to move away from fossil fuel heating, Alaska Heat Smart has been busy creating new programs to make it easier for ALL Juneau residents to benefit from heat pumps’ money-saving and climate-friendly benefits. Following on the heels of our wildly popular free home heat pump assessment program, we are making headway on the development of our lower income Healthy Homes program and our modest income Home Heat Pump Incentive Program.

Our traditional loan program has been up and running for more than a year now. We’ve often been asked if the loan cap could be raised from it’s starting cap of $7,500. Complex or multi-head heat pump systems are often quoted from $8,500 to close to $30,000. Alaska Heat Smart is happy to announce a new loan cap of $12,500! If you have good credit and a solid debt to income ratio, this loan could be yours.

If granted $12,500 at 4%, the lowest rate offered on this loan by TNFCU, you’ll free up cash flow and start saving money immediately!

Interest payments over 5 years for a $12,500 heat pump loan at 4% interest would average just under $22 per month! With the average Juneau heat pump installation saving a homeowner over $1,200 annually, despite paying interest, there would still be a $78 average monthly savings over the course of a year!

And, if you need a smaller loan, interest payments will be even lower and your savings that much higher!

Learn more about our home heat pump loan today!