It is cold, just in time for a crazy good rebate on heaters, insulation, and more. A very lucrative, new limited time California energy efficiency rebate is available where you can receive up to $4500 in rebates from Energy Upgrade California program. PG&E, SCE, San Diego Gas & Electric – SDG&E, or BVE. customers have this program available. This program is focused on a whole house approach to saving energy. San Francisco Bay Area information line 855-464-8484. This program ends in 2013.

The goal of the program is:

• Get rebates, financing, and incentives to reduce the cost of your home upgrade
• Reduce energy use
• Live in a more comfortable home

Even Larger Rebates

If you live in San Mateo County, you can receive up to an additional $500. San Francisco residents could receive an additional $1000.

Some Counties are even subsidizing the home energy audit costs.  Check with your local County.

Acterra has free energy audits for residents of:

• Atherton
• Los Altos Hills
• Monte Sereno
• Portola Valley
• Woodside

Funding for Energy Upgrade California comes from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as Federal Stimulus Funds, California utility ratepayers, and private contributions.

Qualification:

• You must own a single-family home, commercial, or multifamily property and be a qualifying California utility company customer.
• You must be current on property taxes and liens.
• Participating contractors are specially trained for this program.
• There are 2 upgrade packages:

1. Basic Upgrade Package – 7 required measures (Air sealing, attic insulation, duct sealing, hot water pipe insulation, thermostatic shutoff valve, carbon monoxide monitor) that together could reduce your energy consumption by an average of 10%. Up to $1000 rebate.
2. Advanced Upgrade Package - A home energy audit which includes energy modeling must be completed by a certified energy auditor. A customized solution (Basic upgrade package plus high-efficiency furnace, energy-efficient cooling, water heater system, energy efficient Windows, duct replacement, wall insulation) with energy savings of 15 to 40%, with incentives from $1250 – $4000 depending on efficiency improvement. The amount of the rebate you get is based on energy modeling software that shows how much energy your home will save after an energy upgrade remodel.

Energy Upgrade CA approves the project after the audit is done and before the work is done.

A verification test is done after the work is finished by PG&E auditors.

Contact your qualified local contractor or Home Energy Audit firm via the Energy Upgrade CA website today to participate in Energy Upgrade California.

GreenPoint rating

If you add green measures to the Upgrade Package, your home may qualify for the GreenPoint Rated label and receive up to $1000. This validates that your home has been remodeled according to established green standards.

Be sure to take advantage of the Federal Tax Credit to receive additional money back in addition to those received under Energy Upgrade California!

Energy Upgrade California Analysis

Analysis done at the end of summer 2012, found that the Energy Commission paid out $40.9 million in rebates but spent $56.5 million in creating the program, marketing it, and administering it. Few cash poor consumers were willing to take the plunge. Banks were hesitant to lend money for this energy upgrade work. Stimulus money is now all gone, so energy upgrade California is being funded by our electric bills.

Utility companies have asked that this program be continued for another two years, but it remains to be seen if the California Public Utilities Commission will allow this.

New PG&E rebates have been added for 2013

Our local utility Pacific Gas and Electric – PG&E has cash rebates and ways to go green and save money. Here are some PG&E Energy Efficiency Rebates:

• PG&E Energy efficient appliance $50 rebate – Qualifying High-Efficiency Clothes Washers, Dishwashers, Room Air Conditioners, Water heaters – Expires December 31
• $75 rebate on High Efficient Refrigerator
• $35 back on Refrigerator or Freezer recycling, $25 on old Air conditioners
• $50 for Room AC Unit
• $200 rebate for Energy Star High-Efficiency Gas Storage Water Heater
• $500 rebate on Energy Star Electric Heat Pump Water heater
• Solar Energy rebates
• Upto $300 rebate on Central Natural Gas Furnace
• Up to $500 for Attic and Wall Insulation
• Up to $0.20 per sq ft of a Cool roof
• $50 for Energy-Efficient Variable Speed Motor Air Handler System
• Up to $100 on Whole House Fan, up to $200 on Duct Sealing. Expires December 31, 2012
• Upto $100 on Variable speed pool pumps and motors. Expires December 31, 2012
• Home lighting – Discounted Home Lights

You can even submit PG&E Energy Efficiency Rebates requests online and then send in proof of purchase. Questions about PG&E Energy Efficiency Rebates, call 1-800-933-9555.

If you live in California, be sure to check out the up to $4000 Energy Upgrade California Energy Efficiency Rebate

Always check your local utility’s web site for rebates before you buy a new item. We recently bought a new dishwasher that had a $50 utility company rebate that was not advertised by the store. They fulfilled the rebate in only 2 weeks. Green your home and get cash back. Most rebates run through December 31 or while funding is available.

You can also call PG&E and ask for a Smart Home Rebate Booklet or check out their Flex your power website.

Federal Energy Efficiency Tax Credit

Be sure to also take advantage of the Federal Energy Efficiency Tax Credit. This Federal tax credit can save you money in addition to your utility companies’ promotions. It applies to many items including: Wind Turbines - GeoThermal Heat Pump – Solar panels.

Purcell Murray distributes appliances in California and has Bosch rebates, Thermador rebates, and rebates for other brands.

Plug in Electric Vehicle Discounts

Pacific Gas & Electric has a new E-9 rate plan for plug in electric vehicle or electric car owners. A second power meter may need to be installed for households in which their plug-in electric vehicle charging significantly impacts their daily energy usage.

Additional Resources for more information

Read our article: Ways to Save Energy, Money on your Energy Bill – It is full of tips to save you money.

Interested in Solar? Read our article Are Solar Panels for Me?

Other Power Utility Company Rebates

For Northern California Energy Rebates see: PG&E Energy Efficiency Rebates
For Southern California see: SCE Rebates or Southern California Edison Rebate for Energy Efficiency
For San Diego see: SDGE Rebates, SDG&E, or San Diego Gas and Electric Rebate for Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency Rebates for other locations.

PG&E Energy Partners Program – Free Products

PG&E has an Energy Partners Program that provides income-qualified customers free energy education, weatherization measures and energy-efficient appliances to reduce gas and electric usage.

They provide:

• Attic insulation
• Caulking
• CFLs
• Door weather-stripping
• Energy-saver showerhead
• Minor home repair
• Water heater blanket

Free Education and Assessment, Installation and Delivery, and Free Inspections.

You can contact them at 1-800-933-9555

PG&E Energy Efficient Rebates are another way to save money.

PG&E CFL Website

Our local utility PG&E has a mini site dedicated to CFL. (Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs) Where to buy them at a discounted price, what advantages are, where to recycle them.

Free PGE Energy Efficiency Classes

Pacific Gas and Electric has some free classes on various Energy conservation topics including Solar Power Basics for Residential Customers, HVAC, Water & Energy, and Lighting. It is always nice to get vendor neutral information. Some classes are available online to any user.

Let’s face it, not everyone has tens of thousands of dollars to pay for a solar system and even with no money down leases, you still need to be informed. Looking for new ways to save energy is only a class away.

Classes take place at:

Pacific Energy Center
851 Howard Street
San Francisco

and

Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Energy Training Center
1129 Enterprise St.
Stockton, CA 95204

PG&E Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) to Lower Energy Costs

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has recently added the voluntary Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) program that gives lower energy rates on non-CPP event days (non peak days) in exchange for higher rates on CPP event days. (high use Summer days)

You agree to pay higher peak rates of 60 cents a kilowatt-hour on no more than 15 days a year in exchange for a 3 cent discount on all other energy use times.

This is designed for businesses using more than 200 kW per month who can pull back energy use during peak days. The program has resulted in lower bills for some big customers like datacenters.

PG&E Climate Smart Program has ended

PG&E has a ClimateSmart program that allows customers to pay extra to offset the greenhouse gas emissions from energy they use. It cost me about $78 last year. “100% of your payment for the ClimateSmart program will go to directly funding new greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in California. ” Over 30,000 people participate in this program.

The PG&E ClimateSmart program will end on December 31, 2011 because far fewer people signed up than expected. The program attracted around 30,000 people, much lower than the projected 168,000 customers. The program did reduce Greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 million metric tons. This experiment benefited the Environment, but ultimately showed that few people are willing to pay to do this.

Other utility company in other regions may have similar programs.

Also read: Save Energy and money on your energy bill.

Interested in Solar Power but don’t have tens of thousands of dollars? Free Solar Panels?

Solar City, and most other solar power installers, have an interesting program where you lease solar equipment and pay a monthly lease. The Solar Lease payment and lower electric bill will be less than your current electric bill. The company owns the solar panels and you rent them by paying the cost of the power.

80% of solar installations used this solar lease technique in the 2010 – 2012 time frame. The numbers have been falling due to the banks seeing that it was profitable and causing rates to go up.

They advertise a medium sized 4kW system with $0 down – free solar panels!, no security deposit for $110 a month with 3.9% annual interest rate for 15 years on approved credit.  When the solar lease ends, you can extend it, remove the solar panels, or upgrade to a new, more efficient solar system. Other providers should have similar offers in other areas.

Savings with Solar Panel Leasing (Credit: Solar City)

You can save $10,050 over the next 15 years, because you have locked in low price for solar electricity while utility rates continue to increase. Some leases last from ten to twenty years and cost from $30 to $300 a month.

With some solar leases, you may be able to write off depreciation on your taxes. Ask your solar installation company and accountant about this.

Solar Loans

Loans from financial institutions to pay for solar panels is becoming more popular. Home owners pay a reasonable interest rate, typical 6% in early 2013. A solar lease when calculated out, may result in a high 18% effective interest rate.

Sun Run Solar Power

Sun Run partners with local companies to provide solar systems and financing.  They have a Solar Power Purchase Agreement or solar PPA where you pay a fixed, set rate for all the solar electricity produced by the solar panels. The rate is typically $0.20/kWh for the next 18 to 20 years. Sun Run also has a solar lease you pay a monthly payment to rent the solar panels on your roof. There may also be a small installation fee upfront with either plan, usually under $1000. PG&E recently invested in the company.

The amount of your monthly solar lease payment is the same each month, regardless of how much solar electricity your system produces. This is the main difference between a solar lease and a solar power purchase agreement.

Leasing your system does not qualify you for Federal or State solar rebates, the company installing them gets the rebates. Make sure the provider is passing along the rebate in the form of lower monthly lease costs. Some plans allow prepaid leasing, which can double or triple your net savings. The best solar incentives are in Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.  Texas and Florida are coming online. In 2012, merely 74% of solar installations utilized these solar leases.

Make sure any solar service you sign up with has insurance and a means to fix any problems. Keep in mind that solar power agreements are a contract, so if you move, you need to either transfer the agreement to the new owner, or buyout the remainder of the lease.

Read Are Solar Panels for me? and decide if  Solar Panels are in your future.