Kilowatt Heating, Air Conditioning and Electrical Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Utility Rebates’

BURBANK – Heat Pump Rebate

Wednesday, January 6th, 2021

Up to $1,500 Rebate for the Replacement of Your Older, Less-Efficient Central AC!

Older air conditioning (AC) units are expensive to operate, maintain, and fix when they break down. 

Don’t get stuck in the heat! We’re offering a rebate up to $1,500 to help you replace your old, costly central AC unit before it breaks down. Older heat pumps may also be eligible.

This is BIG! Rebates like this don’t come along often. If your system is older or has not been consistently maintained over the years this offer is perfect for you. But remember rebate money is allocated on a first come basis. Call now to get your application in quickly!

Find out more about the rebate program here

Kilowatt install of heat pump systems in Studio City, CA

Why the big push to replace?

Three-quarters of all homes in the United States have air conditioners. Air conditioners use about 6% of all the electricity produced in the United States, at an annual cost of about $29 billion to homeowners. As a result, roughly 117 million metric tons of carbon dioxide are released into the air each year. 

Air conditioners employ the same operating principles and basic components as your home refrigerator. Refrigerators use energy (usually electricity) to transfer heat from the cool interior of the refrigerator to the relatively warm surroundings of your home; likewise, an air conditioner uses energy to transfer heat from the interior of your home to the relatively warm outside environment.

An air conditioner cools your home with a cold indoor coil called the evaporator. The condenser, a hot outdoor coil, releases the collected heat outside. The evaporator and condenser coils are serpentine tubing surrounded by aluminum fins. This tubing is usually made of copper.

A pump, called the compressor, moves a heat transfer fluid (or refrigerant) between the evaporator and the condenser. The pump forces the refrigerant through the circuit of tubing and fins in the coils.

The liquid refrigerant evaporates in the indoor evaporator coil, pulling heat out of indoor air and cooling your home. The hot refrigerant gas is pumped outdoors into the condenser where it reverts back to a liquid, giving up its heat to the outside air flowing over the condenser’s metal tubing and fins.

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, nearly all air conditioners used chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as their refrigerant, but because these chemicals are damaging to Earth’s ozone layer, CFC production stopped in the United States in 1995. Nearly all air conditioning systems now employ halogenated chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) as a refrigerant, but these are also being gradually phased out, with most production and importing stopped by 2020 and all production and importing stopped by 2030.

Production and importing of today’s main refrigerant for home air conditioners, HCFC-22 (also called R-22), began to be phased out in 2010 and will stop entirely by 2020. However, HCFC-22 is expected to be available for many years as it is recovered from old systems that are taken out of service. As these refrigerants are phased out, ozone-safe hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are expected to dominate the market, as well as alternative refrigerants such as ammonia.


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DWP is Giving Away $100,000,000 for Energy Efficiency Upgrades

Monday, September 24th, 2018

LADWP offers the Consumer Rebate Program (CRP) to their residential customers to promote the use of energy-efficient products.

DWP Customers who install attic insulation can see energy reduction and savings of $200 to $374 in a year, depending upon the size of the home and its location.

Installing attic insulation might seem daunting and expensive, but the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) can help pay for insulating your attic. Qualifying customers can receive rebates up to 80% of the total insulation installation costs or $1.00 per square foot of attic floor insulation (whichever is less).

Insulation Materials

Insulation materials are defined as material/product used to slow down heat flow, which is measured in terms of thermal resistance or R-Value. Qualified attic insulation types include blanket (batts and rolls), loose-fill, blown-in, attic-applied rigid foam, sprayed foam, and foamed-in-place insulation systems.

Installed insulation materials must achieve a minimum thermal resistance of R-30 (or R-19 if less than 24 inches of attic clearance is available and R-30 cannot be achieved) to qualify for the program.

Insulation Costs

Installation costs are defined as the cost of the insulation materials plus the labor associated with the installation of insulation materials, including labor undertaken to comply with codes and regulations, such as sealing attic air leaks, weather-stripping attic hatch or door, attic ventilation modifications, and installation of rafter vent/insulation baffles. Complete attic insulation coverage is required above all air conditioned spaces. New construction or non-living building, such as a detached garage, do not qualify for the insulation rebate.

Customers interested in the program should:

  1. Decide on hiring a licensed contractor or installing the insulation materials themselves; LADWP strongly recommends working with a licensed contractor.
  2. Take pictures of the attic BEFORE installation to submit with application package.
  3. Install insulation materials in accordance with the program requirements.
  4. Take pictures of the attic AFTER installation.
  5. Submit Consumer Rebate Program (CRP) application by mail to LADWP with required documentation.

If you are interested in attic insulation call Kilowatt now to schedule a FREE estimate 818-780-0701. The rebate money is given out on a first come first served basis.

 

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Can You Afford To Be Green?

Monday, August 11th, 2014

If you are like most Los Angeles homeowners your electric bills are high and your home comfort system accounts for the largest portion of your electricity usage.

Fortunately new technology is helping people to save up to 56% of the money they spend on heating and cooling. That’s big savings. Especially considering that DWP confirmed there will be rate hikes of 5-7% every year for the next 20 years.

The Federal Government and California really want you to be green. Right now $1,250.00 in Tax Credits and Utility Rebates are being offered to Los Angeles homeowners who install energy-efficient heating and AC equipment. There are also manufacturer’s incentives that crop up periodically which can represent substantial savings. Don’t worry! We stay current and always make sure you benefit.

 

When you put the energy savings together with the rebates, tax credits and the manufacturers incentives; it is safe to say that high-efficiency heating and air conditioning systems pay for themselves.

Yay! You CAN afford to be Green.

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