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READY TO LOWER YOUR UTILITY BILLS?
Swift can perform an Energy Assessment and give you a detailed report on where your home may be losing energy. With the summer approaching, now is a great time to improve the efficiency of your home.
As part of the Energy Assessment Program, qualified homeowners can borrow up to $15,000 through the City of Columbia towards new Replacement Windows, new Insulation, and so much more! Call today for details or click on "Request Free Estimate" below to find out more.
"The first utility bill I received after the work was done was already $45 lower than my previous bill!" Read More...
As a participating sponsor of Home Performance from Energy Star (sponsored by Columbia Water & Light Department) we welcome the opportunity to come to your home and test for energy efficiency.
Installing new products, in your home will improve the way your home cycles energy, decreasing your utility bills and improving the environment. The cold drafts stay outside during the winter and the cool 'conditioned' air stays in during the summer.
Home Performance with ENERGY STAR
A drafty home, rooms that are too hot or too cold, and high energy bills are all common issues for homeowners. Installing a new heating or air conditioning system, buying replacement windows, or adding more insulation may fix part of the problem. But the way to better results is through an integrated "whole-house" approach that looks at your house as a system.
 Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, a national program from the U.S. EPA and U.S. DOE, offers a comprehensive, whole-house approach to improving energy efficiency and comfort at home, while helping to protect the environment.
Contractors participating in a locally-sponsored Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program can help you cost-effectively improve your home’s energy efficiency. These specially-trained contractors evaluate your home using state-of-the-art equipment and recommend comprehensive improvements that will yield the best results. They can also help you take advantage of Federal tax credits for energy efficiency improvements.
Diagnosing the Problem
Rather than focusing on a single component, such as single-paned windows, an old air conditioning system, or leaky ductwork, a participating contractor will assess how improvements to all of these components can work together to provide:
- fewer drafts
- consistent temperatures across rooms,
- better ventilation and humidity control, and
- lower utility bills
Common Recommendations
Sealing Air Leaks and Adding Insulation
Many air leaks in homes are fairly obvious, such as around windows, doors, and electrical outlets. But others, like those in attics, around chimneys, and through recessed lighting fixtures, are often the more significant sources of energy loss in a home. Sealing air leaks is critical to improving the overall efficiency of your home and will make your heating and cooling system perform better. Along with air sealing, your contractor may recommend that you add insulation. Many older homes are not well-insulated, and some have no insulation at all. Properly installed insulation in walls, floors, and attics provides for more even temperatures throughout the house and results in a quieter, more comfortable living environment that is easier to heat and cool.
Sealing Ductwork
Many homes have leaky ductwork and poor air flow, resulting in stuffy and uncomfortable rooms — regardless of the thermostat setting. The home performance contractor may recommend sealing your home’s ducts with mastic, metal tape or spray-on sealant, and balancing the duct system to optimize air flow to all rooms. Insulating ductwork in attics, crawlspaces, and some basements can also help to ensure that your home will be more comfortable.
Improving Heating and Cooling Systems
If your furnace or air conditioner is more than 10 years old, your contractor may recommend that you replace it with a unit that has earned the ENERGY STAR label. Installed correctly, these high-efficiency units can save up to 20 percent on heating and cooling costs. But when it comes to heating and cooling equipment, bigger is not always better. A properly-sized unit will make your home more comfortable by providing more consistent temperatures and better humidity control.
The contractor should also test combustion equipment, such as your furnace and hot water heater, to ensure that it is operating and venting properly.
Upgrading Lighting and Appliances
Energy used for lighting and appliances can account for half of your home's total utility bill. As a result, the home performance contractor may recommend ENERGY STAR qualified products, such as refrigerators, dishwashers, electronic equipment, light fixtures, and compact fluorescent bulbs. An energy- and water-efficient hot water heating system may also be recommended.
Once you’ve taken steps to increase your home's efficiency, you may also want to consider adding renewable energy systems, such as solar electric (photovoltaics) or solar hot water, to further reduce your utility bills.
Quality Assurance
A local Home Performance with ENERGY STAR sponsor (a State Energy Office, utility, or nonprofit energy efficiency organization) is responsible for ensuring that participating contractors maintain high standards for quality. This typically includes providing specialized training for contractors and conducting quality assurance inspections to verify that Home Performance with ENERGY STAR projects get done right.
Getting Started:
Contact Swift Companies, your Home Performance contractor: You must use a certified contractors, and our staff has been trained and certified by Columbia Water & Light to perform Energy Assessments. Please discuss the fee for the assessment before scheduling your evaluation appointment.
Diagnostic testing: The assessment usually takes about 4 hours. You will be provided with a rough estimate of associated costs, expected benefits, and cost savings of the recommended improvements.
Financing Home Performance Recommendations: Columbia Water & Light is offering qualified electric customers rebates up to $1,000 for home improvements and up to $1,600 for high-efficiency air conditioners. The Home Performance Loan program will help finance efficiency upgrades that might be suggested during a Home Performance evaluation.
Completing the work: Once your financing is secure, we can begin the improvements. After the work is completed, Columbia Water & Light will schedule a final Quality Assurance Assessment. If your house passes the evaluation, rebates and/or loan funds can be processed.
To Apply for the Loan Program, please print and fill out the form below:
UserFiles/File/LoanApp.pdf
(Your Project Sales Coordinator can assist you through the process)
General Guidelines For Rebates
- Newly constructed homes are not eligible for Home Performance rebates.
- Rebates are only available for Columbia Water & Light residential electric customers.
- Customers are eligible for Home Performance Rebates if a Comprehensive Home Assessment is performed by an approved contractor or a Water & Light staff person.
- The Comprehensive Home Assessment must be on file or accompany the rebate application.
- Qualifying improvements must be listed on the Summary Reporting Form supplied to you by the Home Performance contractor.
- Invoices must be provided for each improvement.
- Window receipts must be accompanied by National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) stickers for each window.
- Rebates are subject to availability of funds. Please read all rules for each rebate before purchasing and installing any materials.
- Total rebate amount to one customer can not exceed $1,000.
Home Performance Rebate Amounts
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Type of Improvement
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Requirement
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Rebate Amount
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| Insulation |
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Attic Insulation: Option 1
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Adding R-19 to meet R-38 requirement
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$104
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Attic Insulation: Option 2
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Adding R-27 to meet R-38 requirement
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$145
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Wall Insulation
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R-13
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$135
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Wall of crawl space
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R-10
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$95*
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Floor of crawl space
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R-19
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$146*
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Rim joist insulation
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R-13
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$20
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Duct insulation
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R-13
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$52
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| Air Sealing |
Per 1 ACH
(maximum of 5 ACH) |
$42 per ACH
(maximum rebate of $210) |
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Windows/Doors
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**
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$84 maximum rebate
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Air Source Heat Pump
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SEER 14
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$208
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*A household is only eligible for one of these rebates.
**More details are listed below.
In addition, you might be eligible for Columbia Water & Light’s high-efficiency air conditioner/heat pump rebate. Due to the increased costs of higher SEER units, the amount of the rebate offered to you also goes up.
High Efficiency Air Conditioner or Heat Pump Rebate
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SEER
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2 TON
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3 TON
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4 TON
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5 TON
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SEER 14
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$100
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$100
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$200
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$300
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SEER 15
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$200
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$300
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$400
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$600
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SEER 16
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$300
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$500
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$600
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$800
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SEER 17
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$400
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$600
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$800
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$1,000
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SEER 18
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$500
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$700
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$1,000
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$1,200
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SEER 19
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$500
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$800
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$1,100
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$1,400
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SEER 20
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$600
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$900
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$1,200
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$1,600
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Insulation
By upgrading your insulation, you can save money on your heating and cooling bill and increase the comfort of your home. Rebates for only partially following insulation recommendations will be paid according to percentages. Percentages of ceiling, crawl space floor, ducts and exterior wall will be calculated based on the entire home’s surface area. Percentages of crawl space will be calculated from the total feet of the home’s foundation wall.
- Insulation rebate amounts are listed in the chart above.
- A rebate for crawl space or crawl space wall will be paid, not both.
- If at least 50% of all the insulation recommendations from the assessment are followed, the customer is eligible for the maximum amount of the rebate in each category that applies.
- If only 25% to 49% of the insulation recommendations from the assessment are followed, the customer is eligible for 50% of the rebate.
- If less than 24%of the insulation recommendations from the assessment are followed, the customer is not eligible for a rebate.
Air sealing
ENERGY STAR recommends sealing the ‘envelope’ that surrounds your living space, which includes the ceiling, outer walls, windows, floors and ducts (if located in unconditioned spaces). A rebate will be paid according to the difference between the initial blower door test and the final test. Air changes per hour at 50 pascal (ACH50) of 0.5 will be rounded up. Rebate
Air Source Heat Pumps
Air Source heat pumps typically deliver 2 to 3 times more energy than they consume. In our climate, Heat Pumps can operate for 75% of the heating season. This makes annual operating costs cheaper than a high-efficiency gas furnace. A SEER 14 is required for heat pump rebates.
Windows and Doors
ENERGY STAR qualified windows and doors will reduce your heating and cooling bills and can also improve your comfort. If you are only replacing part of your windows and doors, the rebate will be paid according to percentages. Percentages will be figured by using the total number of windows and doors in your home.
- If at least 50% of all your home’s windows or doors are replaced, you will be eligible for a full rebate.
- If you replace 25% to 49% of your home’s windows and doors, you will be eligible for a 50% rebate.
- If you replace less than 24% of your windows and doors, you will not be eligible for a rebate.
- New windows must replace existing single pane windows to be eligible for rebate.
- Windows and doors must be ENERGY STAR qualified and have a U-factor of 0.40 or below.
- The windows receipts must be accompanied with National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) stickers.
For the Rebate Application: UserFiles/File/HPrebateApp.pdf
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The Environmental Protection Agency sponsors the Home Performance program with Energy Star program.
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The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is the state sponsor of the program.
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To learn more about a topic, you can click on a link below for additional information from Columbia Water & Light or visit their website at www.gocolumbiamo.com:
Call us at (573) 446-0677 or Click on Request A Free Estimate
and Print out this coupon to save $50 on your Assessment, Today!
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