Increasing the self-sustainability of your home and investing in energy efficiency will give you a chance to enjoy a wide range of benefits. Several of these advantages are quite obvious – you will be reducing your property’s impact on the environment and you will also be saving a lot of money on your utility bills.
Making energy efficient improvements, however, could be a costly endeavor. Several kinds of projects will give you access to an energy efficient home incentive. This kind of financial stimulus could make it a lot easier for you to invest in such equipment.
Residential Energy Efficiency Property Incentive Overview
This type of residential energy efficiency incentive will be available through 2016. Homeowners that invest in energy efficiency improvements can claim up to 30 percent of the cost of qualifying projects.
The 45L incentive covers the cost of the equipment itself, the assembly, onsite preparation and the installation of the respective system or appliance.
There is no limit to the energy efficient home incentive for most kinds of residential property. If the incentive amounts to more than the tax owed, you can carry the unused portion of the incentive for the particular year to the tax returns for the next year.
All of the improvements have to be made to residential property located in the United States. The property can be a second home or a vacation property, in order to qualify for the energy efficient home tax incentive.
Solar Panels and Solar Water Heating Equipment
The use of solar technology to make your home self-sustainable will give you an opportunity to qualify for the energy efficient home incentive.
Residential solar panels have become incredibly popular and common. The cost of the technology decreased over the past 10 years and the availability of taxation stimuli made many residential property owners take the decision to give this technology a try.
The addition of solar panels to residential property increases its value, decreases the carbon footprint and produces significant electricity bill reductions. American households that install solar equipment can expect to save approximately 20,000 dollars on their bills in the 20 years after getting the solar panels.
Wind Turbines for Residential Purposes
The energy efficiency home incentive is also available for the installation of wind turbines for the production of electricity.
Though wind turbines are still predominantly seen as a commercial type of improvement, their popularity among residential property owners is also growing. The installation of such equipment provides an insurance against the growing costs of electricity. Turbines are safe, quiet and very easy to maintain.
In order to benefit from this kind of equipment, you need to live in an area that is known for its windy weather. The speed of the wind should be at least 10 miles per hour for such projects to make sense.
Other Qualifying Improvements
Geothermal heat pump installation will also give you the opportunity to qualify for an energy efficient home tax incentive. Keep in mind that energy efficient equipment that is used for the heating of a swimming pool, for example, will not qualify for the tax incentive.
Fuel cell installation is the last possibility. Once again, 30 percent of the cost of the project will be covered. The fuel cell should be installed to a principal property in the US and its capacity has to be at least ½ kilowatts. The tax incentive for this kind of equipment cannot exceed 500 dollars per individual cell.
Steve Nanos
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