Going Green
LIPA and Town of Hempstead Host Free Solar & Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®
Seminar
Uniondale, NY—April 8, 2008—As concerns about global warming increase
and the cost of fossil fuels continue to rise, homeowners are looking for ways
to make a difference. The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) is providing an
opportunity for residential customers to invest in the future and supplement
their energy needs with solar power (Photovoltaic-PV) and improve overall home
energy efficiency.
To help educate its customers on how to reduce their dependence on fossil
fuels, LIPA is teaming up with the Town of Hempstead to offer a free Solar
Energy and Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® Seminar. The program will be held
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 7:30PM in the Town of Hempstead at Levittown Hall,
201 Levittown Parkway, Hicksville, NY. The seminar will include topics such as:
how to lower your electric bill; types of PV systems; details on LIPA rebates
and solar incentives; net metering; and how to choose a contractor.
“Replacing just one incandescent bulb with a Compact Fluorescent bulb (CFL)
can save the typical electric consumer almost $18 per year while using up to 75%
less energy then incandescent bulbs,” said LIPA President and CEO Kevin S. Law.
“I commend Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray for her commitment to providing
the residents with information enabling them to save on energy costs while
reducing environmental damage. With the costs of energy rising, it is important
to know what energy efficiency improvements will help keep home energy costs
down.”
“We are pleased to partner with the Long Island Power Authority and Renewable
Energy Long Island and host this informative program,” Supervisor Murray stated.
“This is a great opportunity for homeowners to become solar pioneers and reduce
electricity consumption while protecting the environment. This is also the first
time we will be combining the solar seminar with a seminar on how to make your
home more energy efficient with ENERGY STAR.”
“Supervisor Kate Murray must be commended for hosting these home energy
efficiency seminars and RELI looks forward to working with the Town of Hempstead
and its residents to help people save energy and money while reducing harmful
emissions from our homes,” said Gordian Raacke, executive director of Renewable
Energy Long Island (RELI), a not-for-profit organization. “We may not realize
it, but our homes are often poorly insulated and use antiquated or needlessly
wasteful heating and air conditioning systems, appliances and lighting. Thanks
to LIPA’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program, homeowners can now get help
from specially trained home energy experts and find out how much money they can
save by making energy efficiency improvements.”
LIPA offers significant rebates for PV systems up to 10 kilowatts (kW) in
size. A 10kW can produce about 12,730 kWh per year, which would be an annual
value of $2,291 at the current electric rates. The rebate available now for
residential and commercial customers is $3.50 per watt. Investing in solar power
enables customers to not only generate clean electricity, but also reduce the
amount of electricity purchased from LIPA. And, any excess electricity produced
can be sold back to LIPA through net metering.
In addition to the LIPA rebates, New York State offers up to a 25% tax credit
with a $5,000 cap. The Federal government offers up to 30% tax credit with a
$2,000 cap. Nassau and Suffolk Counties charge no sales tax on the equipment of
PV systems, and homeowners can take advantage of New York State’s 15-year
property tax exemption for solar energy systems. After all the incentives are
applied it is possible to enjoy a 50% reduction on the total cost of a PV
system.
To date, under its Solar Pioneer Program, LIPA has rebated over $30.8 million
for the installation of approximately 1,208 PV systems Island-wide. That number
breaks down to 1,117 residential and 52 commercial systems and 39 systems
installed at educational, not-for-profit and government facilities.
Additionally, there are 483 rebate applications pending for PV systems that are
about to be installed.
In addition to the solar topics, homeowners are invited to learn how they can
obtain a Comprehensive Home Assessment by an accredited Building Performance
Institute (BPI) contractor, and implement cost effective measures for improving
their home’s overall energy efficiency through the LIPA Home Performance with
ENERGY STAR program.
The LIPA Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program created a network of
independent contractors that are accredited by the Building Performance
Institute (BPI). BPI is a national resource for building science technology that
sets standards for assessing and improving the energy performance, as well as
the health and safety of homes.
Home Performance contractors have been trained in taking a “whole-house”
approach when testing homes and identifying necessary energy efficiency
improvements. This approach considers the inter-relationship between the various
systems within a home (insulation, doors and windows, mechanicals and air
leakage) and factors these relationships into a work scope designed to enhance
the energy model of your home.
The time has never been better to maximize your home’s performance for
greater energy and environmental savings. For more information on LIPA’s Solar
Pioneer Program and Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® programs and to sign up
for FREE public seminars in your area, please call 1-800-692-2626 or visit
www.renewableenergylongisland.org today. |
