June 20, 2017
2017 has been a year of change for Xcel rebates offered to customers. The changes made to the 2017 Xcel Rebates are notable and deserve some explanation. Let’s dive right into it.
What Does The Process Look Like?
The basic process that every Home Performance with Energy Star, insulation and air sealing rebate customer will see is:
1. Home Energy Audit or Pre-work Safety Test
2. Work Completed by Xcel Participating Contractor (Trade Partner)
3. Post work Safety Test
4. Final Payment and Rebate Application Completion
5. Receive Check in Mail
These are the basics. These are the requirements as laid out by Xcel. Each contractor or energy advising program may have their own requirements in addition to these. But, these should always be included.
How Much Money Can I get?
This is an important question that every homeowner asks when making home efficiency upgrades. The simple answer is: $15 - $1200. Vague, right? Each Xcel rebate is calculated depending on the type of upgrade and type of home. This is one of the reasons that Xcel requires an Xcel Participating Contractor to perform the work.
The best way I can explain these rebates is to give you an example of work and then explain the rebate breakdown.
Let’s say customer Fred Freeman did a Home Energy Audit and would like to do some upgrades to improve the comfort of his home. His house is hot in the summer and his kitchen floor is cold in the winter. He currently has a gas furnace and no air conditioner (AC). Based on his audit results he would like to add attic insulation, floor insulation and doing some whole house air sealing. He is also interested in an evaporative cooler for those hot summer days. Here is a pricing breakdown (fictional pricing for this example) for his work:
Attic air sealing | $300 |
Attic insulation | $1800 |
Floor insulation | $500 |
Whole House Air Sealing | $500 |
Evaporative Cooler (Premium Unit) | $5400 |
Total | $8500 |
Now, the fine print comes into play. To qualify for all these rebates certain requirements must be met.
Proposed Work | Requirements | Where to find info |
Air Sealing | Home must have a NACH above .50, must reach a 20% reduction | This is found on your Home Energy Audit |
Attic Insulation | R-Value is R-15 or lower, attic sealing must be completed, must reach a 20% minimum reduction | This is TBD by the estimator and/or Auditor |
Floor Insulation | Does not qualify | N/A |
Evaportive Cooler | None | Premium unit and 3 total drops proposed |
But, wait! There is more fine print. The rebate is on a scale that depends on the type heating and cooling the home has. Below is a little cheat sheet we use for the insulation and air sealing rebates.
Based off Fred’s Home Energy Audit his NACH is .92. His house is leaky! His attic insulation is currently at R-13. He decided to pursue a Home Performance with Energy Start Rebate based on his audit results. Now we should have the information that we need to get an approximate picture of what Fred Freeman can expect in rebates from Xcel.
Air Sealing (with 20% reduction) | $250 |
Insulation (with 20% reduction) | $400 |
Evaporative Cooler (Premuim Whole House System) | $1200 |
Total Rebates | $1850 |
This means that Fred Freeman can receive close to 22% of his total cost of improvements back in rebates from Xcel!
Xcel Rebates for 2017 can be confusing as first. But, with the help of an Energy Advisor from Xcel or AboutSavingHeat.com you can save money too!
For more information about Home Energy Audits, Xcel Rebates or to schedule an appointment please contact us. If you live in Denver or Boulder counties there are FREE programs to assist you with this process. They are: Boulder Energy Smart and Denver Energy Challenge.
All information was gathered from the Xcel website and communications as an Xcel Trade Partner. For additional information, please click the topic below to be rerouted to the Xcel Website.