Legislation that Congress passed and President Obama signed into law to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” also retroactively reinstated the 25C tax credits for high-efficiency HVAC and water heating equipment that expired at the end of 2011.
The past 12 months saw continued economic challenges for many American industries, including those in the renewable energy field, but the country’s geothermal community witnessed a year of growth, both domestically and abroad, according to the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA).
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved an increase in rebates offered through the California Solar Initiative (CSI)-Thermal Program of up to 45 percent. CPUC authorized the higher rebates to help boost adoption of solar water heating technology and encourage involvement in the statewide program.
Building owners, designers, and contractors considering a geothermal heat pump system may now determine the associated federal tax credits, using Carrier’s new white paper, “Geothermal Heat Pump Systems and Federal Tax Incentives.”
“We aren’t green, we’re gold.” That was the message being sent from speakers and trainers at the 2012 International Ground Source Heat Pump Association’s (IGSHPA’s) technical conference and expo. What else happened at the conference?
Not all energy-efficient HVAC equipment qualifies for tax credits, but there are four renewable energy product categories that do — geothermal heat pumps, small wind turbines, solar energy systems, and fuel cells. Though some seem beyond HVAC, they each have the potential to bring new revenue streams to contractors.
Because the tax credit on high-efficiency equipment expired, many believe that homeowners will now revert to standard efficiency. Before we throw the high-efficiency equipment out with the bath water, let’s take a close look at how the tax credits affected sales and how they can be replaced in 2012.
A new bill, known as the Cut Energy Bills at Home Act, has been proposed in the Senate. Senate Bill 1914 would establish a $2,000 base credit for homeowners who reduce energy use by 20 percent through the installation of energy-efficient equipment.
For the time being, the 25C residential energy tax credit has officially expired. Since many HVAC residential contractors used the tax credit as a selling tool, there has been a lot of discussion about how the expiration will affect the industry, and if there is any hope for an extension of the credit.
