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Guide to Residential Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy Incentives

EcoAction Partners has built this guide to help residential property owners and renters make their homes more energy efficient, help you access resources for installing solar power, and help you understand the world of electric vehicles. Please contact us via email here with any questions or call 970.728.1340.

Click on a topic to jump for more information, or download the full guide via the button below.


WEATHERIZATION UPGRADES

Before you invest in new efficient technologies, appliances, and renewable energy, it makes sense to make your building envelope as efficient as possible.

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

Solar panels continue to become more efficient and solar installations are becoming a common feature in our landscape. You can access renewable(solar?) energy through a home installation or investment in community solar. You can also access a variety of incentives that will make your solar energy less expensive.

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND CHARGERS

Electric vehicles generally have about half the carbon footprint of a combustion engine vehicle. The advantages of EVs can be difficult to understand without becoming informed about how they work and how they may or may not be the right choice for you. There are also tax credits and rebates available for EVs. Plug in hybrids do not qualify, even though they are pretty awesome for our area.

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ELECTRICAL SERVICE/PANEL UPGRADES

As people move to electric vehicles and efficient electric appliances, their electric service equipment may need to be upgraded to handle the extra load. If your service panel/breaker box is more than 20 years old, less than 100 amps, or if all of the spaces in the box are full. You will probably need to have an electrician install a larger service panel. This can be expensive but there are rebates and tax incentives that can offset the cost.

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OUTDOOR ELECTRIC POWER EQUIPMENT

New battery technology has made electric outdoor power equipment a great option. Imagine not having to struggle to start your old lawnmower or chainsaw. You can give your lings a break by not breathing all of that exhaust, too. Rebates on this equipment include battery and plug in models.

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RESIDENTIAL SOLAR PANELS CASE STUDY

Here is an example of an actual solar project bid for a home in Ouray. Every project will be different depending on the household energy use. This project is slightly oversized to accommodate a future electric vehicle charger and electric thermal storage space heater.

Typical Residential System= 3.6kW

  • Estimated cost without rebates= $20,000 

  • SMPA Rebate= $300

  • Federal Tax Credit= 30% of Investment = $6000 Tax Credit

  • $20000-($6000+$300)=$13,700 Estimated cost cost of project

The system will eventually pay for itself in about 10-15 years and will ultimately have a positive cash flow before the end of its lifespan. Here is SMPA’s page on NET METERING.

You can estimate the production of a possible solar array here. You can calculate your carbon footprint offset here.

  • If your system generates 5180kW per year it will offset 3.7 Metric tons of CO2 per year. That is the equivalent of 9400 miles of travel in your typical car.

You can also add the cost of the project and its energy production to your total home equity.

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AN EXAMPLE OF INVESTING IN HEAT PUMPS

These numbers are estimated. Check with an HVAC provider to get accurate numbers.

  • A typical “3 ton unit”, which can heat/cool 1500 sq ft will cost around $6-$8,000

  • SMPA offers a rebate of up to $3000. This brings the cost down to around $4,000-$5,000

  • Federal Rebate. A tax credit covers 30 percent of the costs of purchase and installation, up to $2,000 per year.

  • Article about cold climate heat pumps

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