As seen in the UT San Diego: read entire article
Energy Upgrade California (EUC) is a program that aggressively supports California’s goal of reducing energy consumption in homes by 40 percent by the year 2020. More importantly, Homeowners can get as much as $4,500 towards energy, safety and comfort upgrades that will improve the quality of life in their home. In addition, EUC can also help homeowners find customized finance solutions for their home remodeling project.
“The energy incentives to make these improvements are unprecedented,” said Ken Justo, co-owner of ASI Hastings Heating, Air & Solar. ASI Hastings has already saved San Diegans over $1 million in EUC rebates and tax credits.
Improvement measures that may qualify for EUC incentives include attic and wall insulation, attic air sealing, installation of high-efficiency heating and air conditioning equipment, ductwork replacement, windows, ventilation and more.
The Department of Energy and Home efficiency experts, like ASI, estimate that proper insulation and air sealing can be one of the most important improvements a homeowner can make. Proper insulation contributes to energy savings as well as indoor air quality. Using insulation with the right R-value – a rating of insulation’s efficiency – is key. In San Diego, R-38 is the minimum recommended value for insulation but R-50 can provide more value in most homes.
Insulation alone is not enough, however. The seemingly small holes made in your home during the construction process that are necessary to run electrical wiring, plumbing pipes, cable TV, heating and air conditioning ducts adds up to a gaping hole the size of a basketball or even a hula hoop, making your home leaky and inefficient. Therefore, energy experts recommend sealing such holes. In addition to improving a home’s energy efficiency and comfort, air sealing can also reduce the amount of unwanted pollutants that enters your home from your attic that aggravate allergies and upper respiratory problems.
Upgrading a home’s ductwork and installing high-efficiency heating and air-conditioning can also reap EUC benefits and huge energy savings. Ductwork should meet today’s standards and an energy-efficient heating or cooling system should be properly sized for the home.
Besides the above-mentioned upgrades, pay close attention to pool pumps, water heaters, lighting, windows and wall insulation to help improve a home’s efficiency and comfort. The first step for homeowners is consulting with a Building Performance Institute home performance contractor, like ASI, and scheduling an evaluation of their home.
The “White Glove Guys” at ASI Hastings have been serving the San Diego area for more than 60 years and can help owners get the results they want with home energy assessments. ASI is a eight-time recipient of the BBB Torch Award for business ethics and was voted San Diego’s Best Solar Company for 2012 by U-T San Diego readers.
