Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Energy Tax Credit
I'm getting lots of calls these days about the Energy Tax Credit offered by the government for windows installed in 2009 and 2010. I always recommend checking the government site www.energystar.gov/taxcredits for the most accurate up to date information but there are a few things I wanted to mention here too.
New thermal pane units installed in existing windows do not qualify for the energy tax credit. However the new glass is much more energy efficient than older units especially when the seal has failed.
I had a customer call me this morning to ask about the new t panes we had installed for her this summer and if they would qualify. She had actually acquired the glass on her own through her warranty from Simonton windows. We installed 8 average sized glass units for her. I explained that in order to qualify for the tax credit, the entire window - frame and all - would have had to have been replaced and the window would have to be paid for by the customer. The tax credit does not include labor.
The customer went on to tell me how happy she was that she had replaced the thermal panes because her gas bill has gone down $40.00 per month. Her labor costs will be absorbed shortly just by that savings.
I had another customer who had rotted Norco sashes which we replaced. She also questioned the ability to take the tax credit. Again, it was not the entire window we replaced. We could just as easily replaced the entire window - at 3 times the cost even though there was absolutely nothing wrong with the existing frames and some of the sashes. Even with the tax credit - window repair may be a more ecconomical way to solve your window problems than entire window replacement. The tax credit only applies to 30% of the material and has a limit of $1500.
New thermal pane units installed in existing windows do not qualify for the energy tax credit. However the new glass is much more energy efficient than older units especially when the seal has failed.
I had a customer call me this morning to ask about the new t panes we had installed for her this summer and if they would qualify. She had actually acquired the glass on her own through her warranty from Simonton windows. We installed 8 average sized glass units for her. I explained that in order to qualify for the tax credit, the entire window - frame and all - would have had to have been replaced and the window would have to be paid for by the customer. The tax credit does not include labor.
The customer went on to tell me how happy she was that she had replaced the thermal panes because her gas bill has gone down $40.00 per month. Her labor costs will be absorbed shortly just by that savings.
I had another customer who had rotted Norco sashes which we replaced. She also questioned the ability to take the tax credit. Again, it was not the entire window we replaced. We could just as easily replaced the entire window - at 3 times the cost even though there was absolutely nothing wrong with the existing frames and some of the sashes. Even with the tax credit - window repair may be a more ecconomical way to solve your window problems than entire window replacement. The tax credit only applies to 30% of the material and has a limit of $1500.
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