I’ve worked in and around the energy industry for 15 years. But, it was only recently that I began taking advantage of the various rebates, credits, and refunds available to me for energy upgrades. And, in just the last 12 months, I’ve racked up over $20k in incentives! Here’s how I did it and what I learned from the process.
Electric Car
My first big energy purchase was the all-electric VW ID4. My wife and I were spending a small fortune on gas (even before the recent gas price hikes), and I couldn’t stand another month of it! So, in November 2021 we made the plunge and bought an EV with the help of some compelling incentives:
- $7,500 from the federal government in the form of the EV tax credit
- $500 from LADWP and $300 from the federal government for installing a compliant charger
- A $750 instant-rebate from the California Air Resource Board
Total: $9,050 in rebates and credits
What I learned: There are a number of rebates available for EVs, which means they take some time to manage. And, read the fine print! The federal charger credit expired at the end of 2021 and the LADWP charger rebate only applied to specific chargers, so I had to plan accordingly.
New Roof
The next energy investment I made was a new roof for my home. After watching our roof starting to crumble from the wind and rain, I decided delaying further wasn’t worth the risk of a leak!
As my roofer was wrapping up, he pointed me to an LADWP rebate for “cool roofs”. He supplied me all the information I needed to submit, and I was able to claim almost $500 in rebates.
Total: $460 in rebates
What I learned: When undertaking home improvement projects, ask upfront if certain options come with rebates, refunds, or other incentives.
Solar
After I had the new roof, I knew it was finally time to install solar. I had been looking for quite some time, and my last excuse (an aging roof) was now gone. While I was at it, I also decided to give storage a try.
That decision came with a fair number of incentives:
- $10,660 in federal tax credit (or 26% of the system cost). This is made even more compelling by the fact that I get that refund in year 1, but pay the solar loan over 25 years
- $2,288 from the SGIP for installing storage which gives back to the grid at peak times
Total: $12,948 in credits
What I learned: After applying all the incentives, it’s possible to get a positive business case on solar/storage.
Smart Thermostat
As I’ve begun to pay more attention to my usage patterns, I realized I had less-than-ideal control over my thermostat. So I purchased an Emerson Sensi thermostat. Which more than paid for itself with the rebates that came through.
- $125 LADWP credit for enrolling in their demand response program
- $75 LADWP rebate for purchasing a wifi thermostat
Total: $200
What I learned: Some smaller purchases pay for themselves! And, I got the opportunity to interact with the platforms of two companies I’ve done a lot of work with: EnergyHub (for demand response) and Enervee (for the thermostat rebate).
That’s $22,658 just in the last 12 months! And that doesn’t include the $1000 I received from LADWP for a pool pump a few years ago.
While admittedly I’ve done a large number of upgrades over a short period of time, you don’t have to do everything at once. But, as you make your upgrades, make sure you’re getting all the incentives you can. It takes some work and diligence, but it can add up, and you can get more energy efficient in the process.
Happy upgrading!