Now that we're right between fall and winter, it's a great time to think about winterizing your home.
"We're going to be blowing insulation into the attic," said Pete Tacheny, who owns a Roofing and Siding company based in Little Canada and Lake Elmo.
Luckily for them, they have crews working on two houses in Maplewood, right next door to eachother.
"It's a perfect time for the homeowner to get their attic insulated," said Tacheny.
These two families are benefiting in more ways than one. Savings in energy costs this winter and getting a tax credit for their efforts.
"They're taking advantage of that and taking advantage of the tax credit. They're getting it done at one time and it's going to be cost effective in the long run," said Tacheny.
According to the Internal Revenue Service, homeowners making energy-saving improvements this fall can cut their winter heating bills and lower their tax bill as well.
"There's an opportunity for people to make energy efficient home improvements, like replacing windows, doors, adding insulation," said Carrie Resch, of the Internal Revenue Service in St. Paul.
The credit equals 30-percent of what a homeowner spends on eligible energy-saving improvements. The max credit is $1,500 for the combined 2009 and 2010 tax years. The residential energy efficient property credit, equals 30-percent of what a homeowner spends on qualifying property such as solar electric systems, solar hot water heaters, geothermal heat pumps, wind turbines and fuel cell property. Generally, labor costs are included when calculating the credit.
"You can do some home improvements in 2009 and some in 2010. You're limited to $1500 between the two-years," said Resch.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act enacted earlier this year, expanding two home energy tax credits: the nonbusiness energy property credit and the residential energy efficient property credit.
(Copyright 2009 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
