Real Estate Blog

Okay folks, in week two of our look at going green, I can tell you one thing. The wording on this stuff can be dense and you need to read carefully. I'm just going to talk about two items off the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (dsireusa.org) because that's all either of us can handle. Both basically involve electricity, which accounts for a huge part of the expense of running a home -- about 70 percent of the cost, in fact, for heating and cooling. You may ask yourself why this matters to you, the investor because you're not the one paying for the utilities. Simple --Long Term Tenant Base.

First, I want to pitch in the idea that adding a little solar can have some long-term benefits, while also potentially adding a selling point. Some renters and potential buyers are going to get seriously juiced all on their own if they see solar panels up there on the roof. Does it pay you to make the addition? Yes.

Austin Energy offers a production incentive for commercial and multi-family residential customers. If you generate electricity from qualifying photovoltaic cells up to 20 kilowatts, you can recover $0.14 per kilowatt hour. If 60 percent of the system has been made or assembled in Austin Energy's service area, that goes up to $0.175 per kWh. Participants can receive the incentive for ten years and the amount will be re-evaluated and adjusted every four months.

Now, this is really interesting, the Austin Energy Multi-Family Program. This one offers cash incentives to "owners, developers, and property managers of apartments and other multi-family properties for making energy efficiency improvements." One thing that does stand out for me is that you need to reach out and work with Austin Energy first. The language clearly reads, "A free walk-through energy survey is required before a rebate application will be accepted." (That's an object lesson in reading the fine print on these things. And trust me, there's fine print.)

Anyway, here's the list of potential improvements vs. rebate:

Split System Air Conditioning: $200 - $550

Packaged Unit Air Conditioning: $300 - $500

Split System Heat Pumps: $250 - $600

Packaged Unit Heat Pumps: $350 - $550

Solar Screens/Solar Film: $1.50 - $1.88/sq. ft.

Low E Window Replacement: $2.00/sq. ft.

Ceiling Insulation (existing insulation R-7 or less): $0.23/sq. ft.

Ceiling Insulation (existing insulation R-8 to R-16): $0.15/sq. ft.

Ceiling Insulation (existing insulation R-17 to R-22): $0.05/sq. ft.

Roof Insulation (Addition of R-8 or higher): $0.10/sq. ft.

Reflective Roof Coating: $0.15/sq. ft.

Ductwork: Up to $0.38 per sq. ft. of conditioned living space

Duct System Replacement/Improvement: $1.75/ln. ft.

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs: $3 - $4

Fluorescent Light Fixture (Kitchen): $18

Fluorescent Light Fixture (Bathroom): $15

Occupancy Sensors: $5 - $32

Hard Wire Retrofit: $9

Fixture Replacement: $9 - $12

High Performance Ballast: $6 - $11

The maximum total you can qualify for is $100,000. Yes. You read that right. A potential rebate of $100,000 -- and you get a more efficient property with lower utility and maintenance costs.

We are far from done with this topic. I think you can see there's a lot of potential here. You can read more about both of these programs at dsireusa.org or by contacting Austin Energy directly. -- See you next week, and by all means, chime in with questions, suggestions, info, or personal experiences with going green.