Homeowner seeks efficiency incentives

Dec 29 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Andrew Edwards Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Calif.

A rumbling sound filled the air Tuesday while workers pumped fresh insulation into the walls of Adam Wideen's house.

"It's a little noisy right now, but I'll be excited when it's done," Wideen said, speaking above the racket at his Azure Court home.

Tuesday's work was part of what people in the energy-efficiency field call a "whole- house solution." Besides the new insulation in the walls, other recent work at Wideen's house includes new insulation in the attic, a new heater and air conditioner, sealed ducts, and new windows and light bulbs.

Wideen, 38, who works as a bartender at the Hi-Brow in Upland, said the cost of the work at his home will total around $14,000. Wideen is counting on energy-efficiency incentives, particularly up to $4,000 from Southern California Edison, to help defray the cost.

"It turns out to be a pretty good deal. Otherwise we wouldn't have done it," Wideen said.

A Southern California Edison spokeswoman said Tuesday that she did not have extensive details readily available for the rebate program, but it's something the

Rosemead-based utility is likely to promote in 2011.

The California Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission have made information on energy-efficiency upgrades available at

www.energyupgradecalifornia.org.

In Upland and other San Bernardino County cities, homeowners who receive

their electricity from Southern California Edison may be eligible for up to $4,000 in rebates.

Incentives program are one factor that could change the way heating and air conditioning contractors do business, said Andrew Derbish, owner of Rancho

Cucamonga-based First Energy Heating and Air Conditioning.

Derbish, who installed the heating and air system at Wideen's house, is confident the "whole house" concept will become increasingly popularity.

"The days of going in and dropping a heating and cooling system and calling it a day are over," he said.

Energy consultant Ray Hall, the founder of an educational website called Home Energy 101, compared the "whole-house solution" to fixing a leaky boat with multiple homes.

Trying to save energy simply by installing new windows, or even a new heater, is like sealing a single leak on a boat with four holes, Hall said.

"They might put in new heating and air, but they might have ducts that leak 50 percent," Hall said.

Homeowners' rebates depend upon how much more energy-efficient a house becomes after retrofits, said Dan Fleming of Simi Valley-based House 2 Home Services.

To get the maximum $4,000 rebate, a house must become 40 percent more energy- efficient than before work started, said Fleming, who Wideen hired to test his house.

Utility companies can also send their own inspectors to make sure work was completed as reported, he said.