A new government program was announced today which would provide “cash for caulkers” or more appropriately “cash for remodeling”. The idea behind this program is to help improve the economy by encouraging home owners to spend money improving their homes by remodeling.
The improvements would have to fall under the “efficiency” category. Things like insulation, windows and caulking would be eligible for the cash. Improvements like new kitchen countertops would not be eligible.
This program might overlap with the cash for appliances program which gives money for buying more energy efficient appliances such as fridges, dryers etc. Click here for the cash for appliances list of eligible appliances.
How much cash will be paid to the home owner?
According to Steve Nadel who is part of the initiative – the program might pay up to $12,000 in cash to each home owner. This amount would be calculated according to how much work you have done to make your home more energy efficient. To qualify for the maximum amount you would probably need a fairly energy-inefficient home in order to improve it a lot.
How will the cash grants be calculated?
The details of this program are not finalized but it is likely that there will be companies who will do an energy audit on your home before any work is done. They will measure the energy efficiency of the home. Then the home owner will add insulation, do some caulking etc and get another energy audit which will determine how much the remodeling has improved the energy efficiency of the home. The grants would likely correspond to the increase in efficiency of the home.
One of the more specific details is that home owners might be eligible for a 50% rebate on both the price of the equipment and the installation, up to $12,000. At this time there are no income restriction on who is eligible to receive grants from this program.