Home Star Energy Retrofit Act Update

Duct sealing with mastic will be covered by the Home Star Program.Home Star, the program working its way through Congress, will be a boon to homeowners and will give a big boost to the home energy efficiency industry. Called variously the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act, Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program, Home Star Rebate Program, or Cash for Caulkers, it has already passed in the House and is under consideration by the Senate now. With bipartisan support, the Senate bill seems set to pass, but you never know.

Home Star, the program working its way through Congress, will be a boon to homeowners and will give a big boost to the home energy efficiency industry. Called variously the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act, Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program, Home Star Rebate Program, or Cash for Caulkers, it has already passed in the House and is under consideration by the Senate now. With bipartisan support, the Senate bill seems set to pass, but you never know.

I’ve written a little about Home Star in this space before and will write more as the details get firmed up, but today I mainly wanted to provide a reminder that the bill is still alive and kicking and give you some links so you can get more details or keep up with the bill’s progress.

  • Efficiency First – Lots of news and updates about Home Star and related efforts that affect the home performance industry. If you’re a home performance contractor, you need to join this organization. Energy Vanguard is an Allied Supporter.
  • Home Star Coalition – A group that works to help get the Home Star Program through Congress. More than 1500 organizations, including Energy Vanguard, have joined the Home Star Coalition, and yours should, too. They also provide news of the bill’s progress.
  • A great overview by Houston Neal – Here you’ll find a pretty good description of the program along with the rationale for it. He’s got tables with items that qualify for rebates, how to qualify, and the amount of the rebate.

I’ll be writing more about the details in the next week or so, too. Since we still have two bills in Congress, and one of them hasn’t even passed yet, we don’t know exactly what the final program will look like, but some things will be constant. I’ll see if I can get that sorted out for you pretty soon.Air sealing is covered by the Home Star Rebate Program.

Meanwhile, enjoy those sources I’ve listed here, and remember, what generally costs homeowners the most on the energy bills are:

  • The house is too leaky.
  • The ducts are too leaky.

What you need for that is lots of spray foam, caulk, foamboard, mastic, and elbow grease.

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