By Rebecca Wallace
A City of Atlanta residential weatherization program is providing $1 million in rebates for qualifying home energy efficiency improvements over the next 18 months. SHINE – Sustainable Home Initiative in the New Economy, is a federal grant-funded program offering homeowners the ability to receive up to $3,500 in rebates towards air sealing, insulation improvement, weather stripping, caulking, and the replacement of leaky doors and windows. During the pilot phase over the last few months, 15 local contracting firms have performed energy assessments on more than 125 Atlanta homes, while converting roughly a third of those into energy efficiency improvement jobs.
“The SHINE program will assist residents in reducing Atlanta’s carbon footprint and help the city reach our goal of becoming a top-ten sustainable city in the United States,” said Mayor Reed. “It will also create a surge in green jobs, and most importantly, I hope this will show residents the importance of sustainable initiatives as they experience firsthand the impact of improvements and cost savings in their own homes.”
“A properly weatherized home can save homeowners an average of $437 on their annual utility bills,” said Aaron Bastian, the city’s program manager for SHINE. “We are working to spread the word about SHINE so that homeowners know that they can get money back in the short-term, and save money and energy in the long-term, all while making their homes more comfortable.”
In 2010, the City of Atlanta launched its first Sustainability Plan, “Power to Change,” with the goal of becoming a top-ten city in the nation for sustainability. SHINE will directly impact the City’s target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2020, 40% by 2030, and 80% by 2050. SHINE is one of many similar rebate programs currently being conducted throughout the country in other cities like Los Angeles, Portland, and New Orleans.
SHINE participants must be City of Atlanta single-family homeowners. Qualifying improvements include, but are not limited to, duct and air sealing, insulation improvement, caulking, weather-stripping, and the replacement of doors and windows that are the source of significant heating and cooling loss. Incentives are also available for high energy efficiency domestic hot water heaters and HVAC units.
In addition to the $3,200 in rebates available through SHINE, homeowners may also qualify for a potential $500 federal income tax credit if they make certain home energy improvements during 2011, as well as complementary rebates through Georgia Power and Atlanta Gas Light.
To learn more about SHINE and to apply, please visit www.shineatlanta.com, email shine@atlantaga.gov, or call 404-954-8500.
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