Nicor, ComEd offer rebates for energy efficient homes

When Caryn Rosborough and her husband, Matt, started talking to builders about a new Elgin home, they were intrigued by the talk of high energy efficiency. They learned about insulation and Energy Star appliances along the way, ending up with a home 33 percent more energy efficient than state code requires.

Pete Stefani, president of Naperville-based Kings Court Builders, said the Elgin home his company built isn’t LEED-certified or up to the standards of the green building program through the National Association of Homebuilders. But the energy efficient house the Rosboroughs moved into in August is Kings Court Builders’ new standard. And because of the Residential New construction Program offered by Nicor Gas and ComEd, the builder got a rebate for the work.

“We have always taken a proactive approach to energy management and this program is just kind of highlighting what we’ve been doing,” Stefani said.

The utility companies announced the program this year with training for builders and raters in March. The first homes were enrolled in May and completed in July.

Aaron Riendeau, rating and audit manager for Residential Science Resources, has helped implement the program throughout Nicor Gas and ComEd’s joint territory. He said the average home qualifying for the rebate has been 15 percent better than code requires and only one home in the program has been rated more energy efficient than the Rosboroughs’ so far.

That home — in Huntley — was built by DR Horton and rated by Energy Diagnostics, clocking in at 35 percent more energy efficient than code.

Riendeau said builders get a $300 rebate per home and energy efficiency raters get $500 if the home has a high-efficiency furnace, a high-performing ventilation system and rates at least 10 percent more energy efficient than code requires. There are also extra rebates available if the home has Energy Star appliances.

The goal of the program is to make the Chicago metropolitan region’s new housing market more efficient.

“As builders continue to meet this bar, then we’ll set another bar and continue to transform the market,” Riendeau said.

By state law, a certain portion of the money Nicor Gas and ComEd collect in energy bills must be put back into energy efficiency programs. Riendeau said this program will continue at least through 2014.

Lantz Rakow, owner of D&H Energy Management Company, was responsible for rating the Rosborough home. He said the Nicor/ComEd program makes rating a no-lose option for builders. Even if they don’t qualify for the rebate, they find out how their homes rank compared to competitors.

“They’re getting valuable feedback on how their homes are performing,” Rakow said. And sometimes that detail can help sell a home to potential buyers interested in lower monthly energy bills.