January 1st marked the end of some attractive tax breaks for homeowners who sought to make their homes more energy efficient.

While there certainly were perks for taxpayers, the $858 billion tax bill signed by President Barack Obama in December extended but dramatically cut the dollar amount of tax credits available for energy-efficient home retrofits.

Instead of the maximum tax credit of 30 percent of a project, or up to $1,500, the 2011 credit is 10 percent of a project, or no more than $500. Other restrictions apply, too, like a flat $200 limit for new windows and a $300 limit for the installation of a new water heater. There’s an additional piece of bad news for consumers who were making energy improvements to their homes in phases: Homeowners who already took advantage of the program aren’t eligible for another tax credit.

“The $1,500 was really something that piqued people’s interest,” said Jamie Peters, program manager of the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. “If I was a homeowner and really got into this in 2010, it’d be disappointing that I couldn’t do anything else in 2011.”

A 30 percent tax credit for major projects like the purchase and installation of solar or wind energy systems or geothermal heat pumps continues until 2016, so that segment of the green building market is still on solid ground. In fact, 5,000 to 6,000 solar energy systems are being installed nationally each month, and that momentum is expected to build as the cost decreases, said Mark Burger, president of the Illinois Solar Energy Association.

Others say they think momentum for smaller projects will continue to build as well, despite the smaller tax perks, because the media attention and product manufacturers’ marketing of the tax credit did much to introduce more consumers to the idea of making their homes more energy efficient and less costly to operate.

By: Steve Cowell

As our economy continues to sputter, one little-noticed industry has been booming for a while now: energy efficiency. The sector is hiring like crazy — a fact that speaks volumes about the close relationship between clean energy and the economic recovery that we’re all waiting for. Energy efficiency could save us all.

My firm works with utilities, government agencies, housing authorities, and other groups to help increase energy efficiency. We started in 1984 with three employees and one office. Today, we have nearly two dozen offices nationwide and employ 700 staffers from coast to coast. Most strikingly, we’ve added more than 250 people and 12 offices in just the last two years. The reason is crystal clear: Energy-efficiency services are in great demand. We are continuing to expand rapidly as more groups turn to us for help.

But energy-services firms are not the only ones that can benefit from the demand for energy-efficiency services. With the right programs in place, reducing power consumption can improve the bottom line for many other types of companies. Case in point: The building infrastructure in this country is old and inefficient. Retrofitting these buildings requires an army of workers. These include heating/air conditioning installers, insulators, and building inspectors. Many of these tradespeople are out of work and these retrofitting jobs can get them back on their feet. Products like insulation, caulk, triple-paned windows and doors, and high-efficiency heating and cooling systems will also get a boost. And that’s not all. The goods need to be made, inspected, shipped, and sold, widening the circle of employment opportunities for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors. This expanded workforce means people will have more money to spend.

Now that’s what I call a “trickle down economy”!

Most importantly, jobs created to support energy efficiency are America’s jobs. More than 90 percent of products and 100 percent of the labor used in residential energy work are American. If Home Star becomes law, weatherization products and equipment will fly off store shelves faster than you can say “retrofit.” Most of these supplies are made domestically, so our factories will need to step up production. Home Star is expected to increase demand for retrofitting by a factor of 15, benefiting those hardest hit by this recession — manufacturing and construction workers. An estimated 168,000 jobs would be generated to carry out the program. Consumers who take advantage of Home Star would save our country an estimated $10 billion in energy costs by 2020. The program would jolt our economy by pumping in $6 billion over two years and cut down on carbon emissions. Supported by Republicans and Democrats, environmentalists and businesses, the bill was introduced exactly one year ago. Home Star has been stalled in the U.S. Senate for months after having passed the House last May. We hope the new Congress will put Home Star on the front burner.

New economic analysis shows that clean energy legislation will create up to 1.9 million new jobs, increase annual household income by up to $1,175, and boost the GDP by up to $111 billion. Over the years, study after study, from groups like the Center for American Progress and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, have supported the direct correlation between green industry growth and jobs. Eighteen months ago, findings from a study by the Pew Charitable Trust found that green jobs are growing at a national rate of 9.1 percent, while traditional jobs are growing by only 3.7 percent.

As someone who’s been working in the industry for more than 30 years, I’m not surprised at all. Clean energy is job creation, hands down. Our time has come!

So what are we waiting for?

ATLANTA, Georgia–Shumate Mechanical, which has operated in Atlanta to provide residents with all of their heating and cooling demands since 1978, announces that it’s now the exclusive Bosch tankless water heater dealer for Bosch in Georgia. The condensing tankless water heater sold by Shumate Mechanical is state of the art. While actually cheaper than the non-condensing tankless water heaters on the market today from companies like Rinnai, Noritz, and Rheem, it is next generation technology that saves more energy.

In addition, the new Shumate-Bosch partnership is utilizing a proprietary and first of its kind program to actually let consumers buy the tankless water heating unit directly from Bosch online… and then, seamlessly arrange installation by Shumate within 24 to 48 hours by Shumate. This unique system is obviously faster and more customer-friendly than water heater ordering and installation systems have operated in the past. This is just one more way in which Shumate Mechanical seeks to maximize the benefits that customers derive from doing business with them.

Why should you want to have Shumate Mechanical installing a Bosch tankless water heater in your home? To begin, A Bosch tankless water heater provides endless hot water while using energy more efficiently. A tankless water heater turns on and off when you open and close the faucet. What this means is that the only energy that gets consumed is for the hot water that is being used–the tank is not constantly filling up with, storing, and heating hot water for later use. So, you don’t waste energy heating water when you don’t require it. With a Bosch tankless water heater, when you open a faucet the flow of the water triggers the heater to turn on. Whether you use gas or electricity for your fuel, the powerful gas burners or electrical elements will instantly turn on, rapidly heating the water as it passes through the unit. The water is heated instantly.

As you can imagine, this saving of energy means saved money for you. You can drop anywhere from 5% to 69% off your current hot water heating bill, depending on which model you purchase and what system you are replacing. In addition, you are conserving water, which is healthier for the environment. Yet, heating the water as you’re using it means that you get an endless supply of hot water – no more waiting for the tank to heat up in between showers, running the dishwasher, and so forth.

In addition to these clear advantages of having a tankless water heater installed in your home, there are even more. For instance, a tankless water heater is very small–small enough for you to hang on the wall and thus save yourself valuable floor space. It’s designed with replaceable parts and is built with such materials as copper, stainless steel, and aluminum so that you probably only need to buy one in your adult lifetime, while storage tank water heaters decrease in efficiency over time and eventually need to be replaced. The Bosch tankless water heater is almost completely recyclable, so if you should ever decide to replace it you won’t be negatively impacting the environment by taking up more landfill space. A tankless water heater also won’t develop a corrosive leak like a storage tank water heater all too easily does; this keeps you protected against expensive water damage in your home.

As the new construction market climbs out of the grips of the recession, it is still fighting a glut of existing homes that are priced to move. The element that is being used to level the playing field is home efficiency, and pending legislation that would help make it more affordable. It’s a ray of light for HVAC subcontractors who want to offer a true value proposition in the new home market. It could mean the cost of an upgraded HVAC system could be written into the home’s mortgage.

Lisa Marquis Jackson is vice president of John Burns Real Estate Consulting, Irving, Texas. She said that although the market is still very broad (with “a ridiculous amount of business models whose result is always to create a profitable home”); “this whole issue of energy efficiency, green, and home automation” is moving forward. In the not-so-distant past, it was more the domain of a custom home buyer. Now, “It’s migrating more to the mass home builder, who is offering more that can be touted as energy efficiency. They recognize the importance of it,” Jackson said.

The key for some customers is to promote energy efficiency rather than green; “Green can even have a negative connotation,” she said. “When you say energy efficiency, it’s a private benefit versus a public benefit.”

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QUINCY, MA The state declined to grant a variance for a heating-system replacement project for Quincy public housing because the new heating units do not comply with a new energy code that took effect July 1.

The state Board of Building Regulations and Standards rejected the Quincy Housing Authority’s variance appeal after a hearing last month, the authority’s director and Quincy’s inspectional services director said.

The appeal was filed after Jay Duca, the city’s inspectional services head, denied a contractor permits to install more than 400 heating units because they cannot be programmed to turn on and off at preset times. That programmability is a requirement of the latest International Energy Conservation Code, which took effect July 1 in Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, some residents of public housing in Quincy have been without heat for nearly a year.

The units that were to be installed – gas-powered, direct-vent wall furnaces similar to ones found in hotel rooms – are made by Rinnai America Corp. of Georgia.

Quincy Housing Authority officials want to use them to replace old, leaky and mold-prone steam radiators. The radiators often malfunction, leaving residents of Snug Harbor in Germantown and West Acres in West Quincy without heat.

Andrea Lindo, a Snug Harbor resident, told The Patriot Ledger that her heater has been broken since February and that the housing authority placed three standalone space heaters in her apartment. Lindo’s neighbor said she hasn’t had heat since 2009.

Housing Authority Director Jay MacRitchie declined to comment on specific tenants’ circumstances. He said eight of the authority’s 436 apartments are currently without heat, and that the authority spends about $50,000 annually to replace boilers.

MacRitchie said if the stimulus money does not come through, the authority will replace boilers as it customarily does – a short-term fix.

“It will be like saying, ‘We know you’re going to get a new car, but we’re going to replace the transmission,’” he said.

The $2.5 million for Quincy is a portion of $25 million in federal stimulus money that the state doled out for public-housing heating upgrades.

The state Department of Housing and Community Development, which approved the Rinnai system, “is still continuing to work with all parties to replace those old heating systems,” spokesman Phil Hailer said.

Hailer said if appeals of Duca’s denial are exhausted, the agency “will consider the feasibility of an alternative, comparable, conforming heating system.”

Asked about the standstill, Christopher Walker, spokesman for Mayor Thomas Koch, said the mayor “doesn’t overrule his inspectors.”

Duca and Quincy’s fire chief have criticized the proposed system as inadequate to heat multi-room apartments. The system requires wall fans and gaps in doorways to circulate hot air. Duca said no system of its type has been approved for use in Massachusetts.

The Board of Building Regulations and Standards voted on May 5 to grant the Quincy Housing Authority a variance to use the heating system under the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code.

Shortly thereafter, the city granted permits to install 10 of the heating units, a test run called for in the housing authority’s contract with Rinnai. When the company returned in September for the rest of the needed city permits, it was turned down because the new code had taken effect.

The Board of Building Regulations and Standards agreed, declining to grant the authority a second variance after an Oct. 19 hearing.

“You’ve got to meet today’s codes,” Duca said.

Washington, DC – Since its launch in 2000, the LEED green building certification program has been recognized internationally as the leading benchmark for buildings that are designed, constructed and operated sustainably. The new LEED International Program furthers the global reach of LEED by emphasizing global consistency, enabling a regional approach, and providing local outreach and support.

The increasingly global nature of the green building movement – and its unrivaled potential to effect real economic and environmental progress worldwide – is at the heart of the Greenbuild 2010 International Forum, being held in Chicago Nov. 16 in conjunction with the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo. The International Forum is also your first chance to learn more about the LEED International Program from representatives of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the nonprofit organization that develops the LEED rating systems and hosts Greenbuild. Learn more at www.greenbuildexpo.org/international.

“For years, the leaders of the global green building movement have looked to LEED as the benchmark for what it means to build green,” said Scot Horst, Senior Vice President of LEED at USGBC. “The LEED International Program allows us to work collaboratively to bolster the power of LEED to transform the marketplace in communities worldwide.”

Over the years, the green building community has found many innovative ways to adapt the LEED rating systems to locally and regionally specific needs. Under the LEED International Program, a globally consistent set of LEED rating systems will ensure that LEED certification represents the same level of rigor no matter where a LEED-certified building is located.

This global consistency depends on the ability of LEED credits to be applicable regardless of geographic or climatic region. Under the LEED International Program, this does not require a fundamental change in LEED or a rewriting of the credits; instead, alternative compliance paths will offer country-neutral ways to reach a credit’s intended outcome, allowing teams a non-country-specific option by which to earn the credit.

The regional approach of the LEED International Program will incorporate global perspectives through the LEED International Roundtable, with representatives from green building councils and leadership organizations around the world. The roundtable will provide regular feedback on the non-country-specific options and the LEED International Program in general.

“The LEED International Roundtable enables us to collaboratively identify common solutions to regional issues,” said S. Raghupathy of the India Green Building Council, a LEED International Roundtable member.

And because all green building occurs locally, the LEED International Program will provide resources, tools, education and other outreach to help advocates and project teams find on-the-ground success with LEED. This will include some translation of LEED materials into difference languages.

by John R. Hall

One of the most glaring inconsistencies in the HVAC contracting trade is the array of licensing requirements across the 50 U.S. states. The disparity is evidenced by the number of states that have no licensing requirements at all — 22. Of the other 28 states, some merely require a business to be registered or to work on projects in excess of $50,000.

The HVAC trade isn’t alone among the many service trades when it comes to license requirements, but the lack of uniformity has made the HVAC contracting trade an easy target for criticism over the years — by the mainstream media and consumers who believe that HVAC contractors are less than scrupulous – thanks to publicized stings and media “hazing.”

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Solar City is a California-based startup company that offers its solar-related services to homeowners, businesses and government. “Install solar. Save money from day one. No upfront investment. And you have a predictable forecast of what your power costs will be for the next 20 years” is their selling proposition. The company’s customer base includes 10,000 homeowners, companies such as Intel and eBay, over 75 schools and universities, and government agencies. Solar City provides solar system financing, design, installation and monitoring.

Lyndon Rive is the CEO of Solar City, and his brother Peter Rive is its chief operating officer. They founded the company in 2006.

Solar City is one of many companies that allow lease of solar equipment; the others include SunRun and Sungevity. All are CA-based companies, and for good reason. According to Lyndon, over half of the estimated 80,000 US homes with rooftop solar are situated in the area covered by PG&E Corp., a solar-friendly utility company which has invested in both Solar City and SunRun.

Solar City does not see SunRun or Sungevity as big competition says Lydon. If anything, increase in solar on roofs, regardless of who installs it, should move the category forward. “Our primary competitor is the homeowner doing nothing,” he stated. “The market is not saturated.”

Very few homes have solar panels on their roofs due to many reasons. The average startup costs are around $30,000. Majority of people don’t know how to shop for panels at all. Who would they hire for installing these panels? What happens when the sun gets blocked? Or when the panels break?

Lydon and Peter focused on those adoption barriers when they started the company. According to Lydon, “Solar is a market that can really scale.” The focus of other companies was on manufacturing and researching new technologies, but none, in those days, was focusing on the mechanism for delivering the product on a big scale. Their vision was to develop the first national consumer-focused solar brand.

According to Lyndon, there were not really any models for brand that offers services for the home. Undeterred, they took the first steps in making rooftop solar as easy as possible.

So far, the company is operating in California, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Oregon. They chose these five states because they have generous state subsidies, or ample sunlight, or high utility bills–ideally all of the three. Under the right circumstances, leasing of panels costs little or nothing upfront and the panels immediately help save 10% to 15% on utility bills.

Two announcements made recently by the company put a spotlight on it. Last month, Solar City announced that it got the contract for supplying thin-film solar panels to 20 to 30 Walmart stores in California and Arizona. Last week, the company said that homeowners will be able to lease energy efficiency products and services along with solar.

And impressive (but not gross) demonstration.

ATLANTA, Ind. — Indiana-based research firm, Inventive Research Co., announced that it has invented a new way to generate ac power from a solar panel without using costly dc-to-ac power conversion equipment. When commercialized, the company said its new AC Solar Generator could not only revolutionize how solar power is generated but also make it practical to input solar power into the grid system competitively and profitably.

Inventive Research’s Jason Oliver is credited with developing the patent-pending process to obtain and generate alternating current (ac) power directly from solar cells through the company’s AC Solar Generator, which works on the same principle as existing generators. Inventive Research said the new invention has caught the interest of several companies who would like to develop the product for large-scale use.

For Oliver’s ac solar process, solar cells are arrayed in a circular pattern. Above them is a spinning disc with slots that alternatively allow light to shine on the panels to produce an ac waveform. The resulting voltage produced is sinusoidal or ac that can be configured to three-phase power usable with the national power grid.

In addition to developing a method to successfully and consistently generate ac power, the researchers also developed and patented a sensing technology to match the phase of the power from the AC Solar Generator to the phase of the power grid.

Oliver believes the product can bring about substantial power savings during peak daylight hours. “Many years of research, testing, and ultimately successful application has brought about the very real possibility of affordable, clean, and renewable energy to our fingertips now.”

The AC Solar Generator is a candidate for General Electric’s 2010 Ecomagination Challenge, a competition that awards funding to projects designed to improve energy use.