Tell your clients: That home-performance tax credit is still good

Seems all that bickering over the fiscal cliff resulted in some good news for contractors that perform home-energy retrofits. If you have clients who still haven't claimed a $500 tax credit for certain energy-efficient upgrades (e.g., insulation, air-sealing, electric heat pump), they can claim that credit now if they get the work done before the end of this year.

From the Building Performance Institute:

"Take a moment to educate your customers on the importance of these upgrades, and the limited time they have to redeem the tax credit. This is an opportunity for you to grow your relationship with your customers, and for your customers to save money on improvements that will make their homes safer and more comfortable places to live."

BPI has a new certification program that could be beneficial to remodeling salespeople, by the way: the "Building Science Principles certificate. BPI CEO Larry Zarker says "It's for those in the residential building trades and anyone interested in a career in sustainability, who need to know how homes work but don't need the hands-on technical skills required of BPI-certified professionals."

Learn more at BPI.


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End a Home-Performance Horror, Save $550

We just finished remodeling our basement, and one of the top priorities involved insulating the exterior walls. Between the existing pine paneling -- apparently installed circa 1960, when home heating costs were negligible -- and the home's block foundation was ... nothing! Hence the wickedly cold winters in that basement, and our wickedly high gas bills.

With luck, our home will be much more comfortable next winter.

In June on daily5Remodel, we're teaming up with the Building Performance Institute to celebrate home-performance happy endings in other North American homes. Our June contest is called "Home Performance Horrors, and the winner will receive one BPI certification written and field exam, valued at $550, administered by one of BPI's affiliate organizations. Cost of training is not included.

The credit may be applied to any BPI certification, including:

• Building Analyst
• Envelope
• Heating
• Air Conditioning and Heat Pump
• Multifamily
• Residential Building Envelope Whole House Air Leakage Control Installer
• Residential Building Envelope Whole House Air Leakage Control Crew Chief

Here's how to enter:

Email one or more "before" photos or infrared images illustrating a home's desperate need for energy-retrofit work. The "before" pix might show moldy insulation, for instance, or a horribly dysfunctional HVAC system, or clear signs of water infiltration.

Also email one or more "after" photos illustrating how you completed the work properly.

Send your images, along with the location of the project and a brief narrative explaining how you solved the problem, to snapshots@daily5Remodel.com.

We'll feature different projects throughout June on d5R -- a great opportunity to show off your great work before a fast-growing audience of remodeling professionals and homeowners.

Here's a little more about the contest, along with some sample images to get you thinking.

Good luck!