Home Air Conditioning System That Saves You Dollar Each Month
Are you finding ways to save money on your monthly utility bills? Here’s one way to yields huge savings without compromising the comfort you enjoy inside your home. By investing on an energy efficient air-conditioner system, you can maintain comfortable indoor temperature levels while cutting down your monthly energy consumption by 20 to 50 percent, which can be translated into a minimum of $14 savings to your monthly electric bills. Not only that. Using an energy efficient air conditioning system entitles you to receive a considerable amount of money out of tax credits. How’s that for a no-sweat solution to increasing your monthly income?
Tax credits simply reduce the tax you pay dollar-for-dollar. It is one effective way by which the government can effectively influence the behavior of its citizens. Under the provision of the Energy Policy Act 2005, tax credits were awarded to home owners who claim to use few energy saving items or appliances in their homes. Some of these energy-saving appliances and items include the windows, doors, roofing, water heater and the home air conditioner, which usually takes the larger chunk of a home’s energy consumption. In line with the government’s ongoing campaign to go-green, these tax credits only emphasize the need to drastically reduce the population’s energy consumption in the shortest possible time.
Now that we know that such form of tax credit exists, we first need to understand the true benefits of getting an energy efficient home air conditioner. Primarily, it lowers home energy bills while increasing the indoor comfort or your home. Also, with its more environment-friendly features, it produces near-zero levels of the noxious gases that are commonly associated with the older models of air conditioning units. Lastly, with the passage quoted from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), all homeowners who made energy-efficient upgrades and improvements to their homes in the tax years 2009 and 2010 will be awarded with significant savings. This recently approved federal income tax credits triples the total available tax credit from $500 to $1500. It also increases the tax credit to up to 30% of the total cost of a home’s energy-saving improvements.
So if you qualify for a tax credit, how much money can you actually save? With energy-efficient air conditioners, the given tax credits can be as much as $300. Eligible parties can get back as much as 30 percent of the total cost of the purchase and installation the air conditioning unit, with a total lifetime cup on the credit amount of $1,500. The tax credit can be awarded to home improvements costing as much as $5,000. In addition, eligible homeowners may also qualify for state rebates or state tax incentives.
Not all energy-efficient air conditioning units are eligible for a tax credit so be wary when choosing the air conditioning unit to install in your home. The units that qualify for tax credits must comply with the required specifications; energy efficiency ratio of 13.0 or higher, seasonal energy efficiency ratio of 15, and must be installed by a certified technician. Tax credits are not something that you instantly get. You need to fill up some forms that indicate your claim for the tax credit. With that, you need to consult with a tax professional to fully understand the procedure and benefits involved in installing energy efficient air conditioner in your home. It may involve tedious work but it certainly is a worthy investment for your home.
Living Off Power Grid: Why Do It?
An increasing number of people have started to realize that they can enjoy today’s luxuries and the independence of off power grid living at the same time. Off power grid living basically means that you are disconnected from the grid. Not only is living off the power grid good for the environment and inexpensive, but it is an option open to almost anyone owning a home.
The idea of living off the power grid applies to anyone, regardless of where they are in the world, even those that are connected to the grid. With the advance of solar, wind and hydro power technologies and better economies of scale, there is an increasing interest in getting off the grid, and breaking free from the carbon emitting power plants.
And with the help of various DIY solar and wind power kits, it is possible for any motivated individual to get off the grid, without the help of over-priced expert installations. As energy demands increase worldwide, those living off the grid can rest easy, knowing their power bills are decreasing.
Off power grid living can be scary for a few, who think they have sacrifice their way of life – their favorite electric gadgets, television, computers, and other energy consuming appliances – to enjoy such independence and freedom. But this could not be farther from the truth! Off power grid living is essentially learning to be aware and control your energy usage.
It can be as simple as turning off a light switch when you leave the room, buying energy saving appliances – such as washing machines and refrigerators. Other ways you could save power is by turning off your computer or TV properly. This does not mean putting them on standby, but physically unplugging them from the wall. Starting to live off the grid does not mean giving up all your electronic devices, but merely using them more wisely to save power.
Off the grid living has become big, that even portable high-efficiency homes, are being built to be independent of the utilities. Similar to mobile homes, the one to two person homes have solar panels, solar water heating and some natural gas, making them portable off grid homes.
If living off the power grid is something you have wanted to learn more about, then a good place to start is on the Internet. There a many helpful resources and stories of everyday people successfully going off the grid. Just think about it – no more power outages, no more electricity bills, complete independence from the utilities. Off power grid living is there for anyone to try, and you can start today, regardless of who and where you are.
