{"id":4206,"date":"2009-02-23T11:50:45","date_gmt":"2009-02-23T17:50:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=4206"},"modified":"2009-02-23T11:50:45","modified_gmt":"2009-02-23T17:50:45","slug":"low-impact-living-how-the-stimulus-bill-can-help-green-your-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/low-impact-living-how-the-stimulus-bill-can-help-green-your-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Low Impact Living: How the Stimulus Bill Can Help Green Your Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>[social_buttons]If you\u2019ve long longed to green your home but never felt you had the money to do so, get ready to take action. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/hostednews\/ap\/article\/ALeqM5itBENNErYRQKT05EtyY6woQTQb1wD96DKMPG2\" target=\"_blank\">Obama\u2019s new stimulus plan<\/a>, signed into law last Tuesday, might give you just the extra financial nudge you need to undertake that eco-project you\u2019ve had in mind.<\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/files\/2009\/02\/hope-house.jpg\" alt=\"hope house\" align=\"center\" \/><\/p>\n<p>First of all, the new stimulus plan will give you a tax credit for 30% of the costs, up to $1,500 total, for these eco-improvements on a property (via <a href=\"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/ap\/20090214\/ap_on_go_co\/stimulus_stakes_who_gets_what\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #57a503\">Associated Press<\/span><\/a>):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Getting new energy-efficient furnaces, air conditioners, or windows<\/li>\n<li>Replacing leaky windows<\/li>\n<li>Putting more insulation into attics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--more-->In addition to tax breaks, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.appliancemagazine.com\/news.php?article=1245014\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #57a503\">stimulus plan lets you get government rebates for buying Energy Star rated appliances<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 About $300 million will be given out via these eco-rebates through state-run programs. Check with your state in the coming months to see how you can take advantage of these rebates.<\/p>\n<p>Low-income households will also be able to get greenification help, thanks to the $5 billion going to the <a href=\"http:\/\/apps1.eere.energy.gov\/weatherization\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #57a503\">Weatherization Assistance Program<\/span><\/a> (via <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/news\/science\/environment\/la-na-weatherization16-2009feb16,0,2019094.story?track=rss\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #57a503\">LA Times<\/span><\/a>). This existing but underfunded program\u2019s aimed at helping low-income households make energy-efficiency improvements in their homes; more than 33.8 million households are eligible for weatherization services according to the Department of Energy stats. So \u2014 If your income\u2019s less than 50% above the poverty level, <a href=\"http:\/\/apps1.eere.energy.gov\/weatherization\/apply.cfm\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #57a503\">make sure you\u2019re signed up<\/span><\/a> to get on the waiting list in your state for this eco program, which could reduce your annual gas heating bill by almost a third.<\/p>\n<p>Wealthier people can also get some financial help \u2014 though the economic boost isn\u2019t tied to enviro-leanings. According to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.msnbc.msn.com\/id\/23066636\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #57a503\">Associated Press<\/span><\/a>, the biggest winners from this stimulus bill could be \u201cAmericans with more expensive homes who will be able to refinance their home loans at cheaper rates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Why? The stimulus bill \u201ctemporarily raises the maximum size of mortgages that government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase and market as securities from $417,000 to as high as $729,750 in expensive parts of the country such as New York and California,\u201d says the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.msnbc.msn.com\/id\/23066636\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #57a503\">AP<\/span><\/a>. The bill also \u201cmakes a similar change for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What this basically means is that homeowners will be able mortgage or remortgage their houses at much more favorable interest rates. Plus, through a separate tax break in the stimulus plan, first-time homebuyers will get an $8,000 tax credit, so long as they buy their homes before Dec. 1.<\/p>\n<p>All that\u2019s to say that many homeowners will be able to save a lot of money \u2014 which can be put toward greening projects \u2014 which can also earn their own tax credits and rebates!<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s already a lot of good green news, but homeowners could see additional eco and economical benefits from the stimulus bill. Since the bill\u2019s aimed at creating a lot more green jobs, from training people to make wind turbines and solar panels to promoting energy efficiency in schools and government buildings, we\u2019ll hopefully all see some savings result from the expanding market for energy-efficient products and services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[social_buttons]If you\u2019ve long longed to green your home but never felt you had the money to do so, get ready to take action. Obama\u2019s new stimulus plan, signed into law&nbsp;[ &hellip; ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":17595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,7],"tags":[2655,248,2656,1331,2657,1276,2658],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Low Impact Living: How the Stimulus Bill Can Help Green Your Home &#8226; Sustainablog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/low-impact-living-how-the-stimulus-bill-can-help-green-your-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Low Impact Living: How the Stimulus Bill Can Help Green Your Home &#8226; Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[social_buttons]If you\u2019ve long longed to green your home but never felt you had the money to do so, get ready to take action. 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