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NC announces program to help homeowners electrify their homes, saving energy and money

Gov. Josh Stein announces a new home energy rebate program alongside Dave Regnery, CEO of Trane Technologies; Reid Wilson, secretary of N.C. Department of Environmental Quality; Jennifer Bumgarner, U.S. Department of Energy; and Julie Woosley, director of the N.C. State Energy Office.
Zachary Turner
/
WFAE
Gov. Josh Stein announces a new home energy rebate program alongside Dave Regnery, CEO of Trane Technologies; Reid Wilson, secretary of N.C. Department of Environmental Quality; Jennifer Bumgarner, U.S. Department of Energy; and Julie Woosley, director of the N.C. State Energy Office.

You may be feeling down due to the cold weather this week — or perhaps because your home heating bill is going up. For homeowners planning to electrify their homes or upgrade home efficiency, there may be some relief. Low- to moderate-income households in North Carolina are now eligible for relief through a new $208 million home upgrade rebate program.

Gov. Josh Stein took the stage at Trane Technologies' North America headquarters in Davidson to announce a new home energy rebate program. He said the efficiency upgrades can help households save on their monthly energy bill, and create jobs for the contractors who install those upgrades.

“DEQ estimates the program will support over 2,000 jobs across our state for people who are installing electrical appliances and upgrading home electrical efficiency,” Stein said.

The Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ, manages the Energy Saver NC program. More people work in energy efficiency than any other energy-related profession in North Carolina.

“It’s a great win for the consumer, it’s a great win for the environment, so it’s a win-win,” said Dwayne Cowan, president of Trane Technologies.

It’s also a win for Trane Technologies, Cowan said. The company’s heat pumps are one of the products eligible for a rebate through the program.

What is Energy Saver NC? 

North Carolina received $208 million for a home efficiency rebate program through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded similar funding to most states and U.S. territories, but only North Carolina and 11 other states have launched home energy rebate programs.

Energy Saver NC represents two programs: Homeowners Managing Efficiency Savings, or HOMES, and Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates, or HEAR.

Homeowners can receive up to $16,000 back on home efficiency improvements, such as insulation, air sealing, or upgrading an HVAC unit to run with fewer emissions. The rebates also cover up to $14,000 for buying and installing electrical appliances like heat-pump water heaters and electric stoves. The rebates are itemized; for example, HEAR offers up to $8,000 back on heat pumps for heating and cooling.

Homeowners may apply online, over the phone (866-988-8555), by email or by mail.

Other programs: Duke Energy customers can also receive incentives, like bill credits, for making similar home upgrades through the company’s own rebate program.

Who is eligible? 

Households earning less than 150% of the area median income will be eligible. For the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia area, a four-person household earning less than $113,700 is eligible. Single-family homeowners, multifamily building owners, and tenants — with the owner’s permission — may apply.

The state requires a free home assessment for low-income applicants during the application process. Moderate-income applicants will receive a home assessment at a reduced cost. Homeowners will also need to work with a state-approved contractor on the project — no DIY projects.

State regulators are planning info sessions across the state for homeowners with questions about the program or who need help applying. DEQ will post those events here.

The program will continue until 2031, or when funding runs out.

The push to electrify homes

When Stein was attorney general, he criticized the most recent Duke Energy carbon plan for not meeting key emissions targets. Energy demands in the U.S. have risen steadily since 2009, but Duke’s most recent load-growth forecast for North Carolina portends a noticeably steeper demand curve, driven partly by incoming data centers. That means Duke will need to generate more electricity — a lot more.

There are a few ways to balance that equation without raising carbon emissions: building more emission-free energy generators (like wind farms), leveraging existing resources more effectively, and reducing demand on the consumer side. Home efficiency upgrades are one way to achieve the latter.

While replacing gas-burning appliances like furnaces with electric ones like heat pumps would increase energy demand, home efficiency upgrades, including insulation or air sealing, reduce that demand.

“Electricity demand keeps going up, and the more we can do to check it a little bit, the more reliable our grid will be,” said Reid Wilson, secretary of NC DEQ.

Jennifer Bumgarner with the U.S. Department of Energy also said that home electrification can improve indoor air quality. When pushed for specifics, a D.E.Q. spokesperson provided the following written response:

“When North Carolinians electrify their homes, there is a reduction in exposure to harmful indoor air pollutants, potentially improving the air quality in their homes.”

Home efficiency in North Carolina already far surpasses electrical efficiency in corporate and industrial settings, according to a recent report by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. Duke Energy’s residential programs in the Carolinas operate more efficiently than other utilities in the Southeast, spurred on by regulatory action in North Carolina.

Commercial and industrial efficiency programs lag behind Duke Energy’s residential programs.
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Commercial and industrial efficiency programs lag behind Duke Energy’s residential programs.

Programs like Energy Saver NC may also help communities in western North Carolina build back in a way that will save them money in the long run.

“When you’re rebuilding with insurance money, you may not be focused on things like energy efficiency,” said Julie Woosley, director of North Carolina’s State Energy Office.

Are you planning to apply for a rebate? Let us know so we can hear about your experience with this new program.

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Zachary Turner is a climate reporter and author of the WFAE Climate News newsletter. He freelanced for radio and digital print, reporting on environmental issues in North Carolina.