consumer guides Archives | Citizens Utility Board https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/tag/consumer-guides/ Fight utility rate hikes, promote clean energy, and advocate for consumer protections in Illinois. Thu, 01 Sep 2022 21:37:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/cropped-CUB_LogoBadgeAlt-32x32.png consumer guides Archives | Citizens Utility Board https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/tag/consumer-guides/ 32 32 Here’s what Illinois consumers need to know about Inflation Reduction Act clean energy benefits https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/2022/09/01/heres-what-illinois-consumers-need-to-know-about-inflation-reduction-act-benefits/ Thu, 01 Sep 2022 21:00:03 +0000 https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/?p=35247 Now that the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has been signed into law, many consumers are wondering how they can benefit from the money-saving, clean energy provisions in the bill. The IRA represents much needed relief at a time when 1 in 6 homes in America are behind on their utility payments.  Below are the major ways consumers can take advantage of the new legislation:  Home Energy Efficiency Tax Credits Each year for the next decade, consumers can claim a tax credit for 30 percent of the cost of qualified projects that make their home less drafty or improve energy efficiency, to an annual limit of $1,200 credit. These incentives include: Up to $600 for highly efficient central air conditioners; electric panel upgrades; and water heaters, furnaces and water boilers that run on natural gas, propane or oil. These products must meet Consortium for Energy Efficiency’s highest efficiency tier. Up to $150 for a home energy audit $600 for new energy-efficient exterior windows or skylights  $500 for exterior doors Heat Pumps and wood burning stoves If you purchase an energy-efficient electric or heat pump for space heating and cooling or a heat pump water heater, you qualify for 30 percent tax credits up to $2,000. Tax credits are also available for highly rated stoves and boilers that generate heat from burning wood or other biomass feedstocks. The credits for heat pumps or biomass stoves and boilers don’t count against the $1,200 annual limit for the home energy efficiency tax credit detailed in the previous section. Electrification rebates  The Inflation Reduction Act includes $4.5 billion over 10 years for state and tribal programs that discount or fund electrification and efficiency projects or appliances for lower and moderate-income households. The bill defines lower-income households by annual incomes less than 80 percent of the area median income. Moderate income is defined by annual income no greater than 150 percent of the median. (Learn how to find your area median income.)  The lowest-income households are eligible for point-of-sale rebates covering the full cost of certain electrical appliances or efficiency projects. Moderate-income individuals and families can get half off. The cumulative rebates available to each household total $14,000. The law sets rebate caps for selected electric product classes. There is up to $8,000 available for purchasing space heating and cooling heat pumps. For heat pump water heaters, the maximum is $1,750. For electric stoves, it’s $840. The high-efficiency electric home rebates should also cover half or all the cost of upgrading electric panels up to a $4,000 limit. Other covered services are electrical work, with a $2,500 maximum, and insulation projects, up to $1,600. Solar, batteries and geothermal  Thanks to the new law, the existing 22 percent solar panel tax credit has been immediately bumped to 30 percent for the next decade. This tax credit is available now, so it’s a great time to look into your local solar group-buy programs, like Grow Solar Chicagoland. There’s also a tax credit for home battery units with more than 3 kilowatt-hours of storage capacity, allowing the benefits of solar generation to stretch into shorter winter days. For […]

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]]> Make sure to order CUB’s free, money-saving guides (in honor of our 35th anniversary) https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/2019/10/19/make-sure-to-order-cubs-free-money-saving-guides-in-honor-of-our-35th-anniversary/ Sat, 19 Oct 2019 11:52:31 +0000 https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/?p=23285 As part of CUB’s 35th anniversary celebration, we have spent 2019  producing a series of free, money-saving guides. If you haven’t already, please order these publications. We will immediately email you a free, printer-friendly copy. CUB’s Guide to Cutting Your TV Costs 10 Ways To Cut Smartphone Data Waste CUB’s Guide to Fighting Robocalls CUB’s Gas and Electric Guide 

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