The new year brings changes to heating and air conditioner incentive programs.

HVAC Tax Credit

For the 2011 tax year, a homeowner can receive a non-refundable tax credit of $300 for installing a 16 SEER air conditioner, $150 for a 95% AFUE furnace, and $50 for an ECM fan motor on a gas furnace. This totals $500 for the HVAC energy tax credit. Currently this credit is set to expire at the end of 2011. Unless congress slips something into a new energy bill, the only HVAC tax credits available in 2012 will be for geothermal and solar.

HVAC Utility Rebates

2012 also brings a few changes to our utility rebate programs in the Dayton, OH area. DP&L will be maintaining their rebates of $600 for high efficiency heat pumps, but reducing the rebate for high efficiency air conditioners to a max of $300. They are however adding a $100 rebate for a 95% AFUE furnace with ECM fan motor. DP&L will also be introducing a tune-up rebate in January 2012. The DP&L rebates are given to the home owner up front an refunded to the HVAC contractor each month.

Also for our Dayton customers, Vectren has continued their mail-in rebate program. They offer $300 for a 95% AFUE gas furnace. They have also added a $20 rebate for a programmable thermostat.

For customers in Warren county and south, the Smart Saver program with Duke Energy is currently unchanged with a home owner receiving $200 each for a high efficiency furnace and air conditioner. We have heard rumors than there will be some adjustments to the program in 2012. We'll keep you posted.

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I am sitting in a class today getting some continuing education for my Ohio master license. Today’s course is a review on R-410a (Puron), the new refrigerant replacing R-22 (Freon) in home air conditioners. It’s hard to believe, but my first class on R-410a was ten years ago. R-410a was introduced in response to evidence that Freon was destroying the Ozone Layer. While still a greenhouse gas, R-410a does not damage the Ozone Layer. We were one of the first companies in our area to have our employees trained and certified to use this new refrigerant. We installed our first R-410a heat pump in April 2000 and immediately began offering an R-410a option to our customers whenever possible. Since then, the ratio of R-410a systems that we install each year has increased to more than 95% over the past few years. In comparison, our industry as a whole used R-410a only 35% on the time in 2008. This is the last year the manufacturers are allowed to use Freon 22 in new systems. In 2010 all new air conditioners will be made with R-410a, and Freon production (to service existing units) will be cut dramatically. It will be interesting to watch the learning curve of inexperienced companies who are forced to use R-410a because their beloved Freon is no longer available. Because of the production cap on R-22 in 2010, the price for recharging existing systems will no doubt skyrocket. Fortunately, we purchased a large supply of R-22 at a great price several years ago. Because so many of our customers have been hurt by the recession, we have decided to maintain our old pricing for R-22 for as long as our supply holds out. That’s our commitment to fair pricing.