Facts about the Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO)

Traditional energy sources are continuing to diminish. This is the reason why energy prices continue to increase.

We all know that the main energy source of energy for the United States is oil. As you may have gathered from the news, oil is not really getting any cheaper. In fact, the increasing prices of oil have caused the economies of different nations to suffer.

Because of this, the government often gives incentives to those who would find a means to reduce energy costs. Some of the programs include tax breaks for companies using alternative energy and cash grants for people who try to discover ways on improving alternative energy.

One notable program is the Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO). This program is designed to encourage people to use energy efficient home designs. This way, the government hopes to promote energy conservation and overall, lower the energy costs.

The Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO), actually offers cash prizes to people who build energy efficient houses or make some improvements to their residences in order to make them more energy efficient.

As you may gleam from the name, the Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO) is open to any homeowner in the state of Louisiana.

How does one qualify for the Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO)?

a) New home – in order to be qualified for the Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO), a new home must be built according to 5-star standards. This means that the new house has to be built at least 30 percent above the Model energy code of 1995.

The application for the Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO) should be filed prior to the actual construction of the house.

b) Existing homes – existing homes must have improvements made upon them in order to qualify for the Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO). The improvements made upon the home should equal to 30 percent energy efficiency. Also, the application for the Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO) should be filed before the improvements are implemented.

How much is the cash prize given?

The cash prize for the Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO) is, of course, proportional to the amount of energy saved. The cash is equal to 20% of the energy efficiency premium up to an amount of 2000 dollars.

How do I get rated?

Well, there are a lot of certified energy raters who will be willing to rate the current energy efficiency level of your house and will also be able to rate the energy efficiency level of any new buildings or improvements you are planning.

What does a home energy rating tell me?

Well, a home energy rating can compare the energy efficiency of your home and lets you compare your potential energy use to that of other homes. It can help calculate your future energy bills and helps you modify the design of your house in order for you to consume your home energy more efficiently.

A home energy rating can also provide you information which may be useful in getting an energy efficiency mortgage. This is a type of loan which provides you money in order to make energy efficiency related improvements on your home. When you calculate the financial value of the improvements, you will see that the mortgage payments are significantly lower than what you’ll have to pay in energy bills without the improvements.

The Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO) is actually a pretty good incentive when you think about it. In fact, other place may only provide tax breaks when you have an energy efficient home. The amount of savings that a person can have should be enough to encourage anyone to make their homes more energy efficient. However, the Louisiana Home Energy Rebate Option (HERO) also offers cash, which means that you will be getting double the reward just by trying to cut back on your energy expenses.

Of course, programs like these would be useless if people continue to live their lives as destructively as they do today. In order for people to be motivated, they need to understand how much wasting energy is affecting our world. They also need to know that energy production today may still be costing us more than we should be willing to pay.