Over the past few years, Santa Barbara resident and artist Tal Avitzur has been working to modify his home with clean energy appliances, including replacing his HVAC system, his water heater, and his stove.
The most recent addition to his house was a 40-gallon electric heat pump.
Avitzur says he has wanted to move to electric appliances for years, but tax credits through the Inflation Reduction Act have made it easier.
“It brought the cost down from about $23,600 to about $9200, or something like that. So significant savings,” he told Noozhawk. “It’s really thanks to the Community Environmental Council, because I wouldn’t have known about any of this without them.”
To show the benefit of the tax credits and mark the second anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, local and state officials held a ribbon-cutting for the new heat pump at Avitzur’s home last week.
Juan Lares with the Community Environmental Council said the credits are available for purchasing clean energy products for homes, and not hard to take advantage of.
“I feel that oftentimes we think about taxes [at the] end of year and it’s stressful, but it’s a line-item credit you’re able to take advantage of if you’re looking into installation or new windows,” Lares said.
Lares also explained that other tax credits are available based on region and income level. In Santa Barbara, residents may be able to qualify for additional incentives.
“We’re very fortunate here in Santa Barbara city and county to be able to combine, in some cases, utility-based incentives, with state incentives and regional incentives in addition to the tax credit. So, it’s amazing the savings that are available,” he said.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, residents can qualify for up to $1,200 in tax credits annually for home improvements, including installing insulation or energy-efficient windows and doors.
They can get up to $2,000 in tax credits for installing an electric heat pump, which provides more efficient heating and cooling than some other systems.
Lares recommends that if anyone is interested in the program, they should consider getting quotes from multiple contractors and ask questions.
Additionally, he says residents can visit Rewiring America, which has information on what kind of products qualify for tax credits and breaks it down for renters and homeowners.
The site also has a calculator that allows homeowners to see how many tax credits they qualify for based on their project and their address.
Congressman Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, praised the Inflation Reduction Act and said that it was one of the best ways to combat the issue of climate change in the region.
“If you ever thought of making an investment that in the long run is going to help you save a lot of money on your utility bills, this is the time to do it. Because there are tax credits to help you save in the upgrade construction and the money that you’re going to save in the long run,” Carbajal told Noozhawk.
And, he said, this is “a way to really help us save our planet, which is in grave danger of really facing some serious global warming.”
