Tag Archives: Alaska Housing Finance Corporation

Energy rebate program is still alive in Alaska

Q: I signed up for the home rebate program months ago and haven’t heard from anyone since. Has the program ended or are the energy raters just really busy?

When you signed up for the rebate program, you put your name on a waitlist.

Your name will be given to an energy rater when funding becomes available for you to participate in the program.

Then your assigned energy rater will call you to set up an appointment for your energy rating.

So the rebate program hasn’t ended, but all the funding has been set aside for other program participants. Funding becomes available for new participants when others let their deadline pass without collecting their rebate. You can check your status on the waitlist by visiting www.akrebate.com or by calling 1-877-257-3228.

Once there is funding available for your rebate, an energy rater will call you to set up an appointment. When the rater performs your rating, be sure to keep your receipt. You will need to send it, along with a copy of the rating, proof that you own your house and Alaska Housing Finance Corporation’s (AHFC) As-Is Energy Rating Reimbursement form to AHFC.

It is important to mail these documents as soon as possible to ensure that funding is set aside for your rebate.

Q: I have a lot of moisture and ice building up on my windows, especially when it is really cold. Are my windows bad?

Not necessarily. Single-pane windows are prone to icing up if with even the smallest amount of humidity inside a home.

These windows are not recommended for this climate. Double and triple pane windows with icing problems can be a sign of a broken pane or broken window seal.

Also, the home may not be getting adequate ventilation, which causes condensation on windows when indoor moisture levels increase.

This column has focused on winter indoor air quality several times over the past year. To read our past advice on this topic, visit our website at www.cchrc.org.

Alaska HomeWise articles promote awareness of home-related issues. If you have a question, e-mail the Cold Climate Housing Research Center at akhomewise@cchrc.org.You can also call the CCHRC at (907) 457-3454

Group developing efficient homes for rural Alaska

From Alaska Journal of Commerce, Saturday, December 10, 2010:

With high fuel prices and harsh winter climes, constructing energy-efficient housing in rural Alaska communities can be a difficult task that is compounded by the prohibitively high costs.

In Fairbanks, Jack Hebert and a team of engineers with the Cold Climate Housing Research Center are rising to the challenge, designing and building prototype homes and empowering communities to build more of them for themselves.

In 2008, the CCHRC began its Sustainable Northern Shelter Program. CCHRC designs sustainable home technology, with its aim being to reduce the amount of fuel used to heat rural homes.

The group contracts with local crews to get the homes built. In fact, CCHRC officials don’t actually build the homes; with input from the locals, they design it and the locals themselves build them.

Consultations with the community help establish what their cultural needs are, among other things, Hebert said.

The goal, Hebert said, is to enable local residents to build their own sustainable homes without the aid of outsiders.

 “The wisdom of the people who have lived here for 10,000 years is important,” Hebert said.

Continue reading:  Group developing efficient homes for rural Alaska

Anchorage opts out of home weatherization program

From The Associated Press, Thursday, November 4, 2010:

The city of Anchorage is getting out of the home weatherization business.

The work can be done more efficiently by others, Mayor Dan Sullivan said Wednesday.

The city is withdrawing from the program at the end of March when its contract expires with the Alaska Housing Finance Corp.

Nonprofit organizations doing the work in other parts of Alaska will likely pick up the work in the city, AHFC Executive Director told the Anchorage Daily News. The Alaska Community Development Corp. and the Rural Alaska Community Action Program could gear up to handle Anchorage too.

In 2008 the Legislature approved $200 million for weatherization and $160 million for energy rebates.

The state is paying to caulk, replace furnaces and boilers, and otherwise improve the energy efficiency of 500 households in Anchorage and 7,000 more in the rest of Alaska this year, Fauske said.

The municipality has been administering the weatherization services in Anchorage since 2007 and employs 17 people in the program who are paid through a state grant.

Continue reading: Anchorage opts out of home weatherization program

AHFC’s Home Energy Rebate Program Receives National Recognition

From Alaska Housing Finance Corporation:

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) recently announced that AHFC’s Home Energy Rebate Program is one of the exceptional state-led energy-efficiency programs in the United States. ACEEE recognized a total of just 18 top programs from 14 states. AHFC’s Home Energy Rebate Program received one of 10 honorable mentions awarded.Alaska’s Home Energy Rebate Program helps homeowners reduce energy costs by providing rebates toward the cost of energy-efficiency improvements. Energy ratings are required before and after improvements. Homeowners pay all costs upfront, and the rebate is paid out based on increased energy efficiency and eligible receipts. The maximum rebate is $10,000. Homeowners have 18 months to complete the program.

Dan Fauske, AHFC CEO/Executive, said, “Our calculations show people reduce energy use by about 30 percent and save nearly $1,600 a year on average. We are thrilled to be recognized for successfully rolling out this program in an extremely short timeframe. Although we had some bumps along the road, the response from those completing the program has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Continue reading: AHFC’s Home Energy Rebate Program Receives National Recognition

State readies borrowing program for green projects

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Thursday, July 1, 2010:

The state is readying a new borrowing program that some municipal governments have shown an interest in tapping to improve energy-efficiency at public buildings.

The Alaska Housing Finance Corp. said the program — an account for governments and the university system to borrow for energy-efficiency remodeling — should open by October. The corporation is collecting public comment through July 7 on regulations behind the plan, a spinoff from a federal stimulus grant that would model broader programs seen around the country.

“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” said Bryan Butcher, a spokesman for the housing corporation, citing successful precedent elsewhere. “We think it’s really going to play a substantial role in reducing energy (costs) in the state as well as producing jobs.”

Tuck offers homeowners help with energy upgrades

From Alaska Dispatch, Sunday, January 17, 2010:

An Anchorage lawmaker says he’ll file a bill offering middle class homeowners — strapped for cash and still reeling from high energy costs — a back door into energy efficiency upgrades.

We reported recently on the lack of follow through by thousands of Alaskans who started a home energy efficiency rebate program, funded by the Legislature and managed by Alaska Housing Finance Corp. Those who start with a baseline efficiency audit have 18 months to fund repairs, schedule an audit of efficiency gains, and apply for up to $10,000 in state reimbursements. That window is running out for many folks.

Rep. Chris Tuck, an Anchorage Democrat, talked with people in his district and discovered some who have been hit pretty hard by the 2009 economic collapse. The families make too much too qualify for a low-income state weatherization program, but are dealing with high credit card debt, receding retirement accounts and investments, and, at times, negative equity in their homes.

Those circumstances can make it pretty tough to pay several thousand dollars up front for efficiency upgrades, even with a state reimbursement likely down the road, Tuck acknowledged.

Click here to read the full story.

Homeowners are passing on energy rebates

From Alaska Dispatch, Wednesday, December 23, 2009:

Massive initial interest in a state program to help people make their homes more energy efficient could be tapering off, even as some areas of the state face the likelihood of increased home heating costs in coming years.

As of Dec. 16, nearly 19,000 Alaskans have started the multi-step Home Energy Rebate Program funded by Gov. Sarah Palin and the Legislature and managed by the Alaska Housing Finance Corp.

They’ve paid for certified technicians to rate their current home energy efficiency and recommend upgrades that would be eligible for a state refund, up to $10,000. But only about 200 people have followed through with improvements and filed their claims, and the window to do so is closing daily for the flood of folks who jumped at the chance.

If this trend continues during the next several months, the program will end up with a financial cushion of funds set aside for improvements that weren’t cashed in on. But it’s leaving some to wonder: In a state with some of the highest energy costs in the nation, where homeowners stood to benefit significantly — exactly what happened?

Click here to read the full story.

PORTAL and ACHP to host consumer workshops

Learn how to do or direct your own energy efficient improvements. Attend an informative workshop FREE TO THE PUBLIC! Workshops are brought to you by Alaska Housing Finance Corporation.

The following workshops will be held from 6-8 pm at the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, 1000 Fairbanks Street, near West Valley High School and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Call 907-457-3454 for directions.

February 1, 2010: Building Science Basics

February 2, 2010: Air Tightness

February 3, 2010: Ice Dams

February 4, 2010: Lighting & Appliances

February 8, 2010: Heating & Hot Water

February 9, 2010: Doors & Windows

February 10, 2010: Insulation

February 11, 2010: Ventilation

Alaska weatherization, rebate programs stimulate economy

From the Alaska Journal of Commerce, Monday, November 16, 2009:

A statewide weatherization program with the potential of reducing energy costs in thousands of Alaskan residences will improve some 1,740 homes in 2009 alone, and Alaska Housing Finance Corp. expects to more than quadruple that number by 2011. The goal is to weatherize 4,000 homes in 2010 and 7,500 homes in 2011, said Bryan Butcher, public affairs director for the state agency, whose mission is to provide Alaskans with quality affordable housing.

“We can show there are average savings of 25 percent on energy right now, and we are hoping it goes up,” Butcher said.

Click here to read the full story.

Disabled to get funds for Energy Star items

From the Anchorage Daily News on Friday, October 16, 2009:

The Alaska Housing Finance Corp. is preparing to divvy out Alaska’s comparatively small share of $300 million in federal stimulus money to cover rebates on energy-efficient appliances.Because Alaska got only about a dollar per person — $658,000 — and officials wanted to make it count, AHFC’s proposal limits eligibility to disabled individuals — those who qualify for Supplemental Security Income, said AHFC public affairs director Bryan Butcher. AHFC estimates there are 10,000 such individuals in Alaska.

People living in rural areas would get more to account for higher shipping costs, he said.

Under the plan, which is awaiting approval by the U.S. Department of Energy, qualified individuals in rural areas could get rebates of $500 on refrigerators and freezers and $300 for washers and dryers. Those in urban areas would get $300 for refrigerators and freezers and $150 for washers and dryers.

Energy Star appliances qualify for the rebate, and participants will be encouraged to destroy their old machines, Butcher said.

AHFC is hoping to get DOE approval in time to begin offering the rebate in December, Butcher said.