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Sunday, May 03, 2009
Energy-Efficient Homes Can Pay Off for Homeowners
By Story By Jane Mahoney
For the Journal
When buying and/or building a new home, it now pays to go green.
Tax incentives and rebates are among the benefits for builders or homebuyers who use energy-saving construction methods, high-efficiency mechanical systems and products designed to reduce a home's impact on the environment.
In fact, local experts say New Mexico has one of the most aggressive "buy green" packages in the nation, starting with a sustainable tax credit incentive that became law in 2007.
Just ask Louis "Buster" Wigley, a Los Lunas grandfather who qualified for more than $14,000 in state tax credits after purchasing an energy efficient new home built by Artistic Homes in Valencia County. Or talk to Albuquerque's Angela Andermann. She recently moved into a new green-certified home on Albuquerque's northwest mesa, priced under $200,000, in part because builder Paul Allen Homes passed along to the buyer an anticipated $6,750 in a state tax deduction the company will apply for this year.
Both homes demonstrate "gold" level construction techniques and materials that comply with strict standards outlined by LEED for Homes (the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) or Build Green NM. These nationally recognized rating systems guide green builders in selections ranging from insulation values to heating and cooling systems, as well as other green building features such as water conservation, use of local and renewable materials, and issues of health and comfort. Under Build Green NM guidelines, a gold-rated home, for example, must be at least 40 percent more energy efficient than a comparable home built using conventional methods.
New Mexico buyers and builders alike can find an array of financial rewards for purchasing or building homes that have been certified by an independent third party inspector to meet the sustainable standards outlined by LEED-H or Build Green NM. Some benefits come from the federal government, others from local utility companies. But one of the most financially generous paybacks is the Sustainable Building Tax Credit offered by the state of New Mexico.
"In 2007, we awarded only two residential state tax credits," said Susie Marbury, an administrator with the New Mexico Energy Conservation and Management Division of Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources. "In 2008, the number was 100. Given today's economic climate, I'm not sure how many we'll do in 2009, but I do think that what building going on out there tends to be green."
The numbers and the early program implementation (prior to President barack Obama's economic stimulus package) make New Mexico a leader among states offering a sustainable building tax credit, according to Marbury. While New Mexico's sustainable tax credit became state law in 2007, the program runs through 2013. Recent legislative action allows nonprofits also to be eligible.
"Purchasing a green home is now more affordable than ever," said Katherine Martinez, director of Government Affairs for the Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico. "This tax credit gives people a very tangible reason for incorporating clean, better and greener building practices — and that's a plus for everyone."
Effective June 30, new homes that qualify for the tax break must meet building standards (silver level or above) outlined by Build Green NM or the LEED-H program, and also have a verified HERS-rating (home energy rating system that focuses specifically on energy consumption) of 60 or lower. Based on the certification level (silver, gold, platinum or emerald), the owner or builder can claim a state tax credit ranging from $5 to $9 per square foot for a home's first 2,000 square feet, and $2.50 to $4.45 per square foot for the next 1,000 square feet — up to 3,000 square feet total. Owners of new, certified manufactured homes can claim a tax credit of $3 per square foot. The maximum credit for a 3,000-square-foot (or larger) home that achieves LEED-H Platinum or Build Green NM Emerald ratings would be $22,450, according to Marbury.
What's more, the builder or buyer has up to seven years to use the state tax credit, or can spread it out over that entire time frame. The builder or buyer (whomever is claiming the tax credit) may also choose to transfer or sell the credit to another individual, Marbury said.
If it all sounds a bit complicated, that's where assistance from an independent third party inspector comes in. Because the home is checked at various points throughout the building process to determine its eligibility for tax credits, it's essential to involve a knowledgeable HERS rater, in addition to the builder and designer or architect from the early design stages.
And tax credits aside, there's also the matter of ongoing savings and the comfort benefits of living in a green home, points out Martinez.
Wigley, one of seven family members spanning three generations in the new Artistic home in Los Lunas reports utility bills equivalent to his former home — even though the new home is twice as large at 2,200 square feet. Andermann reports an average combined savings of $60 per month on electricity and gas in her new 1,500-square-foot home on the mesa.
For builders such as Robert Lupton, co-owner of Paul Allen Homes, affordable green building has become a mission. While Paul Allen Homes, rather than the new home buyer, claims the tax deduction from the gold-rated Build Green NM homes built at the Saltillo development on the westernmost end of McMahon, the savings (and more) are reinvested in the homes in the form of insulation, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, tankless hot water systems, low-e windows and Energy Star appliances.
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