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EPESaver™ Home Energy Efficiency

El Paso Electric

EPESaver Home Efficiency Program

Efficient Ceiling, Walls, and Floor Insulation Rebates

EPE is offering its customers a mix and match energy efficiency program designed to improve comfort and save energy. Its “Multi-Pack” enables you, the customer, to choose the measures that suit your needs.

The first step is to call your air conditioning contractor for a “tune up” of your air conditioning system or evaporative cooler. Your contractor will test both the effectiveness and safe operation of central air systems or the operation of your evaporative cooler. If you want to upgrade your cooling system, EPE is offering incentives for high-efficiency air conditioning and evaporative coolers.

To help your home stay warmer in winter and cooler in summer, EPE is offering rebates for

• Ceiling insulation to R-30
• Floor insulation to R-19
• Wall insulation to R-11
• Solar Screens for windows on east or west walls

In addition, EPE is offering rebates to residential and small business customers with central air conditioners for

• Air infiltration reduction
• Duct sealing or replacement

A good place to start is the EPE Web site, www.epelectric.com. From there, follow the links through “Customer Service” to “Energy Efficiency” and the on-line “Energy Calculator.” It can help you determine whether your house needs insulation or solar screens.

Forms for insulation, Solar Screens, air infiltration, duct improvement, and cooling equipment are available on-line, click here. Your AC contractor will have them, too.

Eligibility

Customers of El Paso Electric in New Mexico who own or rent their homes, owners of multifamily dwellings, and businesses on EPE’s small commercial rate are eligible for the “Multi-Pack” services and rebates. Remember, air infiltration and duct improvement are open only to houses with central air systems.

Application Process

Please follow the procedures outlined below for each energy efficiency measure installed under the program. Once a qualified efficiency measure is installed, complete the application form and submit it with a copy of your contractor's bill to the address on the Rebate Application Form. Additional forms for this and other EPESaver programs are available or download at www.epesaver.com/downloads.

Incentive Information

Incentives are available for several energy efficiency measures dpending on the type of cooling system in your household (evaporative or refrigerated). Customers should carefully review the Eligibility guidelines before completing an application.

Ceiling Insulation

Ceiling insulation rebates are calculated by the added R-value of insulation installed, measuring the difference between starting and ending insulation depth in inches.

Example: A gas-heated house with refrigerated air conditioning measures 1,500 SqFt and whose attic insulation doesn’t reach the tops of the ceiling joists, about 4 inches or R-12. Using the table above, R-12 falls into the “R9-14” row, so for gas heat, the rebate value is 7 cents per square foot of insulation to R-30.

Rebate = 1,500 * 0.07 = $105.00

Floor Insulation

Floor insulation rebates are paid on the square footage of installed insulation. Uninsulated floors over a crawl space are eligible if retrofitted to a minimum R-19. The values differ for site-built and manufactured houses as shown below. The contractor must install a vapor barrier to make the insulation effective.

Wall Insulation

Wall insulation rebates are paid on the square footage of insulation installed in walls that previously had no insulation. The treated wall area must be reported exclusive of window and door area. The contractor will measure wall area by the length and height of each exterior wall and subtract the area of the windows and doors.

Heating Fuel Type	Gas	Electric Resistance	Heat Pump
Incentive ($/SF Treated)	$0.24	$1.47	$0.74

Example: A gas-heated house has no wall insulation, measures 30’ x 50’ x 8’ and has 8 windows 3’ x 5’ and two 3’ x 6’8” doors.

Wall area = (30 * 2 * 8) + (50 * 2 * 8) = 1280	Window area = 3’ x 5’ x 8 = 120
Door Area = 3’ * 6.5’ * 2 = 39	Wall area = 1280 - (120 + 39) = 1121

Rebate = 1121 * 0.24 = $269.04

Solar Screens

The Solar Screen Rebate is available to El Paso Electric’s New Mexico customers who use either evaporative coolers or central refrigerated air conditioning systems to cool their homes. The source of heat may be either gas, electric, or heat pump. Qualifying windows must be on windows facing predominately east or west.

The window screen contractor shall measure the windows qualifying for screens and note the location of those windows on the outline of a house below and circle the initial of the direction the house faces. (If necessary, the contractor can sketch in additional wings or extensions of the dwelling.)

Solar Screens Rebate = $1.00 per Square Foot of screen

Example : Four windows, 2 east, 2 west, all are 3’ x 5’.

Windows = 15 SqFt per Window * 4 = 60 qFt * $1.00 = $60.00

Air Infiltration Control

The Air Infiltration Rebate is available to El Paso Electric’s New Mexico customers who use central, ducted refrigerated air conditioning systems to cool their homes. The source of heat may be a gas furnace, an electric furnace, or a heat pump, based on the payment schedule below. Incentives based on a $/CFM reduction meauresed at 50 Pascal pressurization. Rebates for infiltration control work can only be made for projects performed by a qualified home efficiency rater using a home pressurization kit, or "blower door."

The contractor performing the tests must provide both the "before installation" and "after installation" air leakage. If the home is measured at other than 50 Pascal, the rater must convert the CFM value to its CFM₅₀ equivalent.

Heating Fuel Type	Gas	Electric Resistance	Heat Pump
Incentive ($/CFM50 Reduction)	$0.075	$0.239	$0.134

Contractors considering multifamily projects must obtain EPE approval prior to performing infiltration control measures and applying for rebates. EPE may require multiple unit pressurization procedures to ensure that leakage to outside is accurately measured.

The post-installation air flow will be no less than the minimum safe level as shown in the table below.

	Number of Stories
Shielding	Single Story	Two Story	3 or More Stories
Well shielded	1.18	0.95	0.83
Normal	0.99	0.79	0.69
Exposed	0.89	0.71	0.62

* Measured in cubic feet per minute at 50 Pascal per square foot of conditioned area.

As an example, the minimum post-installation air exchange rate for an 1800 square foot, one-story home with normal shielding is 1782 CFM₅₀ (1800 x 0.99). In order to qualify for the air infiltration control deemed savings, there must be a minimum 10% reduction between the pre- and post-installation ventilation rate. Therefore, the pre-installation ventilation rate must be at least 1960 CFM₅₀ (1782 x 110%) in order to be considered for air infiltration control measures. EPE recommends CO testing for all gas heated homes.

Definitions:

Well shielded: urban area surrounded by tall buildings or sheltered areas, and building surrounded by tall trees, bermed earth, or high terrain.”

Normal: buildings in a residential neighborhood or suburban setting with yard space between dwellings; 80 to 90 percent of houses fall into this category.

Exposed: dwelling is in an open setting with few trees or other buildings around it, or on top of a hill or on an ocean front subject to high winds.

Duct Sealing and Insulation

The Duct Sealing or Replacement Rebate is available to El Paso Electric customers in New Mexico who use central, ducted refrigerated air conditioning systems to cool their homes. In addition, the majority of duct linear feet must be in unconditioned space -- an attic or crawl space. The source of heat may be a gas furnace, an electric furnace, or a heat pump.

Duct Improvement Rebate = $0.19 per kWh $200.00 per kW

Energy savings are calculated based on the reduction of air leakage in the duct system, treated by a contractor qualified by EPE. The improvement measures seal leaks in supply and return ducts and repair or re-insulate ducts of existing homes. The pre- and post-installation duct leakage will be measured using the combined blower door and duct pressurization method. EPE will consider other methods, such as the blower door subtraction or delta Q methods. Approval must be requested and granted before beginning any work.

The calculations for duct improvements are managed by an on-line calculator tool found on the El Paso Electric Company’s Web site at www.EnerSavr.com. To use the on-line calculator, the contractor will need to collect the information below to use as inputs for that tool. It will then calculate the kW reduction and annual kWh savings associated with the CFM reduction achieved.

In the event that the contractor does not have access to the Internet, the data can be sent by mail to: EPESaver Rebate Fulfillment Center, c/o Frontier Associates LLC, 1515 S Capital of Texas Hwy, Ste 110, Austin, TX 78746 or faxed to EPESaver 512-372-8932. EPE will calculate the CFM reduction and rebate and return the form to the contractor.

As a consumer:

• Be sure you understand the terms of any agreement before signing and know how much you will pay.
• Request a copy of all paperwork.
• You have 72 hours (3 days) to cancel any agreement (called Right of Rescission period).
• Ask for an "All Bills Paid Affidavit" if a subcontractor is used.
• An EPE representative may contact you to verify the work was done.