Post by richardkelsey on Aug 19, 2008 13:28:54 GMT -5
In 2003, I floated an idea when I ran for office that was very popular even among the almost all liberal democratic County in which I lived.
It was never enacted, but I think it is a great idea nonetheless and possibly something good for the Borough and it's green initiative.
The idea was born from my own experience as a homeowner. At that time, I had just replaced a 25 year-old air conditioning unit. In researching the issue -- I found several things. First, if your unit is over 10 years old, it's efficiency is going to be very poor even compared to the least efficient model on the market at the time. Every year the efficiency of models improves, notwithstanding other great but more capital intensive options such as geothermal.
In my case, I elected to go with a new model that had both a high SEER rating and was no longer using traditional refrigerant chemicals which are being phased out in the coming few years.
As a result of this -- I thought -- wouldn't it be great if the County -- or in your case the town -- incentivized property owners to upgrade their existing units by converting to a new, high efficient, no freon unit. This would reduce the ozone emissions, take pressure off the local electrical grid, reduce overall demand, and maybe prices, and ultimately result in lower monthly bills for consumers who convert.
The big problem, of course, is expense.
My plan was to offer tax rebates to homeowners that would be larger based upon how old the system was one was replacing, as well as how highly rated the new system was on efficiency. In addition, the home owner would be offered two additional rebate upgrades. One was to convert to the freon free system -- which would have been some 6 years prior to the federal mandate at that time. (This may no longer be applicable.) The other was to give an additional rebate if the user used a County based business to purchase the new system -- incentivizing people to support local businesses.
It seems Freehold might be able to use the concept to investigate its own program. Even if it only helps 20-50 homeowners replace old systems, it will remove strain from the grid, freon from the air, and help increase efficiency. It might be a nice green initiative that is spurred by some economic incentive and some education.
BTW --- my electric bills from that unit went way down -- and adding it to the house increased the value of the property. It was a great investment.
It was never enacted, but I think it is a great idea nonetheless and possibly something good for the Borough and it's green initiative.
The idea was born from my own experience as a homeowner. At that time, I had just replaced a 25 year-old air conditioning unit. In researching the issue -- I found several things. First, if your unit is over 10 years old, it's efficiency is going to be very poor even compared to the least efficient model on the market at the time. Every year the efficiency of models improves, notwithstanding other great but more capital intensive options such as geothermal.
In my case, I elected to go with a new model that had both a high SEER rating and was no longer using traditional refrigerant chemicals which are being phased out in the coming few years.
As a result of this -- I thought -- wouldn't it be great if the County -- or in your case the town -- incentivized property owners to upgrade their existing units by converting to a new, high efficient, no freon unit. This would reduce the ozone emissions, take pressure off the local electrical grid, reduce overall demand, and maybe prices, and ultimately result in lower monthly bills for consumers who convert.
The big problem, of course, is expense.
My plan was to offer tax rebates to homeowners that would be larger based upon how old the system was one was replacing, as well as how highly rated the new system was on efficiency. In addition, the home owner would be offered two additional rebate upgrades. One was to convert to the freon free system -- which would have been some 6 years prior to the federal mandate at that time. (This may no longer be applicable.) The other was to give an additional rebate if the user used a County based business to purchase the new system -- incentivizing people to support local businesses.
It seems Freehold might be able to use the concept to investigate its own program. Even if it only helps 20-50 homeowners replace old systems, it will remove strain from the grid, freon from the air, and help increase efficiency. It might be a nice green initiative that is spurred by some economic incentive and some education.
BTW --- my electric bills from that unit went way down -- and adding it to the house increased the value of the property. It was a great investment.