28 Feb What to Know About Georgia Power’s HEIP Rebates
By Jennifer Goldberg, SK Collaborative
Renovating an existing multifamily building can save energy and dramatically lower tenants’ energy bills, but those benefits often come as an added cost to developers. With rebates amounts of $500-$1,500 per unit for 20%-35% reduction in energy reduction, Georgia Power’s Home Energy Improvement Program (HEIP) provides an incentive to make the most efficient choices without draining your renovation’s budget.
What is HEIP?
Georgia Power’s Home Energy Improvement Program provides rebates to both individual homeowners and multifamily developers for installing energy efficient systems and appliances in existing homes. Eligible improvements range from big ticket items (like adding new, efficient windows) to little ones (like swapping in LED light bulbs).
Who qualifies?
If you own a residential property—a home for your family, a duplex that you rent out, or even a large-scale apartment complex—any renovation project could be an opportunity to reap the benefits of this program.
Which improvements qualify?
Anything that will reduce the amount of energy used by the home can count towards the overall improvement. Replacing kitchen appliances, laundry equipment, HVAC units, or water heaters for newer, more efficient models can be a serious boost to energy savings and qualify for rebates, although the initial cost is higher.
Smaller measures, like increasing the amount of insulation in exterior walls and attics, will still reduce your energy usage without the big up-front cost. Even doing a bit of additional air sealing (think caulking around the windows, gaps between the wall and floor, installing weatherstripping on your front door) can demonstrate enough savings to qualify your renovation for rebates.
Changes that decrease water use, such as low-flow shower heads and faucets, also reduce the demand on hot water heaters, saving both energy and water.
How can developers benefit from Georgia Power’s HEIP Rebates?
The potential savings for multifamily properties can add up quickly. Georgia Power offers up to $1,000 per unit in rebates, depending on the percent of energy savings calculated. This number goes up to a maximum of $1,500 per unit for income qualified properties, such as those receiving Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs) or that have other affordability restrictions.
HEIP Precondition & Improvement Requirements:
(Source: Georgia Power, Multifamily HEIP Preconditions)
Click here for Single Family Precondition and Improvement Requirements
When does it make sense to pursue these rebates?
Any renovation project with planned energy efficiency improvements is a potential candidate for savings. A minimum energy usage reduction of 20% will qualify for the first tier of rebates, which lines up with a typical ‘moderate renovation’ scope: new kitchen appliances and HVAC systems, more efficient laundry equipment or water heater, along with some low-flow plumbing fixtures and LED bulbs.
In our experience, these rebates make the most sense when combined with an already planned renovation. Contact us to see if this program is a good fit for your project.
How can SK Collaborative help me make the most of this opportunity?
As one of Georgia Power’s program-approved contractors, SK Collaborative will create energy models to demonstrate your project’s savings and perform the required field inspections.
We start our HEIP consulting process with some preliminary energy modeling–if you’re unsure your scope will qualify, or you have questions about what improvements will be the most cost-effective and most impactful, this can be a critical step. Once we’ve shown a minimum of 20% reduction in whole-home energy usage, we can submit an official application and help generate all of the documentation you’ll need.
SK also conducts pre- and post-renovation field visits to document the improvements you’ve made. Once the work is done, we’ll take care of the final submission and let you know when the rebates are approved.
Contact us if you have an upcoming renovation–big or small–to see if/how your project could benefit from HEIP energy rebates!
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