Many heating and air conditioning businesses in Iowa are enjoying a boom in business these days. And the calls for service aren’t just for pre-winter tune-ups. Home owners are taking advantage of a federal Energy Tax Credit Program, which pays 30% or up to $1,500 of the cost of new Energy Star items like furnaces, biomass stoves and water heaters.
P.J. Kalb is with Colony Heating and Air Conditioning in Cedar Rapids. “We’ve been seeing a boom for probably the last six to eight months,” Kalb said. “We’re getting a lot of them (customers) now that realize the (tax credit) program is coming to an end.” The program expires at the end of the year. Cedar Rapids homeowner Bill Brennan took advantage of the program and now has a new furnace.
“It’s quieter, it’s just more energy efficient, and between the tax credit and the rebates, it ends up saving us 37 percent,” Brennan said. The program also covers Energy Star windows, doors and insulation.
By Mark Carlson, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids