Reported by CEN Staff

DENVER - Building products manufacturer Johns Manville Corp. released a report this week that reveals the government’s push to make homes more energy efficient is making headway. However, the results show there is still work to be done explaining the procedure for  tax credit application.

Roughly 68 percent of respondents to Manville’s 2009 Energy Efficiency Tax Credits Survey, said they are aware of the federal government’s expansion of tax credits for making homes more energy efficient, and the program’s extension through this year and 2010.

Of those homeowners, 46 percent said they plan to take
advantage of the credits.

On the other hand, almost three quarters of the respondents
acknowledged they didn’t know how to apply for the federal
energy efficiency tax credits — as well as other state and
local government incentives for such improvements.

“This recent survey clearly demonstrates that millions of U.S. homeowners are interested in making purchases that qualify for the … energy efficiency tax credits,” Kateri Callahan, president of Alliance to Save Energy of Washington, D.C., said in
a statement. “[They] can help homeowners defray the cost of
several types of energy efficiency upgrades …”

The credits allow homeowners to claim as much as 30 percent of
the cost of energy efficiency upgrades can be claimed by
homeowners using the credits — to as much as $1,500. Such
upgrades include installing new windows and doors, roofs,
insulation, heating/air-conditioning equipment and water
heaters.

According to the Johns Manville survey, new windows and doors
(19 percent), water heaters (14 percent), roofing (14 percent)
and insulation (13 percent) represent the most popular upgrades.

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act into law in Denver on Feb. 17. The ARRA extended the
Federal tax credits for making homes more energy efficient,
created in 2005, through this year and 2010.

The Denver-based Johns Manville Corp. makes building products
for residential and commercial and residential use, including
insulation and roofing. The company’s survey was conducted by
Opinion Research Corp., which surveyed 784 homeowners by phone
April 3-6.