Incentives

Beyond the health and environmental benefits of living in a green home, many local and state governments, utility companies and other entities across the country offer rebates, tax breaks and other incentives for adding eco-friendly elements to your house.

Beyond the health and environmental benefits of living in a green home, many local and state governments, utility companies and other entities across the country offer rebates, tax breaks and other incentives for adding eco-friendly elements to your house. Following are just a few of the many resources to help you find those incentives in your area.

• Find local incentives for LEED building projects, including homes, at the U.S. Green Building Council's searchable database.
• Through the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the U.S. government offers several tax breaks and incentives for efficiency upgrades to homes.
• DSIRE, the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, connects you to local, state, federal and utility incentives available for switching to renewable or efficient energy use. It is a nonprofit project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through the North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency links to many of the sources of funding for green building that are available nationally and at the state and local levels for homeowners, industry, government organizations and nonprofits in the form of grants, tax credits, loans and other sources.
• The U.S. government’s Energy Star site connects consumers, home builders and others to federal tax credits for using energy-efficient products.

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