Ultra-Low Flow Toilet Rebates
Rebates are given to customers who replace existing toilets (1.6 gallons per flush or greater) with ultra-low flow toilets meeting the Water Sense Standard, 1.28 gallons or less per flush): $45 for the first toilet, $35 for the second and $25 for the third all located in the same house or business. Click here for City rebate form.
Water Conservation Programs
Indoor Water Analyses
A Water Conservation Analyst will visit your home to evaluate the efficiency of your plumbing fixtures and will replace the showerheads, faucet aerators, and retrofit toilets to reduce water used, if needed.
Air Quality Program
Air Quality
If you have a woodstove currently installed in your home and you want to remove it, the City will pick it up and pay your $50. (The City must be notified before the woodstove is removed).
Residential Energy Conservation Program
Home Energy Analysis
This program is free to residents with electric heat. The City’s Energy Analyst will come to your home and do an inspection to determine what can be done to improve its efficiency and potential incentives.
Home Leakage Test
Free for electrically heated homes and $50 cost for those with non-electric heat. The blower door test will show where air is leaking out of the house. The Energy Analyst will provide a list of locations of the leaks and suggestions on how to repair them.
Duct System Analysis
Free for homeowners with electric heat and $100 cost for homeowners with non-electric heat. If your home has a central heating system, a duct leakage test can determine if the ducts need to be sealed or replaced. Financial incentives may be available to help defray the cost of duct sealing or replacement.
Duct Rebates
Customers sealing or replacing leaky ducts in electrically heated residences may receive rebates of 80% of the cost up to $300. This rebate is also available for duct systems installed in brand new homes with qualifying high efficiency heat pumps. Work must be performed by a PTCS certified contractor and must meet the requirements of the Oregon Dept. of Energy.
Zero Interest Loans
Available to qualifying homeowners for up to $7,500 for a variety of energy saving projects, including solar water heaters, heat pump systems, duct sealing or replacement, replacement windows, and weatherization measures.
Insulation Rebate
If your home has electric heat, you could receive a rebate for insulating your walls, ceilings, or floors. The amount of the incentive will vary, depending on projected energy savings resulting from the measure but cannot exceed 70% of the cost. An energy audit must be done by the City before insulation is installed.
Window Rebate
If your home has electric heat, you may receive a rebate up to $6 per sq.ft. to replace existing windows with ENERGY STAR windows with a .30 U-value minimum. An energy analysis is required prior to the work commencing.
Heat Pump Program
Customers installing high efficiency heat pumps in either existing residence or new construction (non Earth Advantage or ENERGY STAR homes) can receive a $600 rebate from the City. In order to qualify for this incentive, the new heat pump must have a minimum 8.5 HSPF and 14.0 SEER, be installed and commissioned by a PTCS certified HVAC contractor, and the ducts must be tested and tight. (An additional $300 duct rebate may be available).
Electronic Thermostat Rebate
Homes with existing electric resistive heating systems (baseboard, wall heaters, or ceiling cable heat) can qualify for $115 rebate if the existing thermostats are bi-metal line voltage and are all replaced (except in bathrooms) with line voltage electronic thermostats meeting City/BPA specifications.
Manufactured Home Rebate
The City will pay $600 to customers purchasing and setting up an ENERGY STAR manufactured home with electric space heat in its utility service area. For more information contact Dan Cunningham at 541 552-2063 or cunningd@ashland.or.us.
Residential New Construction Programs
ENERGY STAR Homes Northwest TM
The ENERGY STAR label is awarded to homes that are built following a simple prescriptive path, resulting in homes that are at least 15% more energy efficient than code homes. These savings are typically achieved through a combination of tight duct systems, ENERGY START qualified windows, increased insulation levels and current incentive levels are for ENERGY STAR certified homes. For more information on these national programs, check out the website www.northwesternergystar.com. To take a virtual tour of and ENERGY STAR home, click here.
Earth Advantage TM
The City offers this program for sustainable new residential construction. Since all Earth
Advantage homes must meet ENERGY STAR home standards, and Earth Advantage home is also at least 15% more energy efficient than a code home and is designed and built to provide its occupants with comfort and quality.
An Earth Advantage home also has special features that ensure its occupants lower energy bills, healthier indoor air, reduced impact on the environment, and conservation of natural resources. The home must pass diagnostic tests which demonstrate that the house and duct system are tight and energy efficient. Plans need to be reviewed by the Conservation Division prior to starting construction.
Call to find out what current incentive levels are for homes that are both earth advantage and ENERGY STAR certified. (The homebuyer may be eligible to receive additional City rebates and/or State tax credits, depending on the measures installed).
For more information on residential energy Conservation programs, call 588-5357.
Other Resource Saving Programs
Commercial Conservation Program
Rebates and zero-interest loans are available to Ashland commercial customers for lighting retrofits and other resource-saving measures. Call for a free site analysis.
Renewable Pioneers/Green Tag Program
Ashland utility customers can support clean, renewable energy by purchasing Green tags from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF). Each time an
Ashland resident buys Green Tags, BEF will direct a portion of the purchase to local renewable energy projects such as installation of solar electric systems. To become a Renewable Pioneer, visit www.GreenAshland.org or call BEF toll-free at 1-866-233-8247.
Solar Water Heater Program
Ashland utility customers using electric water heaters may qualify for either a cash rebate of up to $1000 or a zero-interest loan, for installation of approved solar water heating systems. Call Larry at 552-2065 to schedule a fee solar site analysis.
Net Metering Policy
Ashland was the first utility in region to adopt a net6 metering policy. Customers that invest in small-scale wind or solar electric systems will be compensated at full retail cost for excess electricity they produce.
Solar Electric (PV) Rebate Program
This program is designed to encourage Ashland citizens and businesses to invest in photovoltaic generation installations by paying rebates for qualifying installations. Cash incentives offered by the City of Ashland for grid-connected solar electric system are $2.25 per watt for residential systems and $1.00 per watt for systems instaled on businesses up to a maximun of $7,500.00.
In order to qualify, all of the following requirements must be met:
1) The system must be a net metered system interconnected with the city’s electrical grid and must comply with all of the city’s net metering requirements.
2) The owner of the system must eneter into an Interconnection agreement and buyback agreement with the city of Ashland.
3) The system must have adequate solar access: Systems must have total solar resource fractions (as per the Oregon Dept. of Energy Solar Electric Sun Chart worksheet) of 75% and no shading by a tree between 10:00am and 2:00 pm.
4) The system must be installed with city building and Electrical permits and comply with all permit requirements. For more information on these and other resource saving programs, call Larry Giardina at 541-552-2065 or email him at giardin@ashland.or.us.
Conservation Tips
Energy Saving Tips
Follow these tips to save money and energy.
Insulate your hot-water tank. (Newer models are insulated at the factor and should not be insulated by the customer.)
Set both top and bottom elements in the water heater to 120F. Insulate the first few feet of piping coming out of the tank and hot water pipes located in unheated spaces.
Set your refrigerator for 36-38 F and your freezer at 0-5F. New refrigerators use only a fraction of the energy that older models use.
Turn off lights, televisions, stereos, and computers when not in use.
Lower your thermostat at night and when your’re not home. Use an
automatic programmable thermostat.
Air conditioners should be kept at 78F or higher. For every degree you raise your thermostat above 75F, you can save about 3% on your energy used for air conditioning.
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Set electric heaters between 65F and 68F. Turn off ceiling cable heaters and baseboards wall heaters when not in use.
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Clean or replace air conditioner and heater filters on a regular basis.
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Keep furniture and other obstructions away from supply vents and air grills.
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Have the air conditioning unit and electric heater inspected or serviced annually.
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Reduce solar heat gain by shading south and west faing windows during the summer. Use insulating blinds in the winter.
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Replace standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs in fixtures used three or more hours per day.
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Use motion detectors on outdoor lights.
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Keep fireplace damper closed when not using the fireplace to prevent heated air from escaping up the flue.
Water Saving Tips
Follow these tips to save money and water.
Inside:
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Install aerators on faucets to reduce the amount of water used by adding air to the water flow.
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Replace washers in faucets to eliminate drips. A dripping tap can waste eight bathtubs of water in one month.
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Install a low-flow showerhead to reduce water use.
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Run only full loads in your dishwasher and clothes washer; wash clothes in cold water, not hot.
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If your toilet is not already low-flow, add a displacement device to the toilet tank reduce the amount of water in the tank. This tip saves as much as a ½ gallon per flush.
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Replace old toilets with low flow toilets to reduce and reduce the amount of water use by 1 to 3 gallons per flush.
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Be aware of the amount of water you use and look for ways to use less whenever you can.
Outside:
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Water landscaping early in the morning or evening to avoid rapids evaporation.
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Adjust sprinklers to water plants only (not pavement).
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Mulch around all plant material to reduce evaporation.
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Watch for runoff. Soil can only absorb so much moisture.
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Learn what types of grass, shrubbery and plans do best in your area and plant accordingly. Plant the right plants in the right places.
