Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program

July 18, 2022

Summary

NOTE: Rebates have been updated for the Fiscal Year 2017. NJ Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program includes both rebate and loan as incentives. This program is listed twice under State Loan Program and State Rebate Program.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJ BPU) offers the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program for residents that want to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. The program is set up to provide incentives that lower the ultimate cost to consumers for the installation of energy efficiency measures identified in a comprehensive home assessment.

Eligibility

The program offers incentives for single family homes with 2-4 units, townhouses, and multifamily dwellings that have 5 or more units, are three stories or less, have single ownership, and where total building energy use data is accessible. Residential dwellings that meet the criteria above and are located in the 25 municipalities designated as NJ Urban Enterprise Zones are also eligible for the program.

Measures must include air sealing, insulation in at least one location and must address health and safety issues. Additional upgrades may include HVAC improvements and domestic hot water systems. Appliances, lighting, doors, and windows are not eligible measures under the current program rules.

In order to receive incentives from this program, eligible work must be performed by a BPI GoldStar contractor who is a registered Trade Ally of the New Jersey Clean Energy Program. Program funding is provided through the New Jersey Societal Benefits Charge (SBC) and the State Energy Program (SEP). The use of SEP funding allows the program to serve oil, propane, and municipal electric customers. Please see the program website for further details.

Single-Family Buildings
The homeowner may receive both a cash rebate and a low-interest loan for the installation of appropriate improvements identified in the home assessment. The incentive schedule is as follows:

Tier	Requirements	Customer Incentive	Contractor Incentive
Tier 1	Energy Audit	No incentive	No incentive
Tier 2	Estimated total energy savings must be greater than 5% and less than 20%. Must install air sealing, insulation, may install other measures	Cash rebate up to 50% of the cost up to $2,000 0% financing up to $5,000	$500 production incentive after satisfactory project completion
Tier 3 (level 1)	Estimated total energy savings must be greater than 20% less than 25% Must install air sealing, insulation, may install other measures	Cash rebate up to 50% of the cost up to $3,000 0% financing up to $10,000 or 4.99% up to $15,000	$500 production incentive after satisfactory project completion
Tier 3 (level 2)	Estimated total savings must be greater than 25%, must install air sealing	Cash rebate up to 50% of the cost up to $4,000 0% financing up to $10,000 or 4.99% up to $15,000	$500 production incentive after satisfactory project completion

It is important to note that while incentives are available for HVAC equipment and water heaters under the separate WarmAdvantage and CoolAdvantage incentive programs, participants may not receive multiple incentives for the same equipment.

Multi-Family Buildings
In order to participate in this program, the improvements must consider a whole-building approach. Individual dwelling units within a building are not eligible independently of the larger development. The contractor will work with program personnel to ensure a proper project assessment and approval process. The incentive schedule is as follows:

Tier	Requirements	Customer Incentive	Contractor Incentive
Tier 1	Energy Audit	No incentive	No incentive
Tier 2	Estimated total energy savings must be greater than 5% and less than 15%. Must install air sealing, insulation, may install other measures	Cash rebate up to 50% of the cost up to $500 per unit	$50 production incentive after satisfactory project completion
Tier 3 (level 1)	Estimated total energy savings must be total at least 15% but less than 20%. Must install air sealing, insulation,  may install other measures	Cash rebate up to 50% of the costs of measures used to calculate total energy savings up to $1,000 per unit	$50production incentive after satisfactory project completion
Tier 3 (level 2)	Estimated total savings must total at  least 25%. Must install air sealing,  insulation, may install other measures	Cash rebate up to 50% of the costs of measures used to calculate total energy savings up to $1,500 per unit	$50production incentive after satisfactory project completion

In addition to the state program described above, some New Jersey electric and natural gas utilities administer supplemental energy efficiency programs for their customers. Prospective participants should contact their utility to see if additional incentives are available.

Loan Options

• 0% financing up to $5,000 for Tier II and up to $10,000 or 4.99% financing up to $15,000 for Tier III projects is available through Energy Finance Solutions (EFS) or NJ Credit Union League via cuGreenLoans.
• 0% financing up to $10,000 for projects more than 20% Total Energy Savings (TES) is available through South Jersey Gas.
• 0% On-bill Repayment Program (OBRP) up to $10,000 or up to 4.99% financing up to $15,000 for Tier III projects and up to $5,000 for Tier II projects are available for New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) customers.