Local homeowners cash in on 'energy tax credit'

WICKLIFFE -- Greg West has a 51-year-old house with drafty windows and the government's tax credit for energy efficiency is helping him finally replace them.

"I got cold air coming in here, and on the side," Greg says, as he shows a visitor the edges of one of his nine leaky windows. "I feel the cold air coming in now."

West began saving for new windows on his Wickliffe home last year but did not make the improvements until now, when he could take advantage of a government stimulus program which allows him to claim up to 30 percent of the cost of the materials as a credit on his federal income tax return.

"I knew I was going to get windows this year so I was putting money aside. And $1,200 back, that's pretty good," Greg explains.

That's how much he expects to be credited for the energy efficiency improvements he's making.

"People are calling and practically begging us to come out to the house and see them," says Chuck Thall, general manager of Window Nation, "because they know they have to have the windows by the year's end to make sure they get credit for it in their tax season."

Thall says his company has never been busier.

He estimates 20 percent to 25 percent of all his business has been from people specifically taking advantage of the federal energy efficiency tax credit.

"The tax credit has been unbelievable," he tells WKYC. "We're so busy, we can't even keep up with the demand."

The credit, which has restrictions and limitations, also includes things like furnaces, hot water heaters, and insulation.

At the sprawling warehouse of Refrigeration Sales Corporation in Valley View, thousands of new, energy efficient furnaces await delivery to homes in Northeast Ohio.

The W.F. Hann & Sons company has installed about 500 of them this year.

"We started back in early March talking about it, and now we are getting customers asking us about it," says company President Tony Valentino. "So they are more proactive and more knowledgeable of it today."

Back in Wickliffe, Greg West was looking forward to not having to employ his former solution for keeping his house warm.

"That was our fix for last year," he laughed, "a heating blanket on the bed."