Obama’s “Cash for Caulkers” Could Offer Homeowner Rebates of Up to $12,000

President Barack Obama has recently proposed another way for Americans to take advantage reimbursements while improving the environment – this time, his proposal is “Cash for Caulkers.” The program, if followed through, is said to likely follow New York State’s home energy efficient program, but will be expanded nationwide and could offer homeowners up to $12,000 in rebates.

How New York’s Program Works

Currently, the New York efficiency program works something like this:

• Homeowners find a contractor licensed by the state to do an energy audit.
• The contractor shows up and charges about $500 to figure out how much energy the home wastes by testing appliances as well as insulation and window thickness.
• The information is fed into a computer model that generates a checklist with everything that could be replaced, how much it will cost and how much in energy savings the homeowner could expect.
• The homeowner will then negotiate a price.
• Once the work is done, the homeowner pays the contractor, the contractors submits paperwork to the state agency that runs the program, then the homeowner gets a reimbursement check for 10 percent of the project cost – usually within 30 days.

Will “Cash for Caulkers” Follow This Plan?

So far, there is no official word on how the federal program – which is a part of a broader plan to stimulate the economy that includes money for small businesses, infrastructure and renewable energy manufactory – might work. However, one notable difference that has shown up on previous bills is that the federal program might increase the reimbursements to 50 percent, or up to $12,000.

Obama was noted as saying that he hopes improved energy efficiency would create jobs, save money and reduce pollution. Reports say that those who take full advantage of the program could reduce energy bills by up to 20 percent. Not bad.

Is “Cash for Caulkers” a program you’d be interested in taking advantage of?