August 22, 2007

More ENERGY STAR® Rebates for Retailers

Retail and manufacturing representatives from the Tennessee operations of Clayton Homes and Fleetwood Enterprises met with the Manufactured Housing Research Alliance (MHRA) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) earlier this month to begin the roll out of a retail rebate program for ENERGY STAR construction.

MHRA will pay retailers and community owners a $400 rebate for each new electrically-heated ENERGY STAR qualified manufactured home they sell within the seven-state TVA service area. TVA also has a companion program that provides a $300 incentive to equipment suppliers to buy down the cost of a heat pump, a main component of ENERGY STAR construction (for electrically-heated homes).

TVA is sponsoring the rebate program to increase sales of ENERGY STAR homes within their service territory. The program is a win-win-win for all involved, with the manufacturer qualifying for the federal tax credit, the homebuyer realizing a windfall in energy savings and now the rebate for home retailers. The rebates are available immediately. For more information, retailers should contact their manufacturers or Gwynne Koch at MHRA at 212-496-0900 ext. 12 or gkoch@research-alliance.org.

 5 Steps to Collecting the Rebate

Step 1  Verify that the homebuyer is an electric service customer of one of TVA's             power distributors

Step 2  Order the home from an ENERGY STAR qualified manufacturer

Step 3  Order and install a heat pump. In most cases, you will receive a discount             on the heat pump from your HVAC supplier because TVA provides them             with a separate $300 incentive under the energy right Heat Pump program.             (For more information on this program, call Terry McIntosh at 423-876-             4167)

Step 4  After the home is installed, use the Site Installation Checklist to verify             completion of the ENERGY STAR installation items. (If this step is             completed by the home manufacturer, request of copy of the Site                         Checklist)

Step 5  Step 5 Submit a completed rebate application to MHRA

The list of TVA's power distributors, the rebate application form and other program details are available on the web.

To help retailers and community owners sell ENERGY STAR homes in TVA's service area, MHRA will provide at no cost marketing materials, including a sales video DVD, posters, brochures and window decals. For more information, contact Gwynne Koch at 212-496-0900 ext. 12 or gkoch@research-alliance.org.

Copyright 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of MHRA. For comments or questions related to MHRA ENERGY STAR Update, contact Gwynne Koch via e-mail at gkoch@research-alliance.org. To subscribe, send an email to energystar@research-alliance.org with Subscribe in the subject line.