Energy.gov

Program Incentives may change in 2013; contact the program administrators to confirm.

In Massachusetts, home builders constructing new homes in territories of sponsoring utilities and energy efficiency service providers* can receive up to $8,000 in incentives for building a home more efficient than the typical Massachusetts home.

The incentives offered in the Massachusetts program vary depending on the Tier level achieved and the type of housing. The incentives listed here are for single-family (detached or up to 4-attached units) homes. For the multi-family incentives, see the MassSave website at www.masssave.com.

Tier I: $750
Tier II: $1,250
Tier III: $8,000

To achieve the maximum rebate, the home must demonstrate at least a 45% improvement over the baseline Massachusetts home and meet sections 3 and 5 of the ENERGY STAR Thermal Enclosure System Rater Checklist. In addition, all participating homes regardless of the level achieved are eligible to receive free compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) for hard-wired screw-based sockets in the home.

Building an ENERGY STAR qualified home is encouraged, but not required in order to earn rebates.

To participate and become eligible for the incentives, the home builder must first contact the program. They also must select and work with a Home Energy Rating Service (HERS) Rater. Once the builder has selected and met with the HERS Rater, the builder can apply to the program. A reservation for incentives is made. Once the home has been built and met the qualifications as determined by the final HERS Rater inspection, the rebate payment will be processed.

*''Sponsoring utilities, that support the program through rate-payer collected funds, include Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, Berkshire Gas, Cape Light Compact, National Grid, NSTAR Electric and Gas, New England Gas Company, Western Massachusetts Electric.''