Windows and Weatherization
Increasing Energy Efficiency
Why spend a lot on heating and cooling only to see that energy leak out your windows? Up to 30% of residential heat loss and heat gain occurs via windows alone.
Improving home energy efficiency through weatherization may involve air sealing, insulation, door and window upgrades, and ventilation improvements.
Weatherization lowers energy costs, keeps out wildfire smoke, pollutants, and allergens, and may lower the cost of a heat pump because a well-insulated and ventilated home requires a less expensive heat pump. It also may avoid the need to expand ducts for a cold climate heat pump.
IMPORTANT Federal (IRA) Energy Efficiency TAX CREDIT Limits: Existing home & principal residence (U.S.) only. No new construction or rentals. House, houseboat, mobile home, cooperative apartment, condominium, and manufactured homes are okay. The overall total limit for an efficiency tax credit in one year is $3,200: $1,200 for any combination of home envelope improvements (windows/doors/skylights, insulation, electrical) plus $2,000 for heat pumps and heat pump water heaters. (Geothermal heat pumps are eligible for a separate tax credit). ENERGY STAR example of how to maximize these tax credits (scroll to bottom of ENERGY STAR page). See below for information on REBATES. See Internal Revenue Service Product and Efficiency Requirements for financial incentives before you make any purchases.
Energy Audits
How much energy and money might you be losing due to a leaking house? Take this quiz from the Building Performance Institute.
Next step? Find a certified Building Performance Institute contractor to help you identify and fix leaks. Some electricity providers and rural electric coops offer free in-person, virtual or guided energy “check ups”. These tend to be basic audits that are useful but might not give you the kind of information you need to size a heat pump or where to add insulation. A more elaborate audit is called a whole home performance audit. So it is good to ask about the scope of the audit and whether the auditor is BPI-certified just so you know what you are getting. The Residential Energy Services Network is another way to find auditors. Want to become an energy auditor? Santa Fe Community College offers BPI training, and hopefully an Energy Auditor program starting Jan. 2025 for folks without HVAC experience to professional contractors (contact esadirector@sfcc.edu). ICAST offers a free online introductory Residential Energy Professional Course. More information on energy audits from the Department of Energy.
- Xcel provides its New Mexico customers with free energy audits and free or low-cost energy saving installations and repairs. A contractor may do a blower door and duct blaster test. It offers a list of contractors who do audits.
- New Mexico customers of El Paso Electric can obtain an energy assessment through its service provider and then receive rebates on energy saving repairs as described below.
- The free PNM Home Energy Checkup program is available to all single-family homes regardless of income within the PNM service territory. Each home can qualify for a checkup once every 10 years. This is a basic audit that will qualify you for an efficiency kit and rebates. but is NOT a COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY AUDIT.
- Energy audits are covered under the 30% IRA 25C tax credit up to $150. All panel upgrades and weatherization projects are capped at $1,200 per year.
Do-it-yourself. Check out this website for ways to find and plug energy leaks. If you can afford it, an Infrared camera or attachment to your phone is handy for spotting heat leaks. Los Alamos County loans out cameras, Kill-A-Watts and has DIY instructions.
Doors, Windows, and Window Treatments
Resources:
- EcoWatch All About Windows
- Dept. of Energy (DOE): Update or Replace Windows
- DOE: Storm Windows are a lower-cost option for replacing windows.
- Into the weeds: Energy Performance Testing, Certification, and Labeling for windows, doors, and skylights
- Shopping: ENERGY STAR Windows, Doors & Skylights.
- Consumer Reports Buying Guide
- Windows and skylights up to $600/year.
- Doors up to $250 per door, $500 total.
- Claim the credits using the IRS Form 5695.
- The maximum federal efficiency tax credit you can take in one year is $3,200. This breaks down to:
- $1,200 for home envelope improvements (windows/doors/skylights, insulation, electrical) plus furnaces, boilers and central air conditioners.
- $2,000 for heat pumps, heat pump water heaters and biomass stoves/boilers.
New Mexico Sustainable Building Tax Credit
The State of New Mexico tax credit for ENERGY STAR Windows and Doors (no skylights) is more generous and less restrictive than the IRA. Read this first.
- Low-Income (200% under Federal Poverty guidelines) and affordable housing: 100% of product + installation up to $1000/window or door. See if you qualify. At this income level you do not have to owe taxes to get the credit.
- All others: 50% of product + installation up to $500/window or door.
- Technical requirements (Current Version 7 requirements)
- After installation submit your paperwork to the state for a tax certificate that you will file with your taxes. You must submit a separate application for each window and each door.
WINDOW COVERING NOTICE: On Jan. 17, 2025, the IRS issued the following IRA update:
“Q4. Are expenditures for window treatments, such as blinds, shutters, or tinting, eligible for the credit? (added Jan.
17, 2025)
A4. No. An energy efficient building envelope component that is not an exterior window, exterior skylight, or exterior door must meet the prescriptive criteria for such component established by the most recent International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) standard (see A2 under the Energy efficiency requirements section) in effect as of the beginning of the calendar year that is 2 years prior to the calendar year in which such component is placed in service. Window treatments do not meet the prescriptive criteria of the IECC. Window treatments also do not qualify under either of the other two categories of property eligible for the credit (see A1 in this section).”
Thermal Management: Shading, Sealing, Insulating
Adding insulation saves the average home 15% in energy costs. If your house was built before 1990 it would likely benefit from an insulation upgrade.
CleanTechnica: New Eco-Friendly Home Insulation Cuts Heating & Cooling Costs
Rebates:
El Paso Electric offers its New Mexico customers rebates on duct sealing, insulation, air sealing, solar attic fans, solar screens, cool roofs and smart thermostats. They also list service providers to do the installations. Low income households may qualify for free energy saving products or services. They also have a page for agencies that may help you pay your electric bill.
As part of its energy audit, Xcel may provide free duct sealing and reduced priced attic insulation. It also provides rebates on LED bulbs, thermostats and a thermostat heating/cooling energy lowering rewards program.
PNM offers instant discounts at the register on weatherization products.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) offers weatherization projects under its electrification rebates for low-income households. Total electrification rebates are capped at $14,000. The rebates and tax credits cover different weatherization projects.
Tax Credits:
State of New Mexico refundable tax credit ($1,000-2,000) for sealing and insulation products (Jan 1, 2021-Dec. 31, 2027). Insulation technical requirements.
The IRA 25C tax credit is available for 30% of the cost of materials (not installation) of insulation and air sealing up to $1,200 each year. All panel upgrades and weatherization projects are capped at $1,200 per year. Qualified products and more on rules.
Weatherization for Low Income Residents
Also see Resources for Low-Income Residents
Low income residents may get financial weatherization assistance from the New Mexico Energy$mart Weatherization Program Home. It provides energy-saving retrofits and home modifications at no charge to eligible homeowners and renters. If you rent, your landlord must consent to having the home weatherized
The HOME Rehabilitation Program provides home repairs or accessibility modifications to homeowners who lack the resources to do so. Services include: energy-saving measures that help improve the efficiency of the heating and cooling of the home and reduce utility bills, repair or replacement of furnaces, ducting or water heaters, roof replacement and mobile home replacement, measures to bring the home up to code and utility connections. There is a similar program for Veterans.
You can get a coupon for insulation up to $1,600 from New Mexico’s IRA Rebate program (Home Energy Efficiency Rebates (HEAR). See if you qualify. It must be ENERGY STAR certified blanket, (roll or batt) or rigid board insulation. May be DIY or professionally installed. If professionally installed, it must be installed by an Authorized Program Contractor. More information and lists of qualifying products and participating retailers.
Another state program, the IRA Home Energy Rebate Program (HER), will offer low-income New Mexicans rebates on additional home energy efficiency upgrades. Learn about this and other credits/rebates at New Mexico’s ECAM page.
If your income is less than 200% of the Federal Poverty level, you may receive up to $1,000 per window and door and $2,000 per insulation product from the NM Sustainable Building Tax Credit – even if you do not pay taxes.
For programs to assist with paying your utility bills, visit Resources for Low-Income Residents