A majority of Americans support programs to lower energy bills and expand clean energy into homes
Through President Biden’s historic Investing in America agenda, the Biden-Harris Administration is cutting costs for hardworking American families in every corner of the country.One of the largest costs for many Americans is heating, cooling, and powering their homes—with the lowest-income families spendingupwards of 30%of their income on energy bills.
The Inflation Reduction Act has already spurred a clean energy boom, contributing to more than$360 billionin private sector clean energy announcements since President Biden took office. Clean energy deployment from both the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is projected to cut electricity ratesby as much as9 percentby 2030. In addition, the Inflation Reduction Act establishes several consumer-focused programs through tax credits and rebates to help families lower their home energy bills even further.
A majority of Americans support these programs—according to anAugust 2023 poll, 65 percent of Americans support tax credits to install solar panels and 54 percent support tax credits to buy heat pumps. Yet Republicans in Congress continually fight to repeal these popular provisions, which would increase costs for hardworking Americans, offshore jobs, and worsen the climate crisis.
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is convening federal partners, nonprofits, and philanthropies at the White House to expand consumer education and outreach efforts as these programs become available across the country. The Biden-Harris Administration is making new federal resources about Inflation Reduction Act home energy programs available for consumers, local officials, and advocates. In addition, nonprofit organizations are announcing commitments to expand their outreach efforts.
Lowering Home Energy Costs Through the Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act’s consumer tax credits for certain home energy technologies are already available. Americans who installed the following technologies in 2023 can claim credits on their tax returns due on April 15, 2024:
- Families who install an efficient electric heat pump for heating and cooling canreceiveatax creditof up to $2,000 and savean average of $500per year on energy bills.
- Families who make other energy efficiency improvements canreceivetax creditsworth up to $500 for doors, $600 for windows, $150 for ahome energy audit,and up to 30 percent off the cost of new insulation—a total of up to $1,200 per year in tax credits.
- Families who installrooftop solar, geothermal or battery storageat home can save up to 30 percent of the cost of the installation via atax creditand save nearly$400per year on their energy bills.
In addition, DOE hasopened applicationsfor states to implement$8.8 billion in home energy rebate programs, which will provide rebates for low- and middle-income familiesto buy and install cost-saving electric appliances and heat pumps and to make energy efficiency improvements such as insulation and air sealing to their homes, in alignment with President Biden’s ambitious environmental justice goals. States are expected to begin launching their rebate programs later this year, and you can track your state’s progress toward setting up its rebate programhere.
Additionally, the Biden-Harris administration has already made several online federal resources available to educate consumers about the Inflation Reduction Act’s home energy savings programs:
- This Friday, February 16, the Environmental Protection Agency’sENERGY STAR programwill launch a newIncentive Finderto help consumers determine which home energy products qualify for federal benefits, including Inflation Reduction Act programs.
- The Department of Energy’sEnergy Savings Hubatenergy.gov/savedetails opportunities for both homeowners and renters to lower their energy costs and benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act and other programs.
- Last week, the Treasury Department launched a new Inflation Reduction ActTax Resource HubatTreasury.gov/IRAthat provides tools to assist consumers and other taxpayers in accessing key tax credits, while highlighting the impact of the law for America’s economy and communities.
Expanding Consumer Education and Outreach Efforts Around the Country
Today, several nonprofits are announcing new and expanded efforts to reach consumers across the country on the Inflation Reduction Act’s consumer home energy programs:
- Two state affiliates ofLeague of Conservation Votersare expanding a successful door-to-door communications campaign to educate consumers on how to access the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act with the goal of reaching 300,000 homes in those states.
- Climate Power is committing to educate 1 million American consumers about accessing the benefits of President Biden’s clean energy plan by the end of 2024. They will reach American consumers on the communications channels where they’re spending most of their time consuming news and content—across paid, earned, and organic media channels—showcasing how consumers can take advantage of the clean energy plan to lower energy costs, benefit from good-paying jobs in their communities, and help to protect communities across the country from dangerous pollution.
- Civic Nationand its We The Action initiative are working to develop a national help center to increase consumer access to the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy incentives. This new effort would connect consumers with volunteer experts to help them navigate information on available incentives, product eligibility, taxpayer qualifications, and more.
- National nonprofits SaverLife and Inclusiv are announcingthe launch ofCommunity Finance for Climate Action, a new philanthropically-supported collaborative to ensure that households living on low incomes are economically protected and fully included in the transition to a green economy by tracking the financial impacts of climate change on low-income families and advancing consumer lending solutions for clean energy equipment.
- Rewiring America—a national nonprofit working to make residential electrification possible for everyone—recently launched aPersonal Electrification Planner that they project more than 200,000 households will use this year to plan their home upgrades, including 50,000 low- and moderate-income households. In addition,Rewiring America will leverage partnerships with industry, utilities, local governments, and community-based organizations to install heat pumps and other electric appliances in more than 1,000 low-income and disadvantaged community households in over 150 locations by summer 2025.
