Hi Erik, thanks for your question.

Federal Grants for Green Building

Your best place to search and apply for federal grant money would be grants.gov. All grant-making agencies associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or Recovery act are also being posted on Grants.gov via grant-making agencies.

A quick search for housing grants reveals programs such as:

* Assisted Housing Stability and Energy and Green Retrofit
* Healthy Homes Demonstration Program
* Green and Healthy Homes and Technical Studies Program

DSIRE: Incentives for Green Building

The most user-friendly source for your purposes would be DSIRE. DSIRE stands for Database of State Incentives for Renewable and Efficiency. DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Established in 1995 and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, DSIRE is an ongoing project of the N.C. Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.

At DSIRE you can search for opportunities by state, and then further refine those results by the ‘See Residential Incentives Only’ link. Here in Nebraska, the residential search results include

* Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Community Wind Projects
* Dollar and Energy Savings Loans
* and Various utility energy rebate programs for equipment

The Nebraska Dollar and Energy Savings Loans program seems similar to what you’re asking about, but I’m not sure what state you’re in and if there’s an equivalent program. Dollar and Energy Savings Loans make low interest loans available for residential and commercial energy efficiency improvements. The Nebraska Energy Office administers this program, which was created in 1990 using oil overcharge funds. In this program, homeowners can apply for 2.5% interest rate loans through participating financial organizations.

Unfortunately the closest program to which you’re inquiring would be Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency, which you can view at Energy Star's website. Tax credits are available for envelope improvements (windows, doors, insulation and roofs), HVAC system improvements, both solar and non-solar water heaters, biomass stoves, geothermal heat pumps, and small-scale renewable energy systems (solar panels, wind energy systems and fuel cells).

Good luck in your search!

Related Advice:

• Green Building Grants and Tax Credits: Tips for Where to Find Information



• Green Business Grants: What Type of Money is Available for LEED Designs?



• Geothermal Heat Pump Systems: Do New Tax Credits and Grants Make Them Affordable?