I’m all about rebates for energy efficient changes… but to insist you need to do a home audit to get the rebate is stupid.

Case in point: My house. We have 45 year old single pane windows. It’s on our “to-do” list. It’s even pretty high on our to-do list. Over time we’ve been adding insulation, changing appliances, etc. If there were a rebate – it would get to the top and we’d do it. But not if we’re forced to use a general contractor. My husband can install windows. And we have, er, issues (to say the least) with hiring general contractors. (see this thread: http://piggington.com/short_sale_damages_cpa_required#comment-139545) I could see hiring a window sub, directly… but if you have to do an audit and have the work coordinated through a GC… Nope – we’re not going to do it.

Why not just offer rebates on the energy star appliances (good for manufacturing jobs), rebates on energy efficient windows (good for window makers and subs who install them.), rebates on home insulation, etc. Why require this audit and the rebate to be funneled through a contractor.

I know there MUST be honest contractors out there – but there are a lot of dishonest ones too – and this is asking for fraud.