Wabash County REMC - Rebates & Incentives

If your clothes washer is over 10 years old, it could be sosting you more than just your favorite sweater. In fact, you could be paying about $135 more each year on your utility bills than if you had an ENERYGY STAR^® qualified cloths washer. A $50 rebate is being offered by Wabash County REMC now through November 15 to eleigble members, helping you upgrade to a more efficient ENERYGY STAR^®qualified washer. Not bad for doing what's good.

Eligibility:

In order to obtain the rebate, you must:

Use an electric water heater in your home
Purcahse an qualified ENERYGY STAR^®clothes washer (visit energystart.gov for a complete list) after April 15, 2010
Have a home located on Wabash County REMC lines

Offer can be combined with other state and local rebates. Offer dates are subject ot change without notice.

Rebate Application (PDF)

Incentive Requirements (PDF)

Heating System Rebates
To encourage the installation of high efficiency electric heating systems, starting June 1, 2010 Wabash County REMC offers the following heating system rebates:

Wabash County REMC is offering an incentive to retail residential members for installing a new, energy efficient all electric air source or ground source heat pump heating and cooling system. The rebate is for new construction only. Multiple rebates are also being offered through the state, and a federal tax credit worth up to 30 % of your new system's cost is available until the end of the year.

Please bring the completed application, proof of purchase, and AHRI certification to the Wabash County REMC to apply for the incentive.

Replacement Systems
Wabash County REMC is offering an incentive to retail residential members for upgrading to a new, more efficient air source or ground source heat pump heating and cooling system. Multiple rebates are also being offered through the state, and a federal tax credit worth up to 30% of your new system's cost is available until the end of the year.

Please bring the completed application, proof of purchase, heat loss/heat gain calculation, and the AHRI certification to the Wabash County REMC to apply for the incentive.

Need a new heating system?
The Energy Advisor at Wabash County REMC can help you choose a high-quality and high-efficiency heating system. It’s a free service and we hope you will take advantage of it.

Heat Pump
An air-source heat pump works like any central air conditioner in the summer. If you walk up to the heat pump, it will look exactly like a central air conditioner. And like any air conditioner, it removes heat from the home and releases it outdoors, using the refrigeration system.

In the summer there is no difference in operation from any other central air conditioner. The difference is in the winter, when the heat pump reverses itself and becomes a heating system.

When you change the room thermostat from cooling to heating, the refrigeration system simply reverses itself and extracts heat from the outdoor air and releases that heat inside the home. In very basic terms, the cooling system is now heating your home.

What makes a heat pump different is its ability to extract heat from the outdoor air, which is why it is called an air-source heat pump, or more commonly called a heat pump.

The cooling coils located inside the furnace become cooling and heating coils, when a heat pump is installed. The outdoor heat pump or compressor section is what does the lion’s share of the heating, as it compresses and transfers (pumps) the heat into the furnace coil. Air blowing across the coil, is heated by the hot coils. The furnace fan blows or distributes the heated air throughout your home, like any other forced air heating system.

A heat pump is a combination of the outdoor compressor section, plus the indoor electric furnace and coil. In the extreme cold weather, some supplemental heat is needed to maintain the desired room temperature. The indoor thermostat will automatically sense the need for this supplemental heat and activate the electric furnace when needed.

Because it is cheaper to transfer heat from the outdoor air, than it is to produce that heat from burning gas, the heat pump is much cheaper to operate. It is important not confuse the need for supplemental heat with its efficiency. Yes, the heat pump may need some supplemental heat to maintain the desired room temperature, but even during those times, the heat being produced by the heat pump is very, very low cost. Even at zero degrees, the heat pump is still operating at over 200% efficiency.

Just like any other heating system, heat pumps are sold in various efficiency levels. The rating to look for is called the SEER number. That stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. The lowest efficiency model manufactured today is 13 SEER. At the high end of the range, some units now reach up to 17 or even 18 SEER.

It’s our recommendation that you install a 15 SEER (or higher) model. In addition to lowering the cost of heating, a 15 SEER heat pump will lower the cooling cost by as much as 40%. Since the heat pump is both a heating and cooling system, the small increase in installation cost will be recovered quickly from lower heating and cooling cost.

Geothermal Heating
For the absolute lowest heating, cooling and water heating cost, you can move up to a Geothermal heating system. Geothermal heating uses water as the heat source or heat sink. It works by removing heat from water passing through it. The refrigeration system in the Geothermal unit uses the heat removed from the water to heat your home. In the summer, the same refrigeration system in the Geothermal unit removes the heat from your home and transfers it to the water flowing through it.

Because the ground and its water supply is always warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than the outdoor air, the Geothermal system is always able to heat and cool a home for much less cost.

Open Loop Vs. Closed Loop
The water flowing through the Geothermal system can be well water (open-loop), or it can be from a system of buried pipe outside your home that circulates the same water over and over (closed-loop).

The vast majority of Geothermal systems in this area use well water (open-loop systems). We are blessed to have an abundance of well water available. The only question is … do you have a place for the well water to flow into, such as a ditch, field tile or pond? If so, you are most fortunate. When the return of water is easy, a standard open-loop Geothermal system is the preferred choice.

If you install an open-loop Geothermal system, the water well you already have for you home is the source of heating and cooling. A water line connected to the Geothermal unit, much like a water faucet would be connected. When the Geothermal unit is heating or cooling, an automatic valve is opened to allow well water to flow through the Geothermal unit. In the winter, the Geothermal unit extracts heat from the water to heat the home. In the summer, the Geothermal extracts heat from the home and transfers it to the well water flowing through the Geothermal unit.

However if your home is located where there is no natural drain, a closed-loop system can be installed to circulate the same water over and over. This closed-loop is a system of buried pipe in your yard. This pipe can be laid horizontal or drilled vertically in the earth, or it can be laid in the bottom of a lake. In either case the water flows through the buried pipe, to be warmed and cooled by the earth’s temperature. In the winter the Geothermal system extracts heat from the loop water as it passes through. Much like the air-source heat pump, the refrigeration extracts heat from the water, which in turn heats your home. The loop water then flows back outside to be reheated by the ground or lake water. With the water flowing in a circle, that same water returns to the house again and again, to provide additional heat.

In the summer the Geothermal system transfer heat in your home to the loop water flowing through the Geothermal system. The closed-loop takes the heated water outdoors, where the ground absorbs the heat. The loop water then returns to the Geothermal system to capture more heat from the home.

Both the open-loop and closed-loop Geothermal heating system actually use the earth’s constant temperature as a source of heating and cooling. The stable temperature of the earth is the very reason a Geothermal system will heat and cool a home for much less cost.

It’s important to understand the closed-loop and open-loop well water system is transferring heat from the earth to the home, however the Geothermal unit transfers that heating and cooling to a standard duct system, thus the Geothermal heating system is a forced-air heating system.

Both closed-loop and open-loop work equally well and will heat and cool your home for the same cost. Since the closed-loop will add approximately $3,000 to the installation cost, open loop is the preferred choice.

A Geothermal system is a wise investment. In fact if you will think of Geothermal as an investment, any added installation cost will soon be returned in lower heating, cooling and water heating cost. Geothermal is the one heating system that will pay dividends year after year.

Water Heaters
To encourage the installation of more electric water heaters, Wabash County REMC offers an incentive program for qualifying members. The offer is for water heaters that are installed in a residence only.

Wabash County REMC will offer a bill credit rebate on new electric water heater pruchases to qualifying REMC members.

to qualify for the bill credit, you must be a member of Wabash County REMC, and meet the following requirements:

Wabash County REMC does not provide installation or maintenance of water heaters.

Once the new water heater has been installed, one of our representatives will verify the tank is in place and install a load management switch. The radio-controlled load management switch gives us the ability to reduce the load on our substations, which then lowers our power cost. The result is a savings for both Wabash County REMC and the customer. After the switch has been installed, the customer shares in the savings when they begin receiving a $1.00 credit on their monthly electric bill.

Why An Electric Water Heater
Approximately 15% of the energy used in your home is attributed to the water heater. The water heater that’s hidden in your basement or closet provides hot water for showers and baths, laundry, dishwashing and everyday cleaning chores.

When choosing a new water heater, you should compare: safety, versatility and affordability and efficienty. Clearly an electric water heater is your best choice, and here is why:

Safety -- With an electric water heater, there is no need for a chimney, flue or venting since it’s all-electric. There is no danger of gas leaks, fires or explosions. In fact, the National Fire Protection Association states a gas water heater is 7 times more likely to cause a fire.

Versatility -- Without the need for a vent or flue, an electric water can be located at various points around the home. That means you can place an electric water heater closer to the point you use hot water, instead of waiting several minutes for the hot water to arrive.

And let’s not forget efficiency. The typical gas water heater has an Energy Factor of .58, meaning it’s 58% efficient. An electric water heater has an Energy Factor of .90 or greater, which means it’s 90% efficient or greater. Higher efficiency means lower water heating cost.

Water Heater Switches

The water heater switch program was started more than 25 years ago, as a way of reducing the wholesale power cost to Wabash County REMC. If you ask, “why should I worry about the cost of power to the REMC?" Just remember, your monthly electric bill is dependent on the cost of power to Wabash County REMC. A reduction of wholesale power cost benefits you and all of your neighbors.

The water heater switch is a radio-controlled switch that is installed at NO cost to you on your water heater. When Wabash County REMC and its power supplier reach a high electrical load at the substations, a radio signal is sent to this switch. During a control period, the switch will cycle power on and off to the water heater for just a few minutes, you should not notice its effect and should not run out of hot water.

At the time the signal is sent, the water heater is full of hot water. Since the tank is very well insulated, the water stays hot throughout the control period.

This short term interruption will not cause an inconvenience to you. You will still have hot water.

When the peak load is reduced, the wholesale power cost to Wabash County REMC is reduced. Part of the savings goes to the program participants in the form of a $1.00 per month bill reduction. The remaining savings helps offset other expenses of the REMC, thus benefiting all of the members.

With more than 2,000 switches installed, the impact and the savings each month is significant. If you have not enrolled in our water heater switch program, now is the time. A simple phone call will get the switch installed on your water heater, and the savings will begin.

Your satisfaction is guaranteed! If you are not completely satisfied with the water heater switch, it will be removed at once. After all, we want to help you, not hurt you!