Residential New Construction Program
Build for High Performance, Savings and Comfort
If you plan to build a new home, make energy efficiency a priority from the beginning. You’ll enjoy lower energy costs and greater comfort and have access to incentives for building to high performance standards.
Minimize Energy Costs and Maximize Comfort
Building a new home is a great opportunity to minimize energy costs, maximize comfort and do your part for a clean energy future. You can be a leader in the energy-efficient technology revolution and have a profound impact on how we use energy today and in the future.
Better for You and the Planet
Designing and building your home with the latest energy-efficient technologies does a lot more than save energy. It gives you greater comfort and convenience and healthier indoor environments that add up to enhanced value.
And don’t forget the bigger picture – the environmental benefit. Building a high-performance home gives you the satisfaction of doing your part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and live more sustainably.
Let Us Be Your Guide
The Residential New Construction program helps you, your architect and your builder, design and construct a home that is a model of energy efficiency. The program provides:
- Expert guidance from energy specialists – Home Energy Rating Systems (HERS) Raters – who help you tap into energy-efficient home certifications, high-efficiency equipment, high-performance building practices and the latest material options. See the section below for more information about HERS.
- Your Certified HERS Rater works with your building team throughout the construction process. Based on your new home’s final HERS index you may qualify for a rebate of $1,500 to $7,000 or more!
You can consider the rebates as a kind of housewarming gift to you for reducing your new home’s carbon footprint!
Make Your Home Standout and Earn a Bonus Rebate
Build your home to ENERGY STAR®, LEED for Homes, DOE Zero Energy Ready Home, or National Green Building Standard® requirements and you may qualify for an additional rebate. You might also want to enter your home in the CT Zero Energy Home Challenge.
NATIONAL PROGRAMS:
- Comfort/Quiet
- Healthy Environment
- Enhanced Durability
- Advanced Technology
- Quality Construction
- Energy Efficiency
Certified DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes may qualify for an additional incentive through our Residential New Construction program. Find out more about the certification process at the U.S. DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy website.
Green building, also known as high-performance building or sustainable construction, incorporates environmental considerations and resource efficiency into every step of the home building and land development process with the goal to minimize the home's environmental impact. Choosing green means making intentional decisions in your homes construction about:
- Energy-efficiency
- Water conservation
- Resource conservation
- Indoor environmental quality
- Site design
Certified NGBS homes may qualify for an additional incentive through our Residential New Construction program. Find out more about the certification process at the National Association of Home Builders website.
Steps to Take Smart Energy Action
It is easier than you may think to build an energy efficient home – and we will be with you every step of the way. Getting started is the easiest. Just give us a call. In just a few more steps you will have a rebate check in hand. Easy!
Who is Eligible? Residential customers building a new home or gut rehab that will receive electric or gas service from The United Illuminating Company (UI), Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG), or Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG) may qualify for this program. Single-family and multi-family projects are eligible. Because new construction rebates require an insulation and thermal bypass inspection, applications MUST be submitted before your home is insulated in order to be eligible.
While you are still in the planning stage, contact us at 877.WISE.USE (877.947.3873). Your builder or your Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rater can make the call for you if you prefer.
Contact a HERS rater during the planning stages. The rater will review your plans and provide you with a pre-construction HERS Index score. Working with your architect or builder, they will identify energy-efficient improvements needed.
Visit EnergizeCT.com for a list of participating Connecticut HERS raters.
Once you have hired a HERS Rater, they will review your plans with you and your team, explain the program and discuss how to maximize the use of energy-efficient technologies that make sense for your home, your goals and your lifestyle. Your HERS Rater will also explain the benefits – including rebates* – and the steps to earn additional certifications. (See the section below for more information about HERS.)
Homes that receive a HERS Index score within the required threshold*, can receive incentives through the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund. Homes that meet the requirements of the program typically show they are at least 25 percent more efficient than a typical home. Single-family home incentives range up to $4,500, depending on HERS Index scores.
Your HERS Rater or the UI Program Administrator will also work with you to identify additional financial incentives and rebates available through other state or federal programs - including any federal tax credits. Plus, we can help you to connect to the green building community.
At this point, you should also review the Requirements and Submission Checklist with your HERS rater.
* See the rebate application for all terms and conditions that may apply.
You, your building team and your HERS rater will review your construction plans. Based on what you intend to build the HERS rater will prepare a pre-construction HERS Index. Once you have this index our energy experts can help you complete the program application, which will include your pre-construction HERS Index score and estimated incentive.
Download the application now. Be sure to read all of the instructions, rules and terms and conditions very carefully to avoid processing delays. New construction rebates require an insulation and thermal bypass inspection, so applications MUST be submitted before the home is insulated to be eligible. The ideal time to submit your application is before construction starts.
When your home is completed and you have the final HERS Index score, your HERS Rater will submit the completed application and testing documentation to the UI Program Administrator. This is a good time to also review the Requirements and Submission Checklist again with your HERS rater Refer.
Once the program administrator reviews and approves, a rebate check will be sent to you – the (new!) homeowner.