Beyond Insulation: Other Avista Utilities Home Energy Rebates Worth Knowing

Beyond insulation, Avista Utilities offers rebates on qualifying windows and sliding glass doors, insulated exterior doors, HVAC and water heating equipment, and ENERGY STAR appliances. Amounts differ between Washington and Idaho and they change over time, so confirm current figures at www.myavista.com/getrebates before you plan a project around them.

The short answer

Most homeowners around Spokane and Coeur d'Alene know Avista Utilities has an insulation rebate. Fewer know how much else the utility helps pay for, which means people finish one upgrade and never find out they left money on the table for the next one.

Here is the wider menu, what it pays, and how the two states differ. Every figure below was checked against Avista Utilities' published rebate materials, and every figure is subject to change.

Start with insulation, then widen out

Insulation is usually the right first move in an older home, and the Home Insulation Program is the most generous per-dollar offer on the list for a house that has empty walls or a thin attic.

The program is for existing homes that are a primary residence, in single-family, duplex, triplex, or fourplex buildings. Attic work is built around going from R-11 or less to R-49 or more, and walls from an empty cavity to R-11 or more. An approved installer documents the before and after R-values.

Windows and sliding glass doors

This is the category most often misquoted, because the headline number belongs to sliding glass doors rather than to windows. In Washington, the published amounts break out by U-factor and by who installs them.

Storm windows are covered separately, at roughly $5.00 per square foot contractor installed or $4.00 self installed. All of it applies to existing homes only, replacing what is already there. In Idaho the window offer runs up to about $600 and carries its own usage thresholds, so check your address rather than assuming the Washington numbers apply.

Exterior doors

An ENERGY STAR certified or R-5 insulated exterior door earns about $100 in Washington, with a limit of four doors, and up to about $80 in Idaho. Existing homes only. It is a small rebate, but it is worth knowing about if a door is already on your list.

HVAC and water heating

Avista Utilities runs a separate HVAC and Water Heating Program covering qualifying furnaces, heat pumps, and water heaters, including heat pump water heaters. Amounts depend on the equipment and its efficiency rating, and the published figures move more often than the insulation numbers do.

One piece of sequencing advice that will save you money: insulate before you size new heating equipment. A home that holds its temperature needs less capacity, so doing the envelope first can mean buying a smaller, cheaper system that still keeps you comfortable.

Appliances and manufactured homes

• ENERGY STAR certified appliances. Up to about $100, available for both new construction and existing homes in Washington and Idaho.
• ENERGY STAR certified manufactured homes. Up to about $1,200, for new manufactured homes only.

Idaho only: converting electric heat to natural gas

If you are in Idaho on Avista electric service and you heat with baseboards, straight resistance heat, or an electric furnace, there is a conversion rebate of up to about $2,100 for moving to a natural gas furnace. It carries usage thresholds, so it is worth checking your actual consumption against the requirement before counting on it.

The Home Weatherization Program is a separate thing

This one causes confusion, so it is worth separating clearly. The Home Insulation Program described above has no income qualification. The Home Weatherization Program is a different program, aimed at income-qualifying households, that can cover efficiency upgrades at little or no cost.

If cost has been the barrier that kept you from insulating, it is worth finding out which of the two you fall under. They are not the same program and they do not have the same requirements.

Washington and Idaho are not running the same offer

This is the single most important thing to take away. Insulation pays roughly $1.75 per square foot in Washington and about $1.00 per square foot in Idaho. Idaho's insulation program is limited to electrically heated homes, while Washington's covers electric and natural gas. Door rebates differ. Idaho has a conversion rebate that Washington does not.

For a household in Spokane the Washington column applies. In Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, or Hayden, it is the Idaho column. Reading the wrong one is how people end up disappointed at the end of a project.

How to sequence a multi-upgrade plan

1. Air seal and insulate first. It costs less than equipment, it is the highest-return step in most older homes, and it changes what equipment you need.
2. Then heating and cooling. Size the system to the improved house, not the old one.
3. Then windows and doors. These are worth doing, but per dollar they move a home's energy use less than the envelope does.
4. Appliances as they fail. Rarely worth replacing a working appliance for the rebate alone.

Plan the whole thing, not just one piece

We handle the insulation side end to end and can point you toward the right resources for the rest of the program. A free in-home assessment is the place to start. [insert quote link]

Frequently asked questions

What home energy rebates does Avista Utilities offer besides insulation? Qualifying windows and sliding glass doors, ENERGY STAR or R-5 insulated exterior doors, HVAC and water heating equipment, ENERGY STAR appliances, and ENERGY STAR manufactured homes. Idaho also has an electric to natural gas furnace conversion rebate.

How much is the Avista Utilities window rebate? In Washington, roughly $180 or $225 per window contractor installed, depending on U-factor. The larger figures people quote, around $480 to $600, are for sliding glass doors rather than windows. Existing homes only.

Are Avista Utilities rebates the same in Washington and Idaho? No. Insulation pays about $1.75 per square foot in Washington and about $1.00 per square foot in Idaho, and Idaho's insulation program covers electrically heated homes only. Several other amounts differ too.

Is there an income requirement for the insulation rebate? No. The Home Insulation Program has no income qualification. The Home Weatherization Program is a separate program for income-qualifying households, and that one does.

Which upgrade should I do first? Insulation and air sealing in most older homes. It costs less than equipment, delivers the biggest comfort change, and lets you size any future heating system to a house that now holds its temperature.