Chicago utility hits a home run.

Describes how incentives for energy efficient rehabilitation of urban multifamily buildings has now been extended to single family homes, by one of the largest utilities in the US Midwest. The utility provides grants for nonprofit housing developers to include energy efficiency measures as part of their rehabilitation work on existing multifamily buildings. The new programme provides incentives for the construction of energy efficient new single family homes. The program targets abandoned, structurally sound masonry buildings and redevelops them as high-quality affordable housing. The grants are provided to incorporate certain energy standards as part of the rehab. These standards focus on high insulation levels in walls and roof cavities; air sealing of both the envelope and the ducts; direct-vent sealed-combustion furnaces and water heaters; and energy efficient lighting. The objective of the new program is to promote the development of new energy efficient housing for low- and moderate-income first-time home buyers. Working through nonprofit housing developers, home buyers are eligible to receive rebate cheques for $250 if the home has an Energy Star rating of 86. The utility provides training for the builders, energy specifications and visits to the job site during construction and final blower door tests.