New Buffalo Impact delivers energy saving home improvement

I'd love to be able get this type of work done but I don't think I can afford it.

New Buffalo Impact has services and assistance available for homeowners of every income level. We work with you to determine what programs and incentives are right for you, and to put together an affordable scope of work. For example, for low to moderate-income homeowners, we can put together a package of grants and low-interest loans that will result in your monthly loan payment being less than your monthly energy savings, immediately putting more money in your pocket!

What types of work are likely to be included in the recommendations?

Work in the following areas is eligible for assistance and incentives from Home Performance with Energy Star®, and may be recommended:

Insulation and blower door-assisted air sealing

Energy Star-rated heating and cooling systems

Energy Star-rated windows and doors

Energy Star-rated lighting and appliance

Domestic hot water systems

What about the quality of work? Do you use subcontractors?

No. When you work with New Buffalo Impact, you work with our licensed, insured and certified employees from start to finish & there is a quality assurance inspection process in place to make sure that each and every customer is satisfied.

I have rental property. What can you offer me?

Whether you or your tenants are directly paying the energy bills, it makes sense to perform energy improvements on older income properties to increase their value and improve tenant retention rates. Substantial subsidies are available for properties with low to moderate-income tenants. Assistance is also available through New Buffalo Impact for multi-family buildings of 5 or more units. Call 881-1477 for more information.

The whole house approach sounds great, but I'm on a tight budget and would like to take things one at a time. Do you do that?

Of course. Although the way to get the best possible result is to generate the interactive savings by doing all the recommended work, we realize that for many reasons, customers would like to do just insulation (or just a heating system). Your comprehensive home performance assessment is still a very useful tool to use to plan your energy improvement activities for years to come - even if you just want to do a few windows this season.

Since your company is named New Buffalo Impact, does that mean you're just in the City of Buffalo?

We serve all of Erie and Niagara Counties. And if you're located in another county, call us. We'll refer you to a certified, reputable home performance contractor in your area.

What do you mean by financial assistance? Are you talking about a government program?

There are different levels of incentive available depending on your household income. These incentives are offered by New York's Home Performance with Energy Star program, which is a public benefit program designed by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The program's funding comes from money collected from electric utility companies as part of a statewide utility restructuring plan. There is no taxpayer money involved and it is not a government program. The available incentives are:

1. A 50% grant available to low to moderate income homeowners (call us for more information.

2. 5.99% Low-Interest Financing for qualifying borrowers.

3. A 10% Homeowner Financing Incentive for those who choose not to access the Energy Star financing.

How does the Energy Impact calculator work?

Your Energy Impact is simply the percentage of your household income that is spent on Energy. Lower-income households tend to have a higher Energy Impact than higher-income households, but the good news is that there are a number of different programs available to assist lower-income households to reduce their Energy Impact rating.

Is your work Guaranteed?

New Buffalo Impact will always return to your home at no cost, within one year after the job is performed, to address any deficiencies in our work. Products that we install such as windows, doors, appliances, and heating and cooling equipment come with their own manufacturers warranties.

Ok, I'm sold on the Whole House Approach. How long does this process take?

A comprehensive home performance assessment takes 2-3 hours at your home. Shortly thereafter, we present you with a completed assessment report. Applications for the program's monetary incentives can take several weeks to process.

What are your payment terms?

If you choose to finance the work yourself, then we accept a 30% down payment, with the remainder due upon completion of the work.

What qualifications do your workers have?

We are a home performance contractor accredited by the Building Performance Institute (BPI). What that means is that our employees are trained and certified in the various areas of home performance building science (such as building shell, heating, and cooling).