A&E Construction Featured in House & Home Magazine!

If you're looking to learn more about New Jersey's Clean Energy Program and get some tips on how to go about making home energy efficient improvements, we recommend reading A&E Construction's feature in House & Home Magazine's April Edition!

To read the full feature, you can go to House & Home's digital edition and flip to page 65.  Below are some of the main points from the feature:

What is an Energy Audit?

A physical inspection of the home to identify areas where the home is using and losing energy. A thorough home energy audit (which should take three to four hours) will examine the entire house as a system to be optimized for energy consumption, home comfort, and safety. 

The Auditor

All contractors in the NJ Clean Energy program must be certified by the Building Performance Institute (BPI), the leading national standards development and credentializing organization for residential energy efficiency retrofit work. 

What is the ENERGY STAR Program?

The NJ Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program offers incentives to homeowners who receive a home energy assessment from a participating contractor and make the necessary repairs to improve home comfort and save energy. 

2012 Home Energy Improvement Incentives

Happy New Year everyone!  We gave you an extensive preview of the new HPwES 2012 program rebates and incentives in our last post, so today we want to give you an easy diagram to follow in case you're interested in making home energy efficiency improvements within the next year.

2012 HPwES Benefits and Incentives

As we noted in our previous post, the 2012 incentives improved over the past year with increased rebate amounts and increased loan amounts.

Here's an example of what would be considered a Tier 3 category:

The Jones family has an A&E audit performed and the audit information shows a potential energy savings of more than 20%, but less than 25%.  The Jones family qualifies for a 50% cash rebate up to $4,000 and a 0% interest loan up to $10,000 from the HPwES program.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule an energy audit, contact us today. 

New Year's Resolution That Will Keep You Comfy & Save You Money

Make a New Year’s Resolution to cut your energy bills and spend no out of pocket money on your home improvements with New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program. 


This winter, NJ homeowners can save money and improve their home’s energy usage and comfort with the new incentives from the program’s Home Performance with Energy Star (HPeWS) promotion.  With rebates of up to $5,000, 10 year no interest loans and energy savings of up to 30 percent, it’s prime time to make home improvements and get rewarded for it.

To give you an idea of how the program works, if a homeowner attains total energy savings of less than 20% and more than 10%, they can qualify for up to $2,000 in rebates and a 10 year no interest loan up to $5,000. This includes work such as air sealing, insulation, hot water heater, duct sealing, and duct insulation. 

Therefore, a homeowner could potentially receive free money, cut monthly energy bills, and pay about $40 a month towards the loan for their improvements. For homeowners who make increased energy savings of 20% or greater, the incentives are raised even higher with rebates of up to $5,000 and a 10 year no interest loan up to $10,000.

The new 2012 incentives are better than those offered in all previous programs and really give homeowners a golden opportunity for lowering their energy bills while increasing the comfort and efficiency of their home. The program kicks off starting January 1st and will be available for the entire year. 

The first step to obtaining these incentives is to get an energy audit from a certified contractor like A&E Construction.

With over 25 years of experience in building and construction, A&E has performed numerous home energy improvements in the local Princeton area. Our team of experts can guide you through the process of making energy improvements as well as utilizing all financial incentives available through HPeWS.

Energy audits typically take between three to four hours to complete and include multiple assessments of heating and cooling equipment, insulation, air sealing, windows, doors, appliances and lighting.  For safety concerns, we also perform a carbon monoxide and gas leak test. A&E’s auditor will perform a thorough exam of the house by looking for areas where a homeowner can save on their bills as well as testing equipment and identifying moisture and air-flow issues. 

After the audit, we will provide a comprehensive and detailed report of your home's energy losses or problems outlining recommended measures as well as how to qualify for the financial incentives ofthe HPeWS program.

A strong advantage of selecting A&E to perform your energy improvements is that we bring excellent knowledge of your home’s construction and systems, thus being able to better analyze where energy is lost and how to make the most out of the improvement. 

In addition to being in our 3^rd year participating in the HPeWS program, A&E Construction is a Building Performance Institute (BPI) certified contractor with a qualified team. Our four BPI certified energy professionals are trained and certified in building analyst, envelope, heating, air conditioning & heat pump, and whole house air leakage.

DIY: How To Winterize House

The Abominable Ice House!                          

At this time in the year, it’s a good idea to start thinking about preparing your home for winter.  Even though we’ve had a brush of winter this week with 30 degree temperatures and a forecast of snow in the future, it’s still going to be fall for a few more weeks.  Take advantage of the weather and perform some routine maintenance on your home that will ensure comfort for the coming months.  Read A&E’s 10 tips for winterizing your house

1. Have your furnace tuned and cleaned.  You should replace furnace filters about every 2 months. Dirty filters can increase energy use and restrict airflow so replacing filters will help you save on heating costs.  Be sure to keep extra filters on hand for the winter months.

2. Drain garden hoses and shut off water to outside faucets in order to protect your pipes. Don’t forget to insulate any water lines that run along exterior walls.  This will help you avoid frozen pipes that can burst.  

3. Poor fitting windows can have air infiltration through drafts coming in and heated air escaping.  Caulk and weather-strip around the windows and doors to reduce energy loss.

4. Consider replacing any windows that have broken panes or sashes that don’t shut properly and install storm windows if you own them.  We recommend Andersen low-E windows.  These low-emittance (low-E) glass windows block a significant amount of radiant heat transfer which ultimately reduces the total heat flow through the window.

5. For proper drainage of snow and rain, it is important to clean out your gutters now and install gutter guards so that melting snow and ice will flow freely.  This will help prevent ice damming, which occurs when water freezes and seeps into the home, causing damage to ceilings and walls.  


As we mentioned in our previous basement flooding post, make sure downspouts are carrying water away from the house’s foundation to avoid flooding.

6. Trim trees and remove dead branches that hang close to the house.  Ice, snow and severe wind can weaken trees and break branches off, potentially damaging the exterior of your home and your car.

7. Test your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms and check the age of these devices.  We recommend replacing batteries or even the entire unit if it’s older than 5 years.  Install a carbon monoxide detector on every floor in your home.

Pennington Fireplace

8. Clean out your fireplace and cap or screen the top of the chimney to keep animals out.  Inspect the damper to see if it’s in good working condition for proper opening and closing.

9. Install door sweeps on the inside of exterior doors as well as on the interior doors to an unfinished basement or attic.

10. Before adding more insulation to your home, get a professional home energy assessment from a BPI certified home performance contractor.  

A&E Construction performs comprehensive home energy audits and provides homeowners with a detailed report and an energy savings analysis so that you’ll know all the facts before you consider home energy improvements. Remember, the NJ Home Performance with Energy Star Fall Promotion is still available for homeowners interested in making energy improvements.  

This means you have until December 31^st of this year to get savings of up to $15,000 on your improvements.  If you've been thinking about upgrading HVAC equipment or insulating an attic, this is the best time to act for getting discounts and rebates on your investment.

NJ Home Energy Summer Promotion Extended!

We're happy to announce that the 2011 New Jersey Home Performance with Energy Star Summer Promotion has been extended this fall through December 31, 2011.  So you may be wondering what discounts you get now?


This means you have another 4 months to get savings up to $15,000 on home energy improvements. If you've been thinking about upgrading washer or dryer, dishwasher, and other appliances this is the best time to act for getting a huge discount on energy efficient appliance installations. 

Home improvements resulting in reduced energy loss and lower bills can also earn you incentives for performing work on your home.


Check out the chart for some details on how you can save:

NJ HPwES Fall Discount

A&E Construction has performed several local Princeton area home energy improvements and our team of experts can guide you through energy savings and huge discounts on your home improvement.  The first step to obtaining the HPeWS incentives is to have your house assessed with a comprehensive energy audit.

Schedule your Energy Audit today with us.

More Reason to Go Green

Going Green has been touted for its ability to decrease energy bills as well as reduce your impact on the environment. But there's more that meets the eye with energy efficient upgrades. EcoHome’s second annual design awards prove that eco-friendly isn’t just functional, it’s beautiful.

Here are two picks from EcoHome’s winning homes that we found especially innovative.

The Celo House utilized natural materials both on the inside and outside of this North Carolina house.  EcoHome praised this home for tree preservation, patio and driveway construction that controlled water runoff, rainwater storage for irrigation and more.  The windows and doors use low thermal emissivity argon-filled glass.

The Caterpillar house features a modern design that utilizes traditional methods like ceiling fans and cross-ventilation to eliminate the need for air conditioning.  According to the article, “Its east-west, slightly curved layout maximizes passive solar gain, and additional energy savings come from concrete floors and rammed-earth walls that act as a thermal mass to protect against temperature fluctuations”.  This California home also has sustainability-certified cabinetry and reclaimed cork flooring

So if there wasn’t enough reason to go green with the incentives from NJ Home Performance with Energy Star, there’s a bit more with all of EcoHome's eye-catching designs that also happen to be eco-friendly.

A&E specializes in home energy efficient improvements and is a Building Performance Institute (BPI) certified contractor.  We know how to help you make the upgrades you want for your house while also creating a design you'll love. 

Energy Audits with A&E Construction!

Now is the best time to make your home energy efficient and enhance the comfort of your living space while saving money with the generous incentives from the 2011 New Jersey Home Performance with Energy Star program (HpwES).

Listed below are the requirements and incentives for the 2011 HPwES Program.

Tier 1 Requirements:                                         

• Estimated total energy savings (TES) of at least 10% and less than 20%: Install air sealing and/or insulation, with the option of installing duct sealing and duct insulation measures.

           Incentives:

• $1,000 cash rebate, not to exceed 50% of cost of the measures used to calculate TES. No loan option available.

Tier 2 Requirements:                                         

•  Estimated TES of at least 20% and less than 25%:Install air sealing, insulation, HVAC, DHW and/or other eligible measures. (Measures NOT eligible are appliances, lighting, doors and windows)

           Incentives:

• $3,000 cash rebate, not to exceed 50% of cost of the measures used to calculate TES, 
  And 0% interest loan up to $10,000 available through Energy Finance Solutions (EFS).

Tier 3 Requirements:                                         

•  Estimated TES of at least 25% or greater: Install air sealing, insulation, HVAC, DHW and other eligible measures. (Measures NOT eligible are appliances, lighting, doors and windows)

           Incentives:

• $4,000 cash rebate, not to exceed 50% of cost of the measures used to calculate TES, 
  And 0% interest loan up to $10,000 available through Energy Finance Solutions (EFS).

Here's a potential savings example to consider with the HPwES program:

The Jones family has an A&E audit performed and audit information shows a potential energy savings of 25% or greater. The Jones family qualifies for a 50% cash rebate, up to $4,000* and a 0% interest loan from the NJHPwES program.


The first step to energy savings and HPwES rebates is to schedule an audit and learn more about what you can do reduce your carbon footprint while saving money on your utility bills.

Be sure to contact us or check out our Clean Energy Page for any other questions and tips on preparing for your energy audit.

Clean Energy Incentives for 2011

     Looking to improve your home's energy efficiency this year?  New Jersey Home Performance with Energy Star has designed entirely new homeowner incentives for 2011.  After completion of a Home Energy Audit, A&E Construction can provide you with a proposal which determines the possible energy savings for your home.  Based on this percentage you can qualify for a cash rebate of up to $4000 and a 0% interest loan!!  This chart from NJ's Clean Energy Program shows the different tiers that you as a homeowner can qualify for:

  

Find out more about these incentives, energy audits, or various other clean energy solutions by contacting A&E Construction at 609-737-4425 or visit our website.