David Meek

Even with dual-pane windows in Phoenix, your home is continually taking on heat through its sun-baked glass. Interior blinds, draperies and window film only block the light after the window has heated up. That makes it expensive to cool your home. Salt River Project (SRP), the largest provider of electricity in the Phoenix metro, has an offer to incentivize Valley homeowners to throw some shade at steep energy bills.

It’s an opportunity for SRP residential electric customers to cut approximately 25% off of their monthly electric cost. Utility customers simply need to install window shade screens, or solar shades, with contractors approved by Salt River Project by next spring.

Residential customers of SRP may receive a rebate of $0.80 per square foot of installed shade screen window covering. New installations, as well as refurbished sun shades, are eligible for the rebate. There are a few requirements and a brief 2-page application.

The offer is valid through April 30, 2019.

Benefits beyond the rebate

Shade screens serve to block 80-90% of light and much of the heat from the window area before it reaches the interior of your home. Less heat absorption into your house means lower electric bills. Installing shade screens is one of the most effective energy-efficient improvements that you can make to your Phoenix home.

In addition to considerable energy savings, shade screens also offer:

  • increased privacy
  • reduced fading of interior furniture
  • extended life of your air conditioner since it works less

Rebate program requirements

In order to receive the rebate, you must:

  • be a permanent SRP customer
  • live in a single-family, condo, mobile home or attached single-family structure (less than 4 units)
  • purchase and have installed new or refurbished solar screens by program expiration
  • select qualifying shades that block at least 80% of solar heat gain on exterior south, east or west-facing windows that enclose an air-conditioned space

Motorized and retractable solar shades are not eligible unless installed with photocell equipment.

What’s the rebate math?

The amount of the rebate is worthy of your investigation and time. Take a hypothetical example of an 1,800 square foot Phoenix home with 18 windows.  However, only fifteen windows face south, east or west. With an average window of 11 square feet, the rebate looks like this:

15 windows  x  11 square feet each = 165 square feet of solar shade material

165 square feet of solar shade material  x  $0.80 per square foot = $132

The customer of record with SRP will receive the rebate check after the application is approved.

Next steps

  • see the SRP shade screen rebate page
  • call a participating solar shade contractor in Phoenix to schedule an appointment who is licensed to install shade screens through the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (contractor selection is up to the utility customer and SRP does not manage the contractors)
  • fill out the SRP shade shade rebate program application with your licensed contractor
  • submit the application within 6 months of work completion
  • mail dated application with the paid invoice to: SRP Shade Screen Rebate Program, 2702 N. Third St., Suite 2020, Phoenix, AZ 85004

A representative of SRP may contact the utility customer to verify installation.

Does APS offer a shade screen rebate?

APS is another large electric utility that services 1.2 million customers in the Phoenix Valley as well as a large swath of central Arizona. At the time of this post, a representative for APS confirmed by email that it does not offer a rebate program for shade screens.

Do you have an energy savings story as a result of installing shade screens in your Phoenix home? Please leave me a comment below with your story.

 


One great benefit of not being on TV every week is that people will be a lot less interested in what I have in my supermarket basket. I could even un-tint my car windows – or at least opt for a lighter shade. – Hugh Laurie, English actor and director, star of Fox medical drama House