MANKATO — To Chris High and Dale Brenke, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act looked like a lot of spending headed for other people and other places.

“I think a lot of us have been critical of the stimulus and how much is being wasted,” said Brenke, president of Schmidt Siding and Window in Mankato.

High, the general manager of Northern Comfort Inc. in South Bend, was also skeptical that the $787 billion economic stimulus bill would make much of a difference for him or his business.

“I keep saying, ‘Where’s my bailout?’” High said, laughing. “And then — ‘Look at this!’”

The “look at this” moment for High was when the details came out about the 30 percent tax credit available to Americans who install energy-efficient furnaces and air conditioners.

For Brenke, it was the same credit for installation of energy-efficient doors, windows and insulation.

“I think it’s going to be huge for us, a really important thing — especially this year,” Brenke said.

The energy tax credit, which is capped at $1,500 per household, was put into the legislation signed by President Obama for a pair of reasons: It encourages projects that reduce the nation’s energy use while spurring economic activity that will preserve jobs.

Brenke is confident the consumer excitement about the tax savings will result in more customers and customers placing larger orders. And that will mean some of the 55 people who work at Schmidt will hold onto jobs that might otherwise have been lost.

Brenke likes the tax credit a lot, and not just because it will mean more business for his company and savings for his customers. It’s a long-term investment in making homes more energy efficient for years to come.

“For once, maybe we have something that has a little logic to it,” he said.

Both Brenke and High said the products most customers tend to buy at their business meet the energy-efficiency standards required to receive the tax credit. So customers won’t have to buy Cadillac versions of windows or air conditioners to qualify for the credit, although they probably won’t be able to choose the cheapest available either.

High said a typical Lennox furnace would go for $3,000 to $3,500, meaning the 30 percent tax credit would equal $900 to $1,050. Prices for qualifying central air-conditioners are similar. Customers would typically get a utility company rebate for the upgrade, too, meaning an extra $150 in cash for an energy-efficient furnace and $280 for the air conditioner.

And it will mean ongoing monthly savings on utility bills.

That package of potential savings will be an important part of Northern Comfort’s marketing in the next couple of years, High said.

“It makes it very enticing for people to update,” he said.

Brenke said a fairly typical job for Schmidt would involve replacement of four to 10 windows and a door or two. The cost might be somewhere around $8,000 with $5,000 of the bill for the windows and doors themselves. The 30 percent tax credit would apply to the cost of the windows and doors — not the installation charges — resulting in the maximum credit of $1,500.

The $1,500 cap for the tax credit applies to the combined energy efficiency purchases made by the household, which can also include certain roofing jobs, insulation and water heaters.

And while the credit can be claimed for purchases made this year or in 2010, the cap applies to both years. People can’t get it twice by doing one job now and one job in a year.

So for customers that need more than one of those jobs done, the key will be which business gets to them first.

“Before you call the window guy or the roofing guy or the insulation guy, call the heating guy,” High said. “Please.”



Details about the tax credit are available at www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits.