Is your electricity of gas bill getting out of hand? Did you know the government will actually pay to help support you in upgrading both appliances and your house? Read on to find out more…
Appliance Rebates
We already discussed how to save money on energy efficient appliances in our previous entry: Saving Money on Household Appliances. There we talked about how the government will actually pay you part of the cost to replace old energy inefficient appliances with new more efficient ones.
Home Improvements
Besides appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and LED lights, you can also receive support or rebates for home improvements that improve energy efficiency. One of the most effective is the installation of double-pane windows.
There are three levels of rebates available to assist you in purchasing double-pane windows:
- Japan (Federal)
- Tokyo (Prefecture)
- Local city/town/ward
In the case of Shimachu, they will handle the first application for you, so you only need to pay the difference in the cost of the window installation and the rebate from the government.
Since windows are often one of the main ways that rooms lose heat or cold, they can drastically lower the efficiency of your heating and air conditioning systems. This in turn costs money on your electric bill and unnecessary damage to the environment from the emissions caused by generating that electricity. Installing a double-pane window would be a great idea even if there were no rebates – but rebates make it more affordable.
As a tax payer, I am on board with spending tax money on this as well. More energy efficient dwellings leads to cheaper energy for everyone in the long run, more stability of supply, and cleaner air.
Personal Experience
I mentioned several of my personal experiences in the entry about saving money on home appliances. Since then, I have continues renovation, including:
- Purchasing another LED light
- Adding double-pane windows to 8 windows on the house I live in and other properties
LED Light – My previous experience with LED light purchase assistance was with purchasing relatively fancy (and expensive) lights from Yodobashi and BIC. This time I decided to buy a more basic light for a garage, from Nitori. The light I chose was basic in terms of features, but still one of the most efficient lights on the market. The cost was around 6,500, but I was surprised to find that the 4,000 rebate still applied.
The rebate process was about the same as for Bic and Yodobashi, except that I was asked to email a photo of the existing lamp to a special email address.
This left the out-of-pocket cost for a new LED light that could handle a large garage at 2,500 yen. Better, this is a decent product with a decent warranty from a domestic company that provides proper support.
Double Pane Windows – While 5 of these windows were handled completely by the renovation company I hired, I handled the replacement of the other 3 on my own. I went to Shimachu Homes to ask about their double pane window reform service, and found out that there are often three levels of rebates as mentioned above.
In my case I used Shimachu Homes, I believe the installation of three rather large windows was around 25 man, and the government paid roughly half of that. I haven’t researched the ward I live in yet, but it appears Tokyo also offers an additional rebate on top of the federal one.
How effective are they? Very.
“Double Pane” is a bit of a misnomer. The windows they install are indeed double-pane, but those do in your window frame in addition to your existing window, so when they are done, you have actually have three window panes. The windows seal very well, and so there is no wind or air current flowing in or out from the outside when they are closed. If you leave them closed for a while and then open them, you will notice that the air in the “pocket” between the original windows and the new double pane windows is a very different temperature than the room.
Anecdotally, in one large room where I had two very large windows and the air conditioner struggled to keep up, it no longer struggles at all.
In addition to this, they do a good job at blocking sound, and if you choose the semi-transparent type, prying eyes. (A note of caution, though, the clear ones are usually the cheapest).
The windows I installed were from YKK and Lixil. I prefer the the appearance of YKK ones, but both are fantastic in terms of performance.
Summary & Conclusion
It has been several months since I installed the windows, and I am very satisfied with that investment. They save money on my electric bill every month. If you own your own house, installing them is a no-brainer, at least in the rooms you typically heat & cool. The fact that the government will help you pay for them is just a bonus.
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