抖阴ap

Park Hill resident Marty Esquibel had a good reason to hurry and update his home’s insulation last week. His wife was about to give birth, and the couple didn’t want to bring a child into a house that had insulation containing formaldehyde.

Esquibel’s home improvements also came just in time to earn an energy tax credit set to expire at the end of the month.

Homeowners who buy energy saving material before Jan. 1 get a tax credit of up to $500 per household, or 10 percent of the materials’ cost.

The tax credit, courtesy of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, covers attic or basement insulation, Energy Star windows, efficient furnaces and solar-energy systems. Labor costs aren’t included. Homeowners must itemize their purchases on their federal tax forms to reap the benefits.

Almost one in four U.S. homeowners said they used the tax credit in 2006, according to a survey conducted earlier this year by 抖阴ap Research Corp., an independent firm hired by Denver-based Johns Manville, a maker of insulation.

Count the 40-year-old Esquibel as one local homeowner who beat the buzzer.

“We wanted to do it as soon as possible for comfort and savings,” Esquibel says, adding that the tax incentive was “like icing on the cake.”

Esquibel, a fiscal policy analyst by trade, says he was researching solar panels when he heard about the tax incentive. When his sister installed some new, energy-efficient insulation in her home, he decided to act.

Not all residents are aware of the tax incentives, and even those who are might not act quickly enough to take advantage of them.

Shoppers at The Home Depot on South Colorado Boulevard in Denver expressed mixed emotions about the incentives. Some would go ahead with green renovations regardless of any tax breaks, while others wish they had heard about the incentives earlier.

Christy Pletcher, 35, of Highland made sure she bought energy-efficient appliances for her home this year.

It wasn’t so easy finding them, though.

“As you get into the higher end and built-ins, I couldn’t find (energy-efficient models),” Pletcher says.

Undaunted, she kept shopping until she found what she was looking for.

“It’s a big incentive to do the right thing,” she says of the tax credit.

Scott DeShetler, marketing communications manager with Johns Manville, says when consumers think about saving energy, they often forget about insulation and other simple measures.

“Appliances and light bulbs are more visible and easy to understand,” DeShetler says, adding that homeowners often assume their houses were built to code and therefore must be energy efficient.

Shawn Judd, 36, might have some tax credits coming to him.

The Denver resident did some energy renovation work on his home earlier this year but wasn’t aware of the potential tax incentives.

While Judd is curious about adding solar panels to his home next, the expiring tax break isn’t enough to spark more purchases.

“Being this close to the end of the year, I’m not going to do it,” Judd says.

Carey Southwell, 50, of Congress Park hadn’t heard of the tax credit, even though she installed new insulation and windows in her circa 1902 home last year.

Similar tax incentives would “absolutely” coax her to do more work on her home in the future.

“If there was a way we could go solar or have wind power to reduce our carbon footprint, we would,” Southwell says.

DeShetler recommends homeowners plunk a ruler into the insulation in their attic to measure and help decide whether to add insulation. Swapping out old insulation for new brings a quicker return on investment, he says.

Time may be running out, but DeShetler says homeowners can try to make some quick fixes that will make their homes warmer this winter and earn a tax break at the same time.

Walk around your home and see if any rooms have a draft, he says. If so, grab some caulk and weatherstripping from the nearest hardware store and save those receipts.

TAX TIPS FOR HOMEOWNERS

Here are five ways to take advantage of the energy tax credit.