Bush Signs Energy Bill into Law; Impact on Window Film Industry Unclear

On August 8, President Bush signed into law the comprehensive energy bill passed by Congress in July that gives tax credits to homeowners and businesses that use energy-efficient glazing products.

The new law permits the tax credits for homes acquired or property placed in service between December 31, 2005 and December 31, 2007.

The law will have a far-reaching effect on the building and glazing industries, touching those in commercial buildings, new homes, manufactured homes and existing homes. Commercial buildings will receive credit up to $1.80 per square foot for energy efficient commercial building property certified to be 50 percent more efficient than reference building using ASHRAE 90.1-2001. It also allows a partial allowance of up to $.60 per square foot for subsystems certified to meet the targets to make the whole building 50 percent more efficient (if all systems were incorporated) is available.

New homes will receive a tax credit of $2000 if they are certified to be at least 50 percent more energy-efficient than a reference home (as constructed in accordance with Chapter 4 of IECC 2003) and manufactured homes will be available for the same tax credit if they can prove to be similarly energy efficient (compared to a reference home conforming to Federal Manufactured Home Construction & Safety Standards). Existing homes will be able to receive up to 10 percent of the amount paid for "qualified energy efficiency improvements" as a tax credit. Windows and other types of glazing are included; however window film is not specifically mentioned in the new law, which could be either good or bad for the window film industry.

The industry has the chance to prove itself to the nation as a whole. Part of the new law requires a public energy education program. Sec. 133 of the bill states "an organizational conference will be held to establish an ongoing, self-sustaining national public energy education program" designed to "examine and recognize interrelationships between energy sources in all forms including conservation and energy efficiency, the role of energy use in the economy and the impact of energy use on the environment.

The energy education program is to be followed by an energy efficiency public information initiative, the goal of which is outlined as carrying out "a comprehensive national program, including advertising and media awareness, to inform consumers about the need to reduce energy consumption during the four-year period beginning [at the enactment of the law] … practical, cost-effective measures that consumers can take to reduce consumption of electricity, natural gas and gasoline, including weatherizing homes and buildings."