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Long Island Green Homes

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1. What is the Long Island Green Homes Program?

The Long Island Green Homes Program is a self-financing, residential retrofit program designed to upgrade the energy efficiency of existing homes in the Town of Babylon. The program enables residents to make their homes greener and healthier at little or no out-of-pocket expense to themselves, while saving money on home energy costs. For more information about the program, please visit the Long Island Green Homes website.

2. How can I contact the Long Island Green Homes program?

The Long Island Green Homes Program is located at the Town Hall Annex, 281 Phelps Lane, Room 24 and 26, North Babylon, NY, 11703. The phone number is (631) 422-4411, The fax number is (631) 893-1008.

You can also visit their website, Long Island Green Homes, or email them at ligreenhomes@townofbabylon.com.

3. Why is the Long Island Green Homes program necessary?

Most homes–even newer ones–have not been constructed to building performance standards that conserve energy. The overwhelming majority of homes on Long Island are wasting considerable amounts of energy and contributing unnecessary greenhouse gasses to the environment. Leaking energy means that homeowners are wasting a lot of money. With fuel costs at all time highs and in a region where utility rates are among the highest in the nation, homeowners can no longer afford to waste energy.

4. How do I save money with the Long Island Green Homes Program?

A Town of Babylon Licensed Green Homes Contractor will conduct a comprehensive energy audit of your home to determine what energy-efficient home improvements may be effective. The contractor will prepare a detailed report that will demonstrate the savings you will receive from making the improvements. The savings will, generally, cover the cost of the upgrades.

We use state-of-the-art, industry standard software called Real Home Analyzer to calculate your savings, using your 2 years of utility usage data and the information from your Energy Audit. LIGH also thoroughly reviews each project for accuracy, and performs regular quality assurance inspections.

5. What is “retrofitting”?

Retrofitting refers to the addition of new technology or features (such as insulation, more efficient boilers) to older systems (or your home). By improving your homes energy usage, Long Island Green Homes aims to prevent unnecessary air leakage and wasted energy escaping from your home.

6. Who pays for the energy efficient home improvements?

The objective of Long Island Green Homes is to reduce your homes energy usage, thereby reducing your utility bills. Therefore, an energy assessment will be performed by a town licensed, BPI certified, Energy Auditor. The cost of the energy assessment is $250, which will be paid directly to your auditor. There is no longer a $250 assessment fee. Free or low-cost energy audits through NYSERDA’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program are available to residential customers. Following the Home Performance Evaluation, you will be given a detailed explanation of how your home uses energy, where the most energy is being wasted or lost, and specific improvements that could increase energy efficiency. The report also calculates a fixed cost for each recommended improvement along with the projected dollar amount you will see in energy savings on an annual basis, from that specific improvement. The Long Island Green Homes Program pays the contractor the entire cost of the energy-efficiency improvements. Under a separate contract with the homeowner, the Town sets up a monthly payment plan that has the homeowner pay for the improvements over time only from a projected utility bill cost savings. For example, if our expert Home Performance Evaluation auditors project that you will save $1,000 per year in utility bills, The Town will establish an annual payment schedule (benefit assessment payment) based on your projected annual savings. Therefore your payment would be less than a $100 a month.

7. Does the Town loan money to homeowners to make these improvements?

No, the Town does not loan money to homeowners for any improvements. Money for this program is coming from the Solid Waste Fund as a benefit assessment. A benefit assessment is when a municipality provides a specific improvement on a property for a public purpose, i.e. remediating the environmental damage caused by leaky and inefficient homes. The Town will then assess the cost of the benefit against the property.

The Town will provide for energy saving improvements up to but not to exceed $12,000 per home. Homeowners will then pay the Town directly for the improvements through a monthly benefit assessment fee.

The amount of the monthly benefit assessment fee is structured to be less than the monthly savings on a residents' energy bills resulting from the improvements. There is an additional 3% administrative fee applied to these monthly payments.

8. How do I apply for the Long Island Green Homes Program?

Homeowners are required to complete a Self-Check Home Inventory Form prior to scheduling a Home Performance Evaluation. This form asks general questions about the home, its energy usage and homeowner energy habits. Homeowners will also need to provide two years worth of utility usage. You can complete and submit the Do-It-Yourself Home Energy Upgrade Assessment & Intake Form online at Long Island Green Homes website.

Once we have processed the data from your Self-Check Home Inventory Form, a Town of Babylon Licensed Green Homes Contractor will perform a Home Performance Evaluation on your house. The contractor will provide a detailed report that will recommend certain energy efficient home improvements and estimate the savings that will result. You make the decision to hire the contractor to perform the energy-efficient home improvements. What energy-efficient home improvements are offered through the program? Improvements include efficient lighting, weather-stripping, caulking, air and duct sealing, insulation and upgrading of heating units, etc. We will advise participants which appliances, cooling units, and other eligible measures offer the best return and what LIPA rebates and incentives apply. Please call our office at (631) 422-4411 if you have any further questions or concerns.

9. What if I rent my home?

The LI Green Homes program can only issue contracts to homeowners. However if a landlord chooses to participate in the Long Island Green Homes program, the residents will benefit from the efficiency improvements as well. The program is currently open for those residing in one or two family homes.

10. What if I have been living in my home for less than 2 years?

New homeowners who cannot access utility data are still eligible to participate in the program. Please notify our office so we can contact you with specific instructions.

11. What energy improvements are offered through the program?

Energy efficient home improvements offered through the program include:

• Efficient lighting upgrades


• Weatherstripping


• Caulking


• Air and Duct sealing


• Insulation


• Upgrading of heating and cooling units

The program will also advise homeowners on which appliances, cooling units, and other eligible measures offer the best return on investment as well as what LIPA rebates and incentives apply. Interested homeowners are encouraged to call the Long Island Green Homes Program at (631) 422-4411.

12. Are there any guidelines for the work that I can have done?

Yes. All projects must have a Savings to Investment Ratio of 1.3 or higher, Payback < 10 years, and Total Cost < $12,000.

13. How does the Long Island Green Homes Program benefit our environment?

By reducing the amount of energy needed to power our homes we will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global warming. Every time we turn a light on in our homes or turn up the thermostat or turn on an air conditioner, we are using energy from a power plant or burning scarce fossil fuels (oil and natural gas), all of which produce greenhouse gas emissions. By combating global warming and cleaning the air, you are also preventing the need to build more power plants and are reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.

14. Who performs the work?

One of our town licensed BPI certified energy contractors. The Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI) measures the knowledge, skills and competency of individuals, and evaluates the organizations impacting building performance. BPI has an integrated certification, accreditation and quality assurance program designed to support the building performance contracting industry. BPI ensures our contractors are educated to the highest standards for energy efficiency improvement work, and are exceptionally qualified to complete the efficiency improvements on your home.

15. Who pays for the improvements?

The best part of the Long Island Green Homes program is that there are no up-front costs to the homeowner for the improvements.

Once the licensed contractor has completed the work, the Town will directly pay the contractor. The homeowner will then pay the Town for the improvements on a monthly basis for an amount and term that is agreed upon in advance. With almost every customer, the savings from reduced energy bills will be greater than the cost of the improvements. This means that the homeowner will have a positive cash flow; the money that was going to the utility companies is now going to make your home greener and healthier. Once the improvements are completely paid for all of the savings go directly to the homeowner, saving him/her an average of $1,000 every year.

16. Can I still get rebates or credits if I sign up?

Yes, you may qualify for LIPA, National Grid, and NYSERDA rebates and/or NY State and Federal credits for the work on your home. Please talk to your contractor for rebate eligibility.

17. Will my house be assessed at a higher rate or will my taxes increase as a result of these "green" improvements?

Absolutely not. Any energy-saving improvements made to your home through the Long Island Green Homes program will not increase your home’s assessment or increase the amount of taxes you pay.

18. Will Town employees be inspecting or making these improvements to my home?

Absolutely not. You will be hiring a contractor as you would for any other type of work you would want to do in your house. The only difference here is that the contractors are licensed by the Town to insure they have the credentials and capability to properly do this kind of work. At no time will Town employees be permitted to enter your home without your explicit permission.

19. What if I sell my home soon after making improvements to it?

Once you sell your home, your liability for home improvement payments falls to the new homeowner and you do not have to continue making payments for those improvements.