Utility companies across the United States are rebating window film through their prescriptive rebate or custom incentive programs. This should not be surprising since, in 2011, the Department of Energy found window film to be one of the Top 5 energy savings strategies that a commercial building could implement to reduce energy consumption. Window film can help a commercial building do any or all of the following:
- Reduce carbon footprint
- Reduce annual utility bills
- Reduce temperatures by up to 16°F
- Earn up to 11 LEED points
- Improve Energy Star Portfolio Manager Score
And best of all, your local utility company may help pay for it!
Window Film Yields a Positive Return on Investment
Let’s take a look at the economics of window film for a typical office building, which has 40,000 square feet of glass to be filmed. An average selling price per square foot (before rebate) for labor and material is $5.00. That’s a total project cost of $200,000. If the annual utility savings are $35,000 as estimated by the Department of Energy modeling software, payback is 5.71 years. After project payback, the building is still saving $35,000 every year, assuming utility rates and occupancy levels don’t change. So, by the end of the film’s life (approximately 25 years), building ownership will have saved almost $1 million in utility bills over and beyond the initial project cost of $200,000!
Utility Rebates Accelerate Window Film’s ROI
The economics are quite convincing without a utility rebate. Now let’s consider the economics with a utility rebate. A 40% rebate offered through a custom incentive drives the project price down to $120,000 from $200,000. The payback changes from 5.71 years to 3.43 years. And the cumulative savings goes from $995K to almost $1.1 million.
You might wonder why a utility company would rebate a product that would make its customer base use less of its product (in this case, energy). Utility companies rebate energy-efficient lighting and HVAC controls, so why not window film? The truth is that utility companies would rather help you reduce your usage than make the significant investment necessary to handle increased demand. Just as building owners consider operating costs and profits, so too do utility companies.
Learn How Much Window Film Can Save You
The energy savings offered by window film alone makes installing it a cost-effective investment. Layer the incentive of utility rebates on top of the reduced energy usage, and you have a building enhancement you can’t turn down. Request a complimentary consultation with the experts at Energy Products Distribution to see how window film installation would impact your bottom line.
