Description

New Jersey SmartStart Buildings is a program sponsored by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. New Jersey SmartStart Buildings receives its funding through New Jersey’s Societal Benefits Charge (SBC). The incentive offering is comprised of a combination of prescriptive equipment rebates and incentives for custom improvements that provide energy savings. 

Eligibility

The incentives provided through this program are available to non-residential retail electric and/or gas service customers of the participating New Jersey utilities: Atlantic City Electric, Jersey Central Power & Light, Rockland Electric Company, New Jersey Natural Gas, Elizabethtown Gas, PSE&G, and South Jersey Gas.

The program requires pre-approval for most of the energy efficiency incentives. To participate in this program, customers must submit a completed application package consisting of an application and technology worksheet (where appropriate). The program manager will then review the application package to determine if the project is eligible for a rebate. If eligible, the customer will receive an approval letter with the estimated incentive amount and the date by which the equipment must be purchased and installed in order for the approval to remain in effect. Most technologies do not require pre-approval, with the exception of lighting, lighting controls, and custom measures.

Program Description

Incentives are categorized into two main project categories: New Construction and Retrofits. New Construction component offers financial incentives and technical support for new construction projects. Retrofit program is targeted for replacing standard equipment with high efficiency alternatives. New Construction component offers financial incentives and technical support for new construction projects. Retrofit program is targeted for replacing standard equipment with high efficiency alternatives.

The program has both prescriptive and custom rebate for efficiency projects. Standard perceptive rebates are provided for HVAC equipment, lighting, premium motors, natural gas water heaters, variable frequency drives, and custom measures approved by the participating utility. Click here to view the list of equipment and amount of incentives are available. The rebate amounts are all determined by the equipment type, size and/or efficiency level.

Custom incentives for electricity and natural gas measures are limited to the lesser of: $0.16/annual kWh or $1.60/annual therm saved; 50% of total project costs; or an incentive level that results in a 1-year payback period. In order to qualify for custom measure incentives a project must have a minimum first-year energy savings of 75,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) for custom electric measures or 1,500 therms for custom gas measures, and have an internal rate of return of 10% or greater. These restrictions may be waived on a case-by-case basis if the project is within 10% of the requirements.