Great question, because, yes: The definition of “legal and practical” is crucial to understand as it will affect your projects and what is eligible for financing. Put simply, “legally and practically required components” does not refer to specific parts of eligible energy efficiency measures (EEEMs), such as an air handler or evaporator coil. However, you may be legally and/or practically required to undertake certain actions in order to prepare the home for the installation of the eligible measure, restore the home after installation, or to complete the project so that all installations are functional, safe and code-compliant.
For example, suppose you’re converting a home from gas to electric heat with a heat pump installation and need to upgrade the electrical panel. The heat pump installation is an EEEM under GoGreen Financing, but it would not function properly without the panel upgrade. So, it will be covered because it is a “legally or practically” required component to ensure the heat pump works.
When filling out the program-required Itemized Invoice, a common mistake is to include parts of an eligible measure in Box E. As shown below, an air handler is part of a Central HVAC Unit replacement, so it is an invalid entry, but a new concrete pad for the outdoor unit to sit on is a legal and practical component because it is required to complete the installation and, therefore, should be included in Box E.
As a helpful resource going forward, here are several examples of valid legal and practical components:
- -Permit costs
- -Electrical panel
- -HERS testing
- -Demolition work
- -Drywall replacement
- -Safety testing
- -Pouring a pad
- -Painting
- -Plan checks
- -Road closures
- -Crane rentals
- -Architect fees
If you have doubts about whether a given component is legal and/or practically required, don’t guess! Reach out to the Contractor Support Team and ask. They’re ready to help: gogreen@egia.org or 888-987-3443.