The majority of Columbus homes need an energy upgrade. Why now is a good time
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Federal tax credits cover 30% of energy audits, insulation and heat pumps.
- Columbus area lacks certified auditors despite high demand and aging home infrastructure.
- Heat pumps offer efficient heating and cooling with tax savings
In late July, air conditioning units hum throughout the Chattahoochee Valley and across Georgia, cooling homes, providing indoor respite from blistering triple-digit heat.
On Wednesday, the heat index at the Columbus airport reached 107 degrees around 4 p.m. Scientists say that day’s temperature was three times more likely because of climate change.
As summers – and even spring days – heat up outside, the pressure to keep homes and businesses more comfortable is mounting. Central air conditioning units are working overtime, and Georgia Power electric bills are higher than ever before. Some Columbus residents are settling for 80, or in some cases, 90-degree temperatures inside their home in an effort to save money.
New air conditioning units are not cheap; they are often referred to as one of the costliest purchases one will ever make, running anywhere from $7,500 to $13,000.
But there are two simple solutions that can combat costs and discomfort that experts say could be just as effective and efficient as getting a new air conditioning unit: an energy audit, and if necessary, insulating the home.
And, for the next five months there are huge savings to be made from the Inflation Reduction Act home improvement tax credits by the federal government. The credits were created as an effort to incentivize electrifying the home and transition away from fossil fuels to help combat climate change, but many are set to expire soon because the “Big Beautiful Bill” repealed them.
An energy audit is a two-to-three hour inspection where a professional building analyst diagnoses a home, finding leaks that are quickly pushing expensive and comfortable air out of the home. Auditors conduct a “blower door and combustion safety testing,” said Nick Stevens, senior software engineer from Rewiring America. “They can pressurize your house and look with a thermal imaging gun to find leaks.”
These professional audits cost $400, according to Shane Matteson, an auditor and operations Manager of Energy Consulting Services based in Atlanta. He audited Sara Vinson’s home in Covington – not far from Atlanta – a few years ago.
Vinson only paid $130 because of the federal tax credit that gives back 30% of the cost of an energy audit. In her case it was $270. Additionally, ECS is a Georgia Power partner contractor, which means Vinson could apply for a $150 rebate through Georgia Power for the audit.
“I thought I knew my house, but they found spots in the house where there was no insulation,” Vinson said. ”I thought, surely they’re going to tell us to replace these sliding glass doors or insulate them somehow. But, it turns out the cold air (in the winter) was coming from our attic like right beside our kitchen cabinets, that there was a lot of insulation missing.”
Vinson got a packet of suggested changes and took ECS’ recommendations, starting with a spray foam insulation. Industry experts say it is the most significant in energy savings compared to wool, cellulose or fiberglass.
“Spray foam is one of the most efficient forms of insulation that you can get for your home,” Stevens said. “Even though there is a climate cost for it, you can make up for that cost in the savings that you’ll have from a really well sealed and insulated (home).”
The foam does come at a cost for the environment, as hydrofluorocarbons are emitted from the spray, and they contribute to global warming. Insulation is also on the list of IRA energy efficiency tax credits, so Vinson paid $5,130 instead of $6,700.
“Attic insulation is probably the cheapest thing, but the most impactful,” said Mike Gunter, general manager of Energy Savers, an HVAC company in Columbus.
Vinson gives presentations to share what she’s learned to her community groups in Newton County and said of the 50 attendees, zero knew about the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, or the benefits of auditing a home and adding insulation, least of all replacing an air conditioningfor a heat pump.
While its name doesn’t imply it provides cool air, a heat pump is an all-in-one system that heats and cools using electricity instead of a furnace or boiler. They’ve become popular, growing from 7 million to over 18 million installations across the U.S. in the last 10 years.
“They tend to be way more efficient than either a gas boiler or a furnace or even an AC,” Stevens said. “It’s kind of like a two way AC, it tends to be more comfortable too (and) you’re able to get rid of all those meter fees that come along with gas, so you can really save a lot of money (switching).”
Is a new heat pump on the tax credit list? Yes, like the insulation credit, those who want to install one can get a 30% credit of the project cost.
Vinson replaced her HVAC with an Energy Star heat pump, which would have cost $10,000 but instead cost $7,000 with the tax credit.
“Our house is tremendously more comfortable than it was before the improvements,” she said in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer. “To this day, my husband and I can’t get over how little our HVAC runs and how well our house retains heat in the winter and cool air in the summer. It’s a remarkable improvement.”
Vinson said her accountant was familiar with the tax credits and it wasn’t complicated or difficult when tax season came around.
Incentives will be gone soon
When the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law on July 4, it drastically shortened the amount of time people had to take advantage of these credits. The timeline changed from 2032 to Dec. 31, 2025.
“Because of the expiration of the incentives at the end of the year, now’s the time to jump into this,” Stevens said. “I would start with an energy audit. And those are pretty quick processes. You can get one of those in two to three hours … then deliver a report to you, typically within a week, that you can then take to go and do all these other improvements.”
Rewiring America offers a planner, which Stevens helped develop, and an opportunity to find certified building professionals by putting in a zip code. But there aren’t any within two hours of Columbus, according to their tool. They do have a link that has a DIY test and suggest going through BPI-Contractors, but there aren’t any in the Columbus area.
Georgia Power does not offer employees to come in and audit homes, and their provided map does not show any partner contracts in the area.
However, marketing and PR spokesperson Alicia Brown said customers could contact Green Home Solutions, based in Cedartown, or Be Smart Home Solutions, servicing Georgia, South Carolina, parts of Florida, and Virginia.
Brown said if contractors are interested in being a participating contractor, they should contact Georgia Power for more details.
Matteson said he gets calls from the Columbus area, but said it doesn’t make business sense for him to make a 3.5-hour trek round trip.
“The small-medium markets are totally underserved,” he said. “We’re a niche industry and we’re booked a month out.”
Columbus is in an audit deficit, despite desperately needing it.
“If I had to guess, eight out of 10 houses in Columbus need to replace equipment, or have duct modification,” Gunter said. “A lot of homes in Columbus were built in the 1900’s… the majority need to have an energy audit.”
Energy Savers does not provide BPI certified energy audits. Gunter said they would like to, but don’t have the manpower.
He said they do focus on duct work more than their competitors who might just try to sell a new unit instead of getting to efficiency.
Duct systems are the passageways that carry the air from the unit throughout the house. Gunter thinks those leaks are huge problems, especially because a lot of homes in Columbus were built in the 1900s, he said.
Energy Savers do provide insulation but instead of foam spray they spray fiberglass insulation.
Another reason to act now on an audit, insulation or heat pump is because the costs of units have risen dramatically over the last five years, and according to Gunter, they won’t get any cheaper. He suspects it is from a variety of factors such as inflation, supply chain issues or new tariffs.
“In January of 2020 we might have installed a system for $7,500 and now a similar system, maybe similar size. I mean, it’s not uncommon that it’s close to $12,000,” Gunter said.
Brown said Georgia Power will begin offering in-person energy audits in 2026, but it will be in a preliminary phase.
This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 9:43 AM.
