Nicor Rebate Program helping businesses save

From left to right: DRF’s Scott Schnurr, Dominican University president Donna M. Carroll, and Nicor Gas president Beth Reese pose with the check Dominican University received through participating in the Nicor Gas Business Custom Incentive Program.
Through participating in the Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Program, Dominican University was given the opportunity to upgrade existing heating equipment in its facilities, and save significantly in the process.
Developed to offer large businesses the opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of their facilities and save money, Dominican participated in the Nicor Gas Business Custom Incentive Program, which provides financial incentives for the installation of high-efficiency equipment not covered by the Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Program’s Business Rebate Program. Through the program, businesses can receive up to $500,000 on their gas-savings projects per year.
According to Nicor, incentives are paid based on energy savings beyond baseline energy performances, such as state or federal codes and standards, industry-accepted performance standards, or other baseline energy performance standards as determined by the Nicor Business Custom Incentive Program.
The current cycle of the program is available for projects installed from June 1, 2012 through May 31, 2014, or until funds are depleted. Per Nicor requirements, post-installation inspections must be conducted and final applications must be submitted to the program by June 30, 2014. Businesses seeking to participate in the program must attain pre-approval in order to become eligible.
Detailed information regarding the program can be found in the Nicor Gas Business Custom Incentive Program handbook.
Dominican began working with DRF Trusted Property Solutions of Plainfield, Ill. in 2010 when DRF observed a large amount of gas being used during the summer months. After developing an initial project design that did not qualify for the Nicor Gas Business Custom Incentive Program, nor provide the desired financial benefits, DRF turned to Metropolitan Industries to help provide a custom solution.
The final project design included three individual point of use systems customized to handle specified heating demands.
Metropolitan HVAC salesperson Matt Brickey praised the program’s ability to assist businesses seeking to conduct retro-fit upgrades progress in an expedited fashion.
“In the case of Dominican University, this program not only helped cover some of the costs of the custom equipment and installation, the gas savings realized will continue to give back for years to come,” said Brickey. “Because of the financial benefits the rebate program offers, it can help prospective customers who may be facing budget constraints get projects moving in the right direction.”
For complete information regarding this project, please visit The Chief Engineer, which profiled the project in its December issue.
For information regarding our custom HVAC solutions and how you may be eligible to save through the Nicor Gas Business Custom Incentive Program, please contact a Metropolitan representative at (800) 323-1665 or visit www.metropolitanind.com.