How Mass Save can help cut your energy costs

If you call Massachusetts home, you’re no stranger to wildly cold winters followed by hot and muggy summers. 

With these extreme conditions, it is common for residents to spend more on electricity, and oil or gas, in order to heat and cool their homes. Plus, Massachusetts has some of the highest electricity rates in the country, with the average electricity bill in Boston reaching almost $300 per month!

In an attempt to curb these never-ending costs, the state has launched the Mass Save program. It can help Mass residents save hundreds of dollars on energy, year after year. 

In this article, we’ll tell you what the Mass Save program has to offer, as well as all the ways you can save money with it.

What is Mass Save?

Mass Save program is an energy assistance program for Massachusetts electricity consumers.

The goal is to help lower energy usage, reduce energy costs, and ease pollution in the state through simple energy-efficiency improvements. 

It offers incentives on energy-efficient appliances, as well as free energy assessments courtesy of a certified energy specialist. 

Participating homes have been able to save between $200 and $400 per year, mostly by improving the energy efficiency of their heating, cooling, and water heating.

If you’re from a low-income household, you can even qualify for free-of-cost electrical appliances and home-energy upgrades.

Who can take advantage of the Mass Save program?

The Mass Save program can help just about everyone in Massachusetts save money on energy bills. This includes homeowners, renters, landlords, businesses, and schools. 

It offers incentives on energy-efficient appliances - including Energy Star-certified appliances - as well as free energy assessments courtesy of a certified energy specialist. 

These features are available for residents and businesses alike, with small business owners eligible for the services at a subsidized cost.  

No-cost home energy assessment

A highly-valued aspect of the Mass Save program is the offering of a no-cost home energy assessment. The assessment is conducted in under two hours by an energy specialist, either virtually or in person.

Here's what’s included in a home energy assessment:

• Installation of energy-saving products where required. Products can include advanced power strips, low-flow showerheads, faucet aerators or programmable thermostats.

• Receiving a custom list of energy-saving recommendations.

• Eligibility screening for rebates and incentives offered by Mass Save.

You can learn more about home energy assessments, AKA home energy audits, on the program website.

Mass Save’s income-based programs

Mass Save offers two different income-based programs for Massachusetts residents. 

Both begin with a free home energy assessment (the same one available to all residents), based on which they offer you additional energy efficiency support. 

Here’s the assistance offered under each program:

• Enhanced Residential Program: No-cost insulation upgrade plus special rebates and incentives.

• Income-Eligible Program: New home appliances (such as clothes washers, refrigerators and water heating equipment), plus no-cost insulation and air sealing upgrades.

Eligibility is dependent on your annual household income, as well as number of members in your household.

Mass Save rebates and incentives

Mass Save offers a number of rebates and incentives for a wide variety of household appliances, as well as renovations and new home constructions. All of these rebates and incentives are offered to promote a more sustainable and energy-efficient home.

Here are just some of the rebates that Mass Save offers:

Appliance	Rebate*
Heat pumps	Up to $15,000
Gas heating	Up to $2,750
Water heaters	Up to $700
Home insulation	75%-100% off**

The Mass Save website has the complete list of potential rebates.

3 Mass Save rebates we recommend

There are deep discounts and rebates on a variety of energy-saving household items at the Mass Save online store. 

These are the ones we recommend you buy and use to get the most out of the Mass Save program.

1. Switch out old light bulbs

For those who are still using incandescent or fluorescent lights, switching out your old light bulbs to more efficient light bulbs is one of the easiest ways to cut your energy bills. 

The Mass Save store offers LEDs as low as $2.75 per bulb, and they last between 15-25 years. This is much better than an incandescent bulb, which only lasts about two years with constant use. 

The running cost of an LED light is just $0.27 a month, compared to $1.70 for an equivalent incandescent bulb

If you replace 10 of your old light bulbs with LEDs, you’ll save over $170 each year!

2. Use advanced and smart power strips

Another great way to reduce energy use is by taking advantage of the Mass Save rebates for advanced power strips. 

When electronics are plugged in they draw power from outlets, even if the device is off. This is what is known as a phantom load. 

Advanced power strips prevent phantom loads from sucking the energy out of your home, and the money out of your pocket. The Mass Save store offers advanced power strips at discounted pricing.

Advanced power strips, also known as smart power strips, cut power to the outlet when devices are off or idle. They also include “always-on outlets” for devices needing continuous power. 

With an advanced power strip, overnight your WiFi modem will remain on, while the power to your speakers will be turned off.

3. Install smart home devices

Mass Save provides discounts on smart home equipment, devices you can use to automate and control your energy usage. 

Discounted gear include smart thermostats, which you can adjust based on your schedule and habits. In the winter, for example, you can use it automatically shut the heating while you’re away and switch it back on before return. This is a much better option than the alternatives, which are to leave the heating on the entire time (expensive) or return to a chilly house (brrr).

Mass Save offers some serious discounts on smart thermostats, cutting the cost down by $100.

Increasing your energy savings with solar

One of the best options in Massachusetts to save even more on energy is by going solar, especially now that the new SMART solar incentive program is in effect.  

The SMART program builds on Massachusetts’ previous successes with solar incentives and has helped create a longer-term solar incentive program that both homeowners and utilities benefit from.

Under the new Mass solar incentives, for instance, a homeowner in Boston could save up to $99,421 in energy costs over the course of a solar system's 25-year-plus lifespan.

To compute the cost of solar panels for your home, as well as how much money they will save you based on your specific circumstances, simply enter your zip code into the calculator below.