It pays to join the Residential New Construction Program. There are so many benefits to participating in the RNC Program outside of incentives. Check them out on this flyer.
Required Meter Photos
The Duke Energy RNC Team works to get the requested premise numbers to all raters in an accurate and timely fashion, but there are times when premise numbers are not able to be identified based on the address provided. As a reminder when this occurs, the expectation is that the rater must provide a photo of the meter to the RNC Program team when requested. If the photo request is not completed, the home will be cancelled and not paid.
If you have any questions on this expectation, please reach out to the RNC Program team at DERNC@icfprogram.com.
We appreciate your understanding and participation in making the Duke Energy RNC Program a success.
RNC Program Update on Projects over 3 Stories
Effective for all applications submitted on or after February 1st,
All homes submitted into the RNC Program, regardless of whole-house or equipment only, must be 3 stories or less. Anything greater than 3 stories is considered a commercial building and, is under no exceptions, eligible to be submitted into the Program. This is to align with the North Carolina Building Code.
All applications must be submitted through Ekotrope. Previously the Program allowed for bulk submissions got equipment-only applications. Going forward all applications must be submitted directly through Ekotrope, with an individual application for each address / being submitted.
2023 Program Highlights
Thanks to all builder and rater participants, 2023 was the highest energy savings Program Year to date!
Check out some of the 2023 Program highlights in this article.
Ekotrope SC Reference Home
The Ekotrope reference home for South Carolina has been updated to better align with the North Carolina reference home. We expect this change to improve energy savings and incentives in South Carolina Program homes. Please reach out to the Program team for additional information on updates.
Duke Energy Carolinas RNC Program Accepting Homes in South Carolina
Homes in the Upstate off South Carolina served by Duke Energy are now eligible for incentives in the RNC Program.
Any qualifying homes in Duke Energy territory in South Carolina permitted on or after 12/8/2022 are eligible for incentives and can be submitted in the RNC Program. Homes in South Carolina will follow the same incentive structure as North Carolina whether the home is in Progress or Carolinas territory. Homes in South Carolina will use the South Carolina building code for the reference home in Ekotrope.
The Duke Energy RNC Program Incentive structure can be found here.
Equipment-only SEER Change
Keeping in line with the upcoming DOE HVAC SEER changes, the RNC Program will be making changes to the SEER requirements for equipment-only incentives. Beginning with submissions on or after May 1st, 2023, equipment-only applications will need to be 16+ SEER to be eligible for the $300 equipment-only incentive for all Duke Energy homes in North or South Carolina. Prior to May 1st, 2023, the RNC Program will continue to accept 15 SEER applications.
For details on the SEER impact for whole-home incentives, check-out this news post.
National SEER Change and Ekotrope Reference Home Update
In following with the Department of Energy (DOE) national regulation update on HVAC systems effective in 2023, Ekotrope is updating the Duke Energy HERO Program to allow for SEER / SEER2, EER / EER2, and HSPF / HSPF2 inputs. There will also be the following changes made to the Duke Energy HERO Program reference home:
Starting May 1, 2023 for homes permitted on or after January 1, 2023:
The reference home will be set to 15 SEER (or SEER2 equivalent).
Exception: If the proposed home is less than 15 SEER, the reference SEER equals the proposed SEER (or SEER2 equivalent).
Example: The proposed home = 14.2 SEER, the reference home = 14.2 SEER (or SEER2 equivalent).
Check out this technical bulletin on the National SEER Change Summary.
Post Updated on 12/14/2022 to add the permit date of January 1, 2023.
Read MoreDuke Energy Progress Builder and Rater Applications Expiring
The Duke Energy Progress (DEP) RNC Program builder and rater applications are expiring.
Current builder and rater applications are expiring at the end of the year. Builders and Raters will need to submit a new application by December 31, 2022 to avoid any delays in payments beginning in 2023. Links to the applications can be found below.
Duke Energy Carolinas RNC Program is now live!
The Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) RNC Program is now live for home submissions!
Any qualifying homes in North Carolina DEC territory permitted on or after 1/7/2022 are eligible for incentives and can be submitted starting today (8/1/2022). The DEC timeline and incentive structure can be found in this News Announcement. See below links for how-to submit in Ekotrope.
Step-by-step guide for submitting homes in Ekotrope.
Quick review of submitting RNC homes in DEC territory vs. DEP territory.
North Carolina Temporary Change to Duct Insulation
The Executive Order issued by North Carolina Governor Cooper (Page 46, section 20.10) reducing the duct insulation requirement in unconditioned spaces from R-8 to R-4.2 in the North Carolina Building code is now live for savings impacts on Program homes. Homes with R-4.2 duct insulation have been eligible for RNC Program submissions in Ekotrope since March, but the savings calculations are now live to set the North Carolina reference home to R-4.2, from R-8. When using the Ekotrope Quick Analysis pane and Ekotrope Projected Reports there is an option for Permitted after 1/1/2022 which will show the updated energy savings as a result of this change.
Read MoreDEC Builder and Rater Applications are now live!
The Duke Energy RNC team is pleased to announce that the Duke Energy Carolina (DEC) Rater and Builder applications are now live on the RNC Program Website. All builders and raters that will be participating in the RNC Program in DEC territory will need to complete an application, regardless of their current participation in the Duke Energy Progress RNC Program.
Quick links to the applications for DEC territory can be found below.
The Duke Energy Carolinas RNC timeline and incentive structure can be found in this News Announcement.
Photovoltaics (PV) in RNC Program homes
As PV systems become more prevalent in the marketplace we want to remind you the Duke Energy RNC Program policy.
Homes in the Program are required to be individually metered and billed under a residential rate schedule. Homes that have solar photovoltaics (PV) installed around the time of the build could be master metered, (where multiple units of a multifamily building, townhome, or duplex are all under one meter) and billed as non-residential/commercial account. Builders are responsible for confirming with Duke Energy at the time the account is set up if the address will be residential and individually metered in the homeowner’s name. If raters are aware the home will have PV, it is recommended the builder confirm how the account will be set-up with Duke Energy prior to testing and submitting the home.
Read MoreRNC Program Expansion to Duke Energy Carolinas Territory in NC
After an extensive evaluation, the Duke Energy Progress(DEP) Residential New Construction (RNC) Program is ready to expand to all Duke Energy jurisdictions in North Carolina which includes Duke Energy Carolinas(DEC). We greatly appreciate your patience while the required due diligence has been carried out.
This News article describes the timeline of the expansion and provides DEC RNC incentives.
Read MoreDuke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolinas Service Territories
Map of the Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress service territories.
Read MoreNorth Carolina Temporary Change to Duct Insulation Requirements
The Duke Energy RNC Program will be temporarily modifying the minimum required duct insulation in response to the Executive Order issued by North Carolina Governor Cooper (page 46, section 20.10) reducing the duct insulation requirement in unconditioned spaces from R-8 to R-4.2 in the North Carolina building code.
If the temporary order expires, the RNC Program will default back to the North Carolina building code for duct insulation requirements. This change will go live in Ekotrope in the coming weeks. The RNC Program team will provide updates as they become available.
Due to the complexity of calculations determining whether homes qualify for incentives in the RNC Program, participating builders should check with their Home Energy Raters when making specification changes to homes to ensure they still qualify in the Program, and to determine incentive impacts.
Read MoreHVAC Grading Savings Captured in Ekotrope
Updated on 4/27/22
The Duke Energy RNC Program will begin capturing savings from HVAC grading in the coming weeks.
HVAC grading savings will be capped at 1,000 kWh per home system.
Homes must qualify for the full HERO+ HERS incentive category to receive incentives from HVAC grading.
The RNC Program team will provide updates as they become available surrounding the timeline in Ekotrope.
Read MoreEkotrope Version 4.0 Mandatory 01/01/2022
Ekotrope Version 4.0 will be mandatory for all homes in the Duke Energy RNC Program permitted on or after January 1, 2022 , per RESNET guidance. The RNC Program Team recommends all raters review their builders plans for potential impacts to program savings and compliance in the RNC Program prior to January 1st. The complete list of changes in Version 4.0 can be found on Ekotrope.com.
Read MoreBest Practices for T-Ply and Housewrap Rater Webinar
The Duke Energy RNC Program team will be hosting a rater webinar to overview the best practices with t-ply and housewrap and answer questions from raters. Please reach out to the RNC Program team for a link to the webinar.
Read MoreSmart Thermostat Incentive Announcement
The North Carolina Utilities Commission recently approved a North Carolina based utility program that incentivizes the installation of smart thermostats. The Duke Energy Progress(DEP) RNC Program also incentivizes builders for installing an Energy Star(ES) smart thermostat in participating homes. Effective May 17, 2021 participating homes in the RNC Program may receive incentive for ES smart thermostat from the DEP RNC Program or receive an incentive for a smart thermostat from other North Carolina based utilities, but not both.
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