October 30, 2009
Dear Senator,
As a voting citizen of Colorado, I request your strong support of the recent legislation proposed by Senators Jay Rockefeller and Chuck Grassley, respectively.
This proposed legislation seeks to expand the available tax credits offered under the ARRA, which was enacted late last year. Section 1121 of ARRA established window, door and skylight qualifying criteria of equal to or below a U factor of 0.30 and SHGC of 0.30.
Although, skylight manufacturers were encouraged by the government’s promise to extend the tax credit available to consumers when purchasing energy-efficient products, the .30/.30 standard chosen as the definitive qualification is not only, virtually impossible to achieve in the manufacture of skylights, but negates the inherent energy saving of skylights which is achieved by harnessing and utilizing natural daylight, reducing the need for abundantly overburdened electricity-based resources .
S.1792 seeks to include products that meet the 2010 Energy Star requirements; developed through ongoing efforts between the U.S. Department of Energy and window, door, and skylight manufacturers. The Energy Star criteria, ensures that energy standards, product performance and regional weather differences are addressed and met.
The skylight industry employs over 2,000 people across the US. We have over 20,000 dealers, over 30,000 installers and over 50,000 builders who have been negatively impacted by the tax credit as written in the 2009 stimulus plan.
Therefore, I support S.1792 and its attempt to guarantee that Energy Star labeled products will offer consumers the confidence needed to make an investment in energy-efficiency and the assurance that they are within the guidelines of qualifying for the available tax credit.
I thank you for your time and consideration and remain fully prepared to answer any questions about this important request.
Sincerely,
Rob Packard
President
Skylight Specialists, Inc. | 
