Builders

Join Wisconsin’s Elite Builders

Become a Focus on Energy Participating Builder

Focus on Energy has been helping Wisconsin home builders for more than 20 years in building homes exceeding the standard for quality, safety, comfort, durability, and energy efficiency. It's why more than 40,000 home buyers have chosen to work with a builder partnering with Focus on Energy to build their dream home.

Steps to Participate Learn More

New Home Certification Advantages

As a participating builder, you'll be partnered with a Energy Building Performance Consultant (BPC) to make sure your homes meet the highest standards for energy efficiency, combustion safety, comfort, and durability—ensuring your homes meet program requirements. In addition, you will also enjoy other benefits, including:

Financial incentives on homes 30% or more efficient than existing building codes.
Third-party verification that homes exceed energy efficiency standards.
Documentation for federal tax credits ($2,500 to $5,000 per home. Refer to section 45L of the tax code).
Technical reporting including heat loss calcs, UDC energy code compliance, and HVAC equipment sizing, and energy cost by building component.
Marketing and promotional materials including a builder listing on the Focus website.
Fewer customer callbacks

Builder Incentives

Homes built with 30% or more energy-efficiency than the current Uniform Dwelling Code are eligible for financial incentives, up to $4,000 per home. Wisconsin, single-family homes, built in a participating Focus on Energy utility territory are eligible. Stand-alone homes or multi-unit buildings, three stories or less, including townhomes and duplexes meeting the requirements of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, section 320.04 (6) note 2 are eligible.

Program incentives to builders are pay-for-performance; the more energy-efficient the home, the larger the incentive. Energy modeling software determines energy savings by comparing the Metric Million British Thermal Unit (MMBtu) consumption of the as-built home to the MMBtu consumption of a baseline home, resulting in the MMBtu savings value. The MMBtu savings value is multiplied by the applicable incentive amounts in the table below.

Level	Requirement	Per MMBtu Incentive
1	30% Above Code	$45
2	30% Above Code + ENERGY STAR® Certification	$50
3	30% Above Code + ENERGY STAR® + Zero Energy Ready Certification	$60
4	Income Qualified Additive Per MMBtu Saved	$5
Incentive Example: Level 1 home that has 27 MMBtu savings. 27 MMBtu X $45 = $1,215
Conversion Rates: kWh * .003412 = MMBtu \| Therms * .1 = MMBtu

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Federal Tax Incentives

Federal tax incentives are available for builders of ENERGY STAR or Department of Energy (DOE) Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) new homes. These incentives can be stacked with Focus on Energy builder incentives. Builders of ENERGY STAR certified, or DOE ZERH new homes may qualify for federal tax incentives.

The table below summarizes the federal tax incentive structure.

Requirement	*Tax Credit
ENERGY STAR Certified Single-Family (SF) New Homes National v3.2 Multifamily (MF) New Construction National v1.1	$2,500 SF $500 MF
DOE ZERH Certified Single-Family Multifamily	$5,000 SF $1,000 MF
As part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Section § 45L New Energy Efficient Home Credit (§ 45L credit) has been updated and extended through 2032. For eligible homes and apartments (referred to as dwelling units in § 45L) acquired on or after January 1, 2023, the tax credit is now specifically tied to certification to an eligible version of the relevant ENERGY STAR program requirements. Note that a larger tax credit is also available for homes that are certified to DOE’s ZERH program. In 2025, the minimum ENERGY STAR program versions eligible for the § 45L Credit increased to v3.2 for single-family new homes and remain v1.1 for multifamily new home construction.*

A Day in the Life of a Focus on Energy Building Performance Consultant

Building Performance Consultants (BPCs) are independent businesses and accredited building science professionals associated with the Focus on Energy New Homes Program. BPCs have been helping Wisconsin home builders for more than 20 years, building homes exceeding the standard for quality, safety, comfort, durability, and energy efficiency. It's why more than 40,000 homebuyers have built a certified home from Focus on Energy.

Steps to Participate

1 Find a local Focus on Energy Building Performance Consultant

(BPC)

Find a New Construction Consultant

2 The BPC visits the home during construction to verify it's on track to meet program requirements.

3 Once construction is complete, the BPC conducts performance testing to verify the home meets program requirements.

4 BPC submits paperwork on your behalf and you receive your cash incentive!