Connecticut Administrative Code › Title 16a - Planning and Energy Policy › 14 - Eligibility of Nonresidential Solar Energy Electricity Generating Systems for the Purpose of Authorized Property Tax Exemption › Standards and Specifications for Exemption from Property Tax for Passive and Hybrid Solar Energy Systems › Section 16a-14-202 - Eligibility

Current through July 10, 2024
Any building located in a municipality which has adopted
				  subdivision (62) of section
				  12-81 of
				  the general statutes, the construction of which is commenced on or after April
				  20, 1977, and before October 1, 1991, which is equipped with a passive or
				  hybrid solar energy heating or cooling system, of any building to which such a
				  system is added on or after April 20, 1977 and before October 1, 1991 shall be
				  eligible for exemption of property tax to the extent of any amount by which the
				  assessed valuation of such real property equipped with such a system exceeds
				  the valuation at which such real property would be assessed if built using
				  conventional construction techniques in lieu of construction related to such a
				  system. The following components of such a system shall be deemed eligible for
				  inclusion in determining the amount of the exemption if such components meet
				  the specifications stated herein and if such components meet all applicable
				  requirements of the state of Connecticut building code.
(a) Glazing materials with a U value of .65
				or less on a south facing wall, ± 30 degrees of true south, that is at
				least 75% free of shading between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on
				December 21, in fenestrating a building as part of a design for the purpose of
				direct or indirect solar heat gain.
(b) Equipment such as heads, sills and jambs
				used solely as bracing for eligible glazing, and awnings or overhangs for the
				purpose of shading such glazing during the cooling season.
(c) Skylights and roof glazing facing true
				south ± 30 degrees shall be considered solar energy equipment only if
				such devices are used for direct or indirect solar heat gain during the heating
				season and if capable of reducing heat loss at night during the heating season
				through use of insulating devices so that such skylights or roof glazing
				provides a net heat gain to the building.
(d) Devices constructed for the sole purpose
				of storing thermal energy collected by a passive or hybrid solar system,
				including rock storage bins, thermal mass walls of a nonloadbearing wall of a
				building, and thermal contact ceilings. Devices such as loadbearing walls or
				floors designed to provide thermal storage shall be eligible only for that
				portion of the valuation of the device which exceeds the valuation of such wall
				or floor if it were not built for thermal storage.
(e) Devices used for transporting heat in a
				passive or hybrid system, including ducts to move heated air from where it is
				collected to where it is used or stored, and fans in hybrid systems for moving
				heated air.
(f) Devices used to
				control the operation or functioning of a passive or hybrid system, including
				thermostatic controls and dampers. Such devices may operate either manually or
				automatically.
(g) Movable
				insulation used to minimize heat loss largely caused by nocturnal loss through
				areas used for direct, indirect, or isolated solar gain during the daylight
				hours, provided such insulation is tight-fitting, gasketed, fully
				weatherstripped or otherwise treated to limit infiltration and convective
				airflow around the device.
(h)
				Greenhouses, solaria, or sunspaces attached to a building for the purpose of
				isolated solar gain. Such structures shall be south facing ± 30 degrees
				of true south, use glazing materials which are equal or less than a U value of
				.65, provide thermal storage, have provisions to circulate warmed air through
				the living spaces of the building to which the structure is attached, have
				provisions to prevent nocturnal and cold weather heat losses from the building
				to which the structure is attached, and provide a net heat gain to the building
				to which the structure is attached. Conversion of existing structures into a
				solar greenhouse, solarium, or sunspace shall be eligible for exemption only to
				the extent that the improvements to the existing structure increase the
				valuation of the structure, and providing that the finished structure meets all
				criteria above for a greenhouse, solarium, or sunspace.