Winter's on the way and the City of Knoxville has money available to help qualified homeowners and businesses make energy saving improvements to their homes and buildings.

However, that window of opportunity will only be open for a few more months.

That means that families and businesses interested in taking advantage of the city's Green Building Incentive Program - which helps pay for everything from simple improvements like weather stripping to more significant changes like installing solar technology - need to act soon.

The city launched the $270,000 federally-funded program in September. It's designed to provide homeowners, businesses or organizations with rebates on a portion of the total costs of making energy efficiency renovations or installing solar on their buildings.

"There is still plenty of funding available and we want to see more people involved and benefiting," said Jake Tisinger, the city's sustainability coordinator. "I think this is a great opportunity to make some money-saving improvements, but the program is temporary and if people are interested they need to apply now."

There is roughly $200,000 left in the fund and the city is seeking to distribute all of it by June. There is a processing period for applications so individuals or businesses wanting to make improvements before the cold weather sets in need to apply soon.

The money is part of an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block (EECBG) Grant the city received as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as federal stimulus package.

Tisinger said participants can receive rebates after having an energy audit and completing the necessary upgrades to their properties. Additional items eligible for rebates ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars include refrigerators, water heaters, toilets and solar arrays.

The amount of rebates will vary according to the scope of the work and the program will be administered for the city by the Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee.

The improvements range from additions like new, energy saving appliances to the installation of solar hot water heaters and other solar technologies. The funding is being split between conventional improvements and solar additions.

For more information about the city's Green Building Incentive Program - or to apply to participate in it - please go to: www.CACHousing.org. To learn more about the city's sustainability efforts, visit www.knoxvilletn.gov/sustainability.