Federal and Statewide
The Federal government and the State of Colorado have been rolling out lots of great new rebates and incentives to help residents across the country make their homes more efficient, comfortable, and climate-ready. However, with so many rebates that have different conditions and qualifiers, it can be hard to know where to begin.
EnergySmart has partnered with Canopy, an online platform that specializes in residential rebates and programs, to create FREE personalized guides for Boulder County residents.
By answering just a few questions, your guide will help you get to the root of the industry lingo and understand what each tax credit or rebate means for you and your home–setting you up with a plan for success from the very beginning.
The following are questions and answers regarding home energy rebate programs administered by the U.S. Department of Energy and funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. For more information, please visit the Home Energy Rebate Programs page.
All materials come from the Office of State and Community Energy Programs website.
For tax credit FAQs visit the ENERGY STAR Tax Credit FAQ page and the IRS FAQ for home energy efficiency improvements and residential clean energy.
President Biden signed the landmark Inflation Reduction Act into law on August 16, 2022. The law authorizes $369 billion in spending on energy and climate change, including roughly $35 billion in clean energy investments managed through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The Inflation Reduction Act represents the single largest investment in tackling the climate crisis and investing in clean energy in U.S. history.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 includes two provisions authorizing $8.8 billion in rebates for home energy efficiency and electrification projects. These two provisions are:
Together, these provisions are referred to as the Home Energy Rebates. These provisions authorize the following:
The High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act (HEEHRA) provides point-of-sale consumer rebates to enable low- and moderate-income households across America to electrify their homes. HEEHRA will help American families save money on their monthly energy bills, create healthier indoor air environments, and reduce their carbon emissions.
HEEHRA is a voluntary program that covers 100 percent of electrification project costs (up to $14,000) for low-income households and 50 percent of costs (up to $14,000) for moderate-income households. Qualified electrification projects include heat pump HVAC systems, heat pump water heaters, electric stoves and cooktops, heat pump clothes dryers, and enabling measures such as upgrading circuit panels, insulation, air sealing, ventilation, and wiring. Project costs will cover both purchase and installation costs. And, notably, these point-of-sale rebates will act as off-the-top discounts when a household makes the purchase.
The Whole Home Energy Reduction Rebates (HOMES) are designed to reward energy efficiency retrofits that are modeled to achieve or have achieved verifiable minimum energy use reductions. The incentive tiers are as follows:
Incentives for low-income households (less than 80 percent of Area Median Income) are doubled, or up to 80 percent of project costs.
HOMES may be most useful for low- and moderate-income households with electric resistance heating, since those households are not eligible for Electrification Rebates (HEEHR). The Efficiency Rebates may also be useful for high-income households who do not qualify for Electrification Rebates. As we learn more about how households will experience this program, we’ll update this page.
Congress has structured these rebate programs to be administered by State Energy Offices and Indian Tribes, with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) providing guidance and oversight. A portion of funds authorized through the Inflation Reduction Act may be used by states and Indian Tribes to administer these programs.
No. Once DOE has made funds available to states and Indian Tribes, those entities will then be responsible for setting up and administering programs. Tax credits are available now but federal HEEHRA and HOMES incentives may not be retroactive for upgrades or improvements completed before the program is launched.
Households looking for home energy retrofit assistance today cannot yet access these rebates but may be eligible for other federal programs, including tax credits or the Weatherization Assistance Program, as well as other state, local, and utility programs.
Once DOE has made funds available to states and Indian Tribes, those entities will then be responsible for setting up and administering the programs that make the rebates accessible to households. It is likely that program rollouts will vary across states, but generally, DOE expects households to be able to access these rebates in much of the country in late 2023/early 2024. Tax credits are available now but federal HEEHRA and HOMES incentives may not be retroactive for upgrades or improvements completed before the program is launched.
The amount of money available for Home Energy Rebates varies depending on:
The table below summarizes the maximum allowed rebate amounts defined in the law for different types of home efficiency and electrification projects. Note that an installed technology may be eligible for rebates either because of its predicted energy savings or because of its inclusion on the qualified electrification project technologies list, but not for both reasons in a single household.
*Maximum rebated costs for Home Electrification Project Qualified Technologies
The law specifies that home efficiency rebates are available to “individuals and aggregators carrying out energy efficiency upgrades of single-family homes… [and] multifamily buildings.” These rebates are available to households of any income. For households with a total annual income below 80 percent of the area median income, rebates can cover a higher percentage of the total project costs.
The law also specifies that home electrification rebates are available to (1) low- or moderate-income households, (2) entities that own a multifamily building with low- or moderate-income households comprising at least 50 percent of the residents, and/or (3) organizations that are carrying out projects for low- or moderate-income households. A low- or moderate-income household is one where an individual or family which has a total annual income less than 150 percent of the median income of the area in which the individual or family resides. The Department of Housing and Urban Development reports area median income statistics across the United States.
Home electrification rebates may cover up to 100% of a total qualified electrification project’s cost for households with a total annual income less than 80 percent of the area median income.
The Inflation Reduction Act authorizes states to provide rebates for Home Efficiency Rebates begun on or after the enactment of the law. Given that states must establish programs that ensure compliance with the law (e.g., eligibility of household, technology, program reporting), it will be difficult to offer rebates for projects completed before program requirements are fully defined and programs are in place.
If a state is interested in offering rebates retroactively – that is, for projects completed before the state’s program is established, the state’s application to DOE will need to outline how the state will determine if these projects meet all program requirements. DOE plans to issue program guidelines in Spring 2023, after which states can submit their applications for DOE’s review.
The law does not authorize States to offer Home Electrification Rebates retroactively.
Qualified electrification projects under Section 50122 (Home Electrification Rebates) include the purchase and installation of at least one of the following upgrades:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a fact sheet on ENERGY STAR Certifications that are relevant to the Home Electrification Rebates.
DOE intends to post a Request for Information and will include a question about other technologies that State Energy Offices and Indian Tribes may be interested to include with installations of listed technologies.
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