New York State Clean Heat Program: A Homeowner's Guide

New York State's Clean Heat Program is a statewide heat pump incentive program aimed at helping residents upgrade to efficient, all-electric heating and cooling. It's part of New York's push for a low-carbon future – encouraging homeowners to switch from oil, propane, or electric resistance heat to modern heat pump systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The program is a collaboration between the state's major electric utilities and NYSERDA (New York State's energy agency), ensuring a consistent set of incentives and standards across the state. Below, we introduce the program's purpose, the technologies and upgrades it supports, available rebates for single-family homes, eligibility rules, and how to get started with a qualified contractor.

Purpose of the NYS Clean Heat Program

The NYS Clean Heat Program's core mission is to accelerate the adoption of high-efficiency electric heat pump systems for home heating and cooling. Heat pumps have been used for years for heating and air conditioning, but today's "cold-climate" models can handle New York's winters effectively, providing cozy warmth even when it's below freezing outside. By promoting heat pumps, the program helps homeowners save on energy costs and cut emissions, while building the market for clean heating technologies statewide. In short, it's about making it easier and more affordable to heat (and cool) your home without burning fossil fuels.

What Upgrades and Technologies Does It Support?

Heat Pumps for Space Heating/Cooling: The program supports both Air-Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) and Ground-Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) as primary heating systems in homes.

• Air-Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs): These include ductless "mini-split" heat pumps and ducted central heat pump systems. They transfer heat between the indoor air and outside air. Cold-climate ASHP models qualified under the program can efficiently heat your home through NY winters (and provide central A/C in the summer).
• Ground-Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs): Also known as geothermal systems, these use underground loops to exchange heat with the earth. GSHPs can be even more efficient year-round and are also supported with generous incentives for residential projects.

Heat Pump Water Heaters: In addition to space heating, the NYS Clean Heat Program covers heat pump water heaters (HPWH) – highly efficient electric units that use a heat pump to heat your domestic hot water. Upgrading your old electric or gas water heater to a heat pump model can qualify for rebates as well.

Other Eligible Measures: The program also offers incentives for certain related upgrades when done in conjunction with a heat pump installation. For example, if you add insulation or air-sealing (envelope improvements) alongside your heat pump, or install advanced controls (like an "integrated control" to coordinate a heat pump with an existing furnace), those may earn additional incentives. Efficient ventilation systems (ERV/HRVs) and other innovative heat pump technologies (like air-to-water heat pumps for homes with hydronic radiators) are supported in some cases, but for most single-family homeowners the focus will be on ASHP or GSHP systems.

Incentives Available for Homeowners

One of the biggest benefits of the program is the cash rebates that help offset the cost of installing a heat pump. NYS Clean Heat offers significant incentives – often several thousand dollars – to eligible homeowners. The exact rebate depends on your electric utility and the type of installation, but here are some examples:

• Air-Source Heat Pump rebates: If you replace or supplement your existing furnace/boiler with a qualifying cold-climate ASHP that fully heats your home, you can receive a hefty rebate. For instance, in Con Edison's territory a single-family detached home can get $8,000 for converting fully to a heat pump (decommissioning the old heating system), or $2,500 if the heat pump is added as the primary heating with the old system as backup (using integrated controls). Other utilities offer similar incentive levels (some calculate it per unit of heating capacity), and typically the larger the system and the more you offset fossil fuel use, the larger the rebate.
• Ground-Source Heat Pump rebates: Geothermal systems qualify for even higher incentives. The statewide program incentive for residential GSHP projects is around $20,000 per home (capped at 50% of project cost), reflecting the higher upfront cost of these systems. This can significantly buy down the price of a geothermal installation for your home.
• Heat Pump Water Heater rebates: Switching from a conventional electric or gas water heater to a heat pump water heater can earn rebates typically on the order of $700–$1,100 per unit (amount varies by utility), helping make these upgrades very affordable.

All Clean Heat rebates are capped at 50% of the project's total cost – you can't receive an incentive larger than half of what you actually spend. Importantly, these rebates can be combined with federal tax credits (such as the 30% tax credit for heat pumps under the Inflation Reduction Act) to further increase your savings. This "stacking" of incentives means many homeowners can make the heat pump switch at a much lower net cost than otherwise possible.

Eligibility Rules for 1–4 Unit Homes

The NYS Clean Heat Program is targeted to specific utility service areas and project types. Not every home or project will qualify – so it's important to understand the basic eligibility rules:

Electric Utility Territory: To participate, your home must get electricity from one of the participating New York utilities. Eligible utility territories include Con Edison (New York City/Westchester), National Grid, Central Hudson, Orange & Rockland, NYSEG, and RG&E. Customers of municipal electric utilities or PSEG Long Island are not covered by this statewide program.

Building Type: The program is focused on residential buildings with 1 to 4 dwelling units (e.g. single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, or fourplexes). Larger multifamily buildings (5+ units) and commercial properties have their own incentive categories and may require additional pre-approval. Truly mobile homes (on wheels) are generally not eligible.

Full-Load Heating Requirement: To get the standard rebates, your new heat pump system must be designed to handle 100% of your home's heating load (at the design outdoor temperature). In other words, it should fully heat your house without relying on your old furnace or other backup in normal winter conditions. The program defines full-load systems as covering 100% (up to 120%) of the calculated heating load for the entire dwelling. Partial-load or supplemental installations (where the heat pump only covers part of the load) do not qualify for most residential incentives. This ensures that the rebates go toward projects that meaningfully reduce or eliminate fossil fuel heating.

Qualified Equipment: Only approved high-efficiency heat pump models can be used. Air-source units must be listed on the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) Cold-Climate ASHP product list (i.e. meet cold-climate performance standards). Ground-source heat pumps must be ENERGY STAR rated. Heat pump water heaters and controls must also meet the program's qualification criteria (e.g. ENERGY STAR, specific product lists). Your contractor will ensure the equipment qualifies before installation.

Existing Heating Fuel: The program is intended to convert homes currently heated with fossil fuels (fuel oil, propane, natural gas) or electric resistance baseboards to heat pumps. You will not receive a Clean Heat rebate for simply replacing an existing heat pump system with a new one ("like-for-like" replacement). However, replacing a traditional AC with a heat pump (to add heating ability) is eligible, as is replacing an old boiler/furnace or electric resistance heat. Also, you cannot take a gas utility heating rebate and a Clean Heat heat pump rebate for the same site – it's one or the other.

New Construction vs Retrofit: Generally, this program is geared toward retrofitting existing homes. If you are building a brand-new home, note that air-source heat pump incentives are not offered for new construction – new builds can only qualify for GSHP incentives under the program. Existing homes and gut-renovation projects are eligible for both ASHP and GSHP rebates.

Is Your Home Eligible? – Quick Checklist

• Utility Customer: Do you pay electric bills to Con Edison, National Grid, Central Hudson, Orange & Rockland, NYSEG, or RG&E? Only these utility territories participate (PSEG Long Island and municipal utilities are excluded).
• Home Size: Is your home a 1–4 unit residential building (house, townhouse, or small multi-unit)? Homes with up to 4 units qualify as residential.
• Heating Load: Will the proposed heat pump system fully meet your home's heating needs in winter? Systems must cover ~100% of your calculated heat load to receive standard rebates.
• Replacing Old Heating: Are you replacing oil, gas, propane, or electric resistance heating (or adding a heat pump to largely displace it)? The program incentivizes switching from conventional heating to heat pumps. (If you already use a heat pump for heating, you likely won't be eligible for a replacement rebate.)
• Qualified Equipment: Is the heat pump model you plan to install on the program's qualified product list (cold-climate rated, ENERGY STAR, etc.)? Your contractor can confirm this.
• Participating Contractor: Will a program-approved contractor be doing the installation and handling the paperwork? (This is required – see next section.)

If you can check all the boxes above, your home is a great candidate for NYS Clean Heat incentives!

How to Apply and the Role of Participating Contractors

Getting a Clean Heat rebate is not as simple as buying a heat pump at the store – the incentives are administered through participating contractors who are trained in the program requirements. As a homeowner, your main task is to select a contractor enrolled in NYS Clean Heat (each utility and NYSERDA provide listings of approved contractors). This contractor will guide you through the upgrade process from start to finish:

• Home Assessment & Quote: First, the contractor will assess your home's heating and cooling needs. They may conduct a free or low-cost home energy audit to evaluate your insulation and identify any efficiency improvements. (Sealing air leaks and upgrading insulation before installing a heat pump is highly recommended – it can reduce the size and cost of the system you need.) The contractor will then propose a heat pump solution that fits your home and provide an estimate. This includes doing a proper Manual J load calculation to size the system – in fact, the program requires that every project include detailed heating/cooling load calculations to ensure the equipment is sized correctly. You can be confident you're getting a right-sized system for your home's needs.
• Incentive Application: Your participating contractor will handle the incentive application paperwork for you. Only approved contractors can actually submit rebate applications in the residential program. The contractor will fill out all required forms, documentation (including the Manual J load calc, equipment specs, etc.), and submit them to the program administrators either before or after installation as required. The rebate, once approved, is paid directly to the contractor, who will then pass it on to you (usually as a line-item discount on your invoice). This setup makes it easier on homeowners – you don't have to wait for a check, you just pay the net cost minus the rebate.
• Installation & Verification: The contractor installs the new heat pump system, including any integrated controls if you're keeping a backup furnace. If you opted for an "integrated controls" approach (keeping your old heating as secondary), the contractor will set up the control so that the heat pump becomes the primary heating source and the old system only kicks in at very cold temperatures or if needed. If you chose to fully decommission your old heating system, the contractor will remove or disable it according to program guidelines (e.g. draining and cutting off an oil furnace, so it can't run). After installation, the contractor may need to submit some final documents or photos to verify the system is operating and the old equipment is handled properly. Some projects might get a quality inspection or "field assessment" by a third party to ensure everything meets the program standards (this is random or as-needed, not for every home).

Local Code Compliance: Keep in mind, all heat pump installations must be done in compliance with state and local building codes (electrical, plumbing, HVAC codes) and with any required permits. A reputable participating contractor will take care of pulling permits and ensuring the work is up to code.

Upgrade to Clean Heat with Confidence

The New York State Clean Heat Program is making it easier and more affordable than ever for homeowners to upgrade to clean, efficient heat pumps. By understanding the program's offerings and requirements, you can take advantage of thousands of dollars in rebates, reduce your home's carbon footprint, and enjoy year-round comfort with a modern heating and cooling system. If you're ready to explore a heat pump upgrade for your 1–4 family home, start by checking your eligibility and connecting with a qualified NYS Clean Heat contractor – you'll be on your way to a warmer (and cooler) home that's cheaper to run and greener for the planet.