Low- and middle-income homeowners in New York are eligible for up to $14,000 for climate-friendly upgrades like insulation and heat pumps, Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Thursday.
The new funding through President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is meant to accelerate electrification, which is key to reaching city and state climate goals requiring an end to fossil fuel usage. The rebate is designed to shoulder a substantial chunk of the cost for low-to-middle income families as part of the Justice40 program, which has a goal of distributing 40% of federal climate funding to disadvantaged communities.
The estimated energy cost savings for switching to heat pumps nationwide is up to $1 billion annually. Granholm said that comes out to nearly $200 per month on average for a house in Queens that was recently weatherized and replaced its boiler with a heat pump.
“These programs are targeting largely low- and moderate-income homeowners, which are the ones who need it most obviously, because their houses often are the leakiest, and have the oldest and most inefficient appliances,” Granholm said in an interview with Gothamist.
The incentive will be delivered in the form of a rebate, allowing residents to receive the full amount they’re eligible for. That means a homeowner can get up to $8,000 for a heat pump, $4,000 for an electrical panel and $500 for wiring.
New York is the first state to implement the $300 million program.
According to the Urban Green Council, cost is the biggest barrier to making residential electrification modifications, such as heat pumps. The Council estimated that central heat pump systems for one New York City apartment ranged from $15,000 to $22,000, with a caveat that it could come out to 15% more with added features such as simultaneous heating and cooling. The majority of New Yorkers use natural gas for fuel, which is cheaper than using electricity for heat pumps. A substantial portion of homes still run on fuel oil or steam, which are more expensive to operate than heat pumps.
The program will be administered in two phases. The first part begins now, and is exclusively for low-to-middle-income households, which are defined as households that earn 80% of the area's median income or less. In Queens, where Hochul and Granholm spoke, that’s about $124,000 for a family of four, according to the Department of Energy.
The second phase will be rolled out later this year through a program run by the state’s Energy Research and Development Authority called Empower+. Half of the funding will continue to go to low-to-middle-income families, and the remaining will be open to all households. The state is also working to provide an additional $8,000 in rebates for upgrades that reduce energy usage by at least 20%.
For information on eligibility and restrictions, visit the Department of Energy’s rebate site.
“There's as many as 48 million single-family homes that need to be upgraded across America. It’s a huge lift,” Granholm said. “This is an important step, but it won't cover everybody, but nonetheless, we want people who are vulnerable to know that this help is there for them.”
