Heat pump rebates in the works for Mainers

Portland Commons includes heat pump technology on the roof.

File photo / Courtesy Trent Bell Heat pumps rebates are on the rise thanks to federal money. The technology is part of the new Portland Commons residential hall at the University of Southern Maine.

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By Laurie Schreiber

The clean energy economy is getting another boost with a new injection of federal money designed to get heat pumps into more homes.

A $36 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will support heat pump rebates for income-eligible Maine residents in multifamily and manufactured homes.

The home energy rebate program, announced by Gov. Janet Mills and U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, will be administered by Efficiency Maine.

Eligible participants include low-income owners of manufactured homes as well as affordable multifamily new construction homes.

The program will complement Efficiency Maine’s existing incentive programs for all income levels, including those that tackle the heating and cooling needs of low-income folks in apartments and mobile homes, said Michael Stoddard, executive director of the Efficiency Maine Trust.

It’s also expected to increase demand for the services of the many small businesses that install and service this technology, he added.

Goals include helping eligible households save money on energy bills, upgrading to clean energy equipment, improving energy efficiency in homes and reducing air pollution, according to a news release.

Hat trick

"Our transition to heat pumps is creating good-paying jobs, curbing our reliance on fossil fuels and cutting costs for Maine families, all while making them more comfortable in their homes — a hat trick for our state," said Mills.

Maine has been a leader in providing residents with rebates to upgrade home heating and cooling systems to energy-efficient heat pumps, said Granholm.

The program is expected to be a major step forward in making the technology accessible to all Mainers, especially those in underserved communities, and to create good-paying, clean energy jobs, said U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District.

"This funding will enable Maine to continue our progress on heat pump deployment, reducing household energy bills, creating good jobs, and supporting local businesses all while cutting greenhouse gas emissions," said Dan Burgess, director of the Governor's Energy Office.

The state has a goal to install 275,000 heat pumps by 2027, Burgess said.

The program will help retrofit existing affordable housing units and install new units built to high efficiency standards, noted Hannah Pingree, director of the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future and co-chair of the Maine Climate Council.

Maine has emerged as a national leader in climate-friendly and energy-efficient heat pumps, said Dan Brennan, director of MaineHousing.

“Thanks to this new federal investment, Maine will be able to equip more affordable housing facilities with these cutting-edge heating and cooling technologies,” Brennan said.

Mills and Granholm made the announcement after a tour of Stroudwater Apartments, an energy-efficient affordable housing complex in Westbrook that opened to new tenants on Sept. 15. Each unit is equipped with a heat pump and LED lighting and the building has solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations.

"Westbrook Housing's mission to provide affordable, efficient and quality housing is achievable through this program," said Chris LaRoche, executive director of Westbrook Housing. "Whether a large apartment building or a single-family home, the economic and health benefits of heat pumps are easily accessible to through this program.”

More to come

The $36 million grant represents half of the federal government’s funding allocation to Maine of $72 million for home energy rebates.

The remainder of the funds will be used to launch a separate program, which is anticipated to be available to residents by early 2025.

Eligibility

Eligible low-income manufactured homeowners, having household income below 80% of area median income, will be able to save as much as $14,000 through funding from the home energy rebates, including up to:

$8,000 for a whole-home heat pump for space heating and cooling
$4,000 for an electrical panel
$2,500 for electrical wiring

Multifamily new construction projects can get up to an $8,000 rebate per dwelling unit for heat pumps. To qualify, at least 50% of the building's dwelling units would need to be occupied by low-income households. For more information, click here.

Incentives expansion

After the first year, Maine plans to expand the manufactured home incentives to also include eligibility for moderate-income owners — households earning between 80% and 150% of area median income. Smaller new construction multifamily projects will also be able to apply for rebates.

Maine is the most heating oil dependent state in the nation, with over 56% of households reliant on home heating oil as their primary source of home heating, compared to only 4% nationally.

Expanding heat pump adoption has been a key priority for Mills, who set a goal to install 100,000 heat pumps in Maine by 2025. That goal was surpassed two years ahead of schedule in 2023, and Mills announced a new goal to install another 175,000 heat pumps by 2027, bringing the total number of heat pumps installed to 275,000.

According to the most recent data, Maine has seen a 10% decrease since 2018 in heating oil as a primary fuel for home heating which coincides with nation-leading heat pump adoption.

In February, Mills announced that Maine received a $10 million federal grant to support a new program to install heat pumps in 675 mobile homes — among the first programs of its kind in the nation.

In July, Mills announced that Maine and four other New England states will receive a total of $450 million in federal funding to accelerate the adoption of heat pump technology in residential single-family homes and multifamily buildings across the region. In total, the award will support the installation of 580,000 heat pumps across the five states. Maine's share of the award is estimated to be between $45 million and $72 million, which will support installation of highly efficient heat pumps, for home heating and cooling, and heat pump hot water heaters.

Heat pumps transfer heat extracted from the outdoor air or from the constant temperature of the ground below the frost line. They also work for cooling, ventilation and dehumidification.

Over 500 heat pump installers are registered with Efficiency Maine — far more than many other states, Stoddard has said.

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