Residential heat pump rebates
Rebates help homeowners in Maine install eligible heat pumps as their main heating system, with higher payments for low- and moderate-income households.
You can receive a rebate for eligible single-zone heat pumps used as your primary heating system throughout the heating season. Multi-zone systems can contribute to the required heating capacity but do not earn a rebate; combined dual-fuel heat pump/furnace systems qualify for neither the rebate nor the heat-pump capacity calculation.
The base rebate is $1,000 per eligible outdoor unit for any-income homeowners, $2,000 for moderate-income homeowners and $3,000 for low-income homeowners. The corresponding lifetime limits are $3,000, $6,000 and $9,000 per housing unit. Previous heat-pump rebates for that unit reduce the remaining limit; a housing unit has its own kitchen, sleeping area and bathroom.
An additional $500 per housing unit is added after the base rebate is limited by the remaining lifetime balance. To receive it, both the upgrade and the emailed or postmarked claim must fall between 1 March and 31 December 2026, inclusive. Low-income rebates are sent to the registered vendor.
Eligibility
- You must own an eligible home in Maine: a single-family house, two-unit duplex, condominium, mobile home, or mixed-use building with one or two housing units and no commercial electrical meters. The housing unit must not have had a natural-gas utility account before the upgrade.
- For the low-income rebate, the homeowner or a household member must participate in MaineCare, HEAP, SNAP or TANF. The moderate-income rebate requires adjusted gross income of up to $70,000 for individual tax filers or $100,000 for joint filers. For either enhanced tier, the unit must be the owner’s principal residence and income eligibility must be verified before submitting the claim.
- An Efficiency Maine Residential Registered Vendor for heat pumps must install eligible single-zone models on Efficiency Maine’s list and comply with its installation checklist. The checklist is mandatory but does not itself need to be submitted.
- New and existing heat pumps together must cover at least 80% of the home’s peak heating demand. Your vendor must document this on the required sizing worksheet, using heating capacity at the local winter design temperature, which must be 4°F or below. Heat pumps plus permitted supplemental heaters must cover 100%; examples include wood or pellet stoves, electric baseboards and oil, propane or kerosene room heaters. An emergency-backup furnace or boiler cannot count toward that 100% requirement.
- In existing homes, any furnace or boiler must be reserved for emergency backup: turn its thermostats off or down to the lowest setting, switch it off and cover its power switch, or connect it only to a generator. For upgrades in new construction completed through 31 December 2026, a furnace or boiler may be kept only for emergency backup; for new-home upgrades completed from 1 January 2027, the house must have no furnace or boiler.
- Only one rebate is paid for a given upgrade. You and the vendor certify that the work is complete and agree to assist with an Efficiency Maine inspection. The programme and incentives can change or end.
How to apply
- Status
- closes 31 Dec 2026
- Opens
- Closes
- Round restrictions
- Additional $500 per housing unit only when both the upgrade and emailed or postmarked claim fall within these dates, inclusive. This is the bonus period; base rebates use the rolling claim rule.
If claiming an enhanced rebate, first verify income eligibility through Efficiency Maine. Hire a registered heat-pump vendor, complete the installation, and have the vendor fill out the claim form and required sizing worksheet.
Submit the signed claim and documents showing customer contact information and the total project cost to hesp@efficiencymaine.com, or mail them to PO Box 219, Brunswick, ME 04011–0219. The claim must be emailed or postmarked within six months of project completion; the 2026 bonus also requires submission by 31 December 2026. If a business owns the home and receives the rebate, attach a W-9 as a one-time requirement.