Commercial efficiency rebates
Rebates help business members install efficient heating and cooling equipment in East Central Energy’s Minnesota and Wisconsin service area.
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The heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) rebates support new and replacement equipment for business premises. Your rebate is calculated from the equipment’s cooling capacity: one ton means 12,000 Btu per hour. The total cannot exceed 50% of project cost or $25,000 per project.
- Direct-expansion air conditioning (including rooftop, unitary and split systems) and heat pumps: $100 per ton.
- ENERGY STAR ductless mini splits: $100 per ton.
- Ground-source and ground-water-source heat pumps: $400 per ton for new or retrofit installations, plus $100 per ton when a certified IGSHPA Master Installer does the installation.
- Packaged-terminal air conditioners: $60 per ton; packaged-terminal heat pumps: $80 per ton.
- Economizers: $10 per ton; chillers: $20 per ton.
Rebates below $1,000 are credited to your electricity bill within eight weeks. ECE does not guarantee a particular energy or cost saving or warrant the equipment, design or installation.
Eligibility
You must be an ECE business member. Equipment must be purchased and installed in the current programme year within ECE’s service area, which covers parts of east central Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. The common rules limit rebates to one per appliance type per member account.
Your chosen equipment must meet the relevant qualifications in the 2026 HVAC application:
- Direct-expansion air conditioners and heat pumps must meet the minimum efficiency ratings in the page 2 tables. The required ratings depend on equipment type and cooling capacity; the air-conditioner table also distinguishes electric-resistance heating or no heating from other heating sections. For heat pumps, both cooling and heating criteria apply. Compare the manufacturer’s rated specifications with the applicable row before choosing equipment.
- Ductless mini splits must qualify for ENERGY STAR. For air-source heat pumps, verify rated efficiency through the AHRI directory; for geothermal heat pumps, verify efficiency or ENERGY STAR status through ENERGY STAR. An ECE employee must confirm installation of air-source and geothermal/ground-source heat pumps.
- Packaged-terminal heat pumps must meet both the cooling-efficiency (EER) and heating-performance (COP) thresholds for their cooling capacity on page 3. The lower replacement thresholds are only for nonstandard units replacing existing sleeves less than 16 inches high and less than 42 inches wide. Those replacement units must be factory labelled for replacement applications only and must not be installed in new construction. Standard-size units use the new-construction thresholds.
- Chillers must meet the page 5 minimum full-load and part-load efficiency values for their type, size and installed path. Path A is for equipment expected to operate for significant periods at full load. Path B requires demand-limiting controls or a variable-frequency drive, which adjusts the equipment’s operating speed. The form asks whether water-cooled centrifugal chillers are designed for its specified AHRI test conditions: 44°F leaving chilled water, 85°F entering condenser water and 3 gallons per minute per ton of water flow.
Installation must be complete before you apply and before rebate funds are issued. ECE may inspect installations at random, and the project must comply with all programme-specific qualifications.
How to apply
- Statut
- clôture 20 nov. 2026
- Clôture
- Conditions de cette période de candidature
- First come, first served; confirm funding and programme details with ECE. Rebates may change or be cancelled without notice.
- Purchase and installation must take place in the current programme year. Apply after installation is complete, within 12 months of the invoice date and by the third Friday in November.
- When funding is depleted, the HVAC rules provide for processing in the following rebate year at its amounts.
Call ECE’s business accounts team at 1-800-254-7944 to confirm funding availability, programme details and whether your equipment qualifies before committing to the project. Rebates are first come, first served and may change or be cancelled without notice.
After installation, complete and sign the 2026 HVAC application. Submit it with manufacturer equipment specifications and itemized invoices showing labour, equipment quantity and prices, manufacturer and model numbers. Include the original sales receipt with the purchase date and model number. Incomplete forms are denied.
Send the application to East Central Energy, P.O. Box 39, Braham, MN 55006. Apply within 12 months of the invoice date and no later than November 20, 2026, the third Friday in November.
Rebates end when funds are exhausted. The HVAC rules say that a project remaining when funds are depleted is processed in the following rebate year at that year’s amounts; this does not reserve the current rebate amount.