New York Heat Pump Rebates 2026 — NYS Clean Heat + EmPower+ After Federal 25C Expired

The 2026 New York heat pump landscape — what’s changed and what still works

Two things worth knowing before you call a contractor in New York this year: the federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (Section 25C) expired on December 31, 2025, and the incentive picture across the state is now more fragmented than it was in 2024–2025. Neither of those facts means heat pump installations are unsubsidized in 2026 — New York has one of the most layered state incentive structures in the country — but it does mean the math is different depending on where you live and how much you earn.

NYSERDA Clean Heat is the workhorse statewide program. Under a May 2025 Public Service Commission order, it runs through 2026–2030, and six electric utilities — Con Edison, National Grid, NYSEG, Central Hudson, Orange & Rockland, and Rochester Gas & Electric — administer it in their territories. The program covers cold-climate air source heat pumps, ground source systems, and heat pump water heaters. Incentives flow through a statewide network of trained contractors and vary by utility territory and the size of the job.

On top of Clean Heat, NYSERDA operates two income-tested programs that can dramatically change the math for lower- and moderate-income households. NYSERDA EmPower+ covers direct installation of heat pumps at no cost (for low-income households) or 50% cost-sharing (for moderate-income), and it now explicitly includes heat pumps as covered equipment. NYSERDA’s Appliance Upgrade Program carries the IRA-funded HEEHRA rebates for appliances, and EmPower+ also channels the federal HEAR (High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act) money for heat pump HVAC — up to $8,000 additional per installation for eligible households.

What’s gone: the IRS Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (Section 25C) expired for installations placed in service after December 31, 2025. If you installed a qualifying heat pump in 2023, 2024, or 2025, you can still claim the credit on the relevant year’s return — 2025 installations are claimable on your 2025 return, filed in spring 2026, and they require a Qualified Manufacturer Identification Number (QMID) for the equipment.

New York also spans three meaningfully different climate zones — 4A on Long Island and in New York City, 5A across most of upstate (Albany, Syracuse, Rochester), and 6A in the Adirondacks and North Country. That climate range shapes both product choices and how aggressively you need to spec cold-climate equipment.

Here’s every current NY program, what it offers, who qualifies, and how the pieces stack. We’ll show two worked examples — a downstate household in Westchester and an upstate household in Onondaga County — so you can see how the income tiers and geographic differences play out in practice.

The programs, walked through one by one

NYS Clean Heat

The NYS Clean Heat program is the baseline incentive available to virtually any NY homeowner heating with oil, propane, or electric baseboards. It’s administered jointly by NYSERDA and the six participating utilities, with incentive amounts that vary by utility territory and system size.

Current incentive structure (statewide averages as published on cleanheat.ny.gov):

Cold-climate air source heat pumps:

• Partial home / single-zone solutions: $100–$400 average
• Whole-home solutions (multi-zone or ducted whole-home): $2,000–$3,000 average

Ground source (geothermal) heat pumps:

• $7,000–$9,000 average — the higher incentive reflects the larger upfront capital cost of ground-loop systems

Heat pump water heaters:

• $700–$1,000 average

Important caveats on these numbers. The averages above are what cleanheat.ny.gov publishes for the general public. The actual amount your contractor receives for a given installation depends on the utility territory and the specific equipment specifications. NYSEG, National Grid, and Con Edison each have their own incentive schedules within the Clean Heat framework — the amounts shown are statewide averages, not guaranteed per-installation figures. Before signing a contract, ask your contractor to pull the current incentive amount for your specific utility zone.

Status: Active through 2026–2030 under the PSC order dated May 2025.

Contractor requirement: You must use a contractor enrolled in the NYS Clean Heat network. Homeowners cannot apply directly; the contractor creates the incentive reservation in the program system and the rebate reduces your installation invoice or is paid directly to the contractor. Using a non-enrolled contractor — even a highly rated local company — means forfeiting the incentive entirely.

Equipment requirement: Cold-climate rating is required. Systems without a cold-climate rating (typically defined as maintaining rated capacity at or below 5°F) may not qualify. In IECC zones 5A and 6A — most of upstate New York — this is a practical necessity regardless of rebate eligibility. In zone 4A (NYC metro, Long Island), standard inverter systems can often handle the climate, but the Clean Heat program still requires the cold-climate spec for qualifying equipment.

NYSERDA EmPower+

EmPower+ is NYSERDA’s income-targeted direct installation program. Unlike Clean Heat, where homeowners manage the contractor relationship and the rebate is a line-item discount on an invoice, EmPower+ sends a program-vetted contractor to assess your home and install qualifying equipment — with the homeowner paying little or nothing upfront, depending on income.

What’s covered: Comprehensive home energy assessments, air sealing, insulation, heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and electrical service and wiring upgrades.

Cost caps and income tiers:

The “downstate” cap applies to Con Edison and Orange & Rockland territories (NYC, Westchester, Rockland County). All other utility territories use the “upstate” cap.

HEAR rebates layered on top: EmPower+ also channels federal HEAR (IRA-funded) rebates for heat pump HVAC — up to an additional $8,000 for qualifying systems. These are stacked within the EmPower+ framework, not separately applied for.

Status: Actively accepting applications through NYSERDA’s MyEnergy Portal. KEDLI Heat ended October 31st; former KEDLI customers are now served by EmPower+.

Income eligibility: The program is for low- and moderate-income households. Specific income thresholds vary by county and household size — check NYSERDA’s income eligibility tables before applying. The application covers owners and renters of one- to four-family households.

NYSERDA Appliance Upgrade Program (IRA HEEHRA vehicle)

NYSERDA’s Appliance Upgrade Program is the current vehicle for IRA-funded HEEHRA appliance rebates. The income-tier structure mirrors the federal HEEHRA design:

• 0–80% AMI: 100% rebate coverage (up to program caps)
• 80–150% AMI: 50% rebate coverage (up to program caps)

The program currently focuses on heat pump clothes dryers (up to $840 rebate) and electrical upgrades (up to $4,000 for panel, up to $2,500 for wiring). Heat pump HVAC rebates in the HEEHRA framework flow through EmPower+ rather than the Appliance Upgrade Program directly — the HEAR component of EmPower+ is the pathway for the up-to-$8,000 heat pump rebate.

Status: Actively accepting applications.

Utility territory programs — Con Edison, NYSEG, National Grid

Each of the six Clean Heat utilities administers territory-specific incentive schedules within the Clean Heat framework. The statewide averages published on cleanheat.ny.gov reflect the range across those schedules. When you run the address-based rebate finder at cleanheat.ny.gov/find-available-rebates/, you get the specific amount for your utility territory.

Note on source accessibility: Con Edison’s rebate detail pages, NYSEG’s incentive portal, and National Grid’s NY rebate pages returned access errors or 404s during our verification check for this page (May 2026). We are not publishing specific per-utility dollar amounts because we could not confirm current figures from those utilities’ own pages. Use the cleanheat.ny.gov address finder or call your utility directly for current territory-specific amounts before assuming a specific incentive figure.

NY State geothermal tax credit

For ground source (geothermal) heat pump installations, New York offers a state income tax credit of 25% of installation costs, up to $5,000 (IT-255 credit). This stacks with the Clean Heat geothermal incentive — a homeowner installing a geothermal system could combine the $7,000–$9,000 Clean Heat incentive with the up-to-$5,000 state tax credit for a combined benefit of $12,000–$14,000 on a system that typically costs $20,000–$40,000 installed.

Note: this credit applies specifically to geothermal (ground source) systems, not air source heat pumps.

Federal 25C — expired for 2026 installations

The federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit expired on December 31, 2025. For 2026 installations, there is no federal tax credit. For 2025 installations, the credit is still claimable on your 2025 tax return — up to $2,000 for qualifying heat pump systems — but you must report the QMID for the equipment.

Incentive stack table

Worked example: middle-income household, downstate (Westchester County)

Scenario: A homeowner in White Plains, Westchester County — Con Edison territory, IECC zone 4A — with a 1,900 sq ft 1955-era colonial. Household of four, income of $115,000. Replacing an oil boiler plus window air conditioners with a multi-zone cold-climate heat pump system.

Income context: The 2024 median family income for the New York–Newark metro area is exceptionally high — Westchester County’s AMI for a household of 4 typically runs above $130,000 (HUD updates these annually; check current HUD income limits for Westchester County before applying). At $115,000 income against Westchester County’s 4-person AMI of approximately $130,000+ (per the most recent HUD tables we verified), this household is at roughly 85–90% of AMI — solidly within the moderate-income tier of NYSERDA’s HEAR rebate program (80–150% AMI). The 80% AMI threshold in Westchester is approximately $104,000 for a household of 4; a $115,000 income sits above that line, not below it.

Regardless of the exact AMI math, verify directly at the time of application. AMI figures are updated annually and vary by county; use NYSERDA’s eligibility portal rather than assuming a tier based on statewide rules.

Equipment needed: For a 1,900 sq ft home in zone 4A with an oil-heat baseline, a multi-zone system in the 30k–36k BTU range is typical. A whole-home cold-climate multi-zone system, fully installed in Westchester including permits and electrical work, typically runs $16,000–$22,000.

Available incentives:

• NYS Clean Heat (whole-home ASHP): $2,000–$3,000 average. Requires Con Edison–enrolled Clean Heat contractor. This is the floor — the territory-specific incentive may be higher depending on Con Edison’s current schedule.
• NYSERDA EmPower+ (moderate-income tier — applicable for this household): 50% cost-share capped at $7,000 (downstate), plus HEAR heat pump rebate component. At roughly 85–90% of Westchester AMI, this is the correct tier for a $115,000/4-person household.
• NYSERDA EmPower+ (low-income tier — hypothetical contrast): No-cost install capped at $14,000 (downstate), plus HEAR rebate of up to $8,000. This tier requires ≤80% AMI. To illustrate the contrast: if this same $115,000 income were in Onondaga County (where 4-person AMI is closer to $66,000), the household would be above 150% AMI and would qualify for market-rate only — not even the moderate band. The county you’re in changes everything.
• Federal 25C: $0 — expired December 31, 2025.

Net cost scenarios:

Moderate-income (80–150% AMI) — applicable for this household at $115k in Westchester:

• Install cost: $19,000 (midpoint estimate)
• Clean Heat incentive: −$2,500 (midpoint)
• EmPower+ moderate tier: −$7,000 cap (50% share)
• Out-of-pocket: approximately $9,500–$12,000

Low-income (≤80% AMI) — for reference (requires household income at or below ~$104k for Westchester 4-person):

• Install cost: $19,000 (midpoint estimate)
• EmPower+ coverage: up to −$14,000
• HEAR rebate within EmPower+: up to −$8,000 (capped at remaining project cost)
• Potential out-of-pocket: $0–$5,000 depending on final program calculation

Market-rate only (above 150% AMI):

• Clean Heat incentive: −$2,500 (midpoint)
• Out-of-pocket: $14,500–$17,000

The downstate cost caps in EmPower+ are meaningfully higher than upstate precisely because installation labor costs more in Westchester and NYC metro. That $14,000 downstate cap reflects that reality.

Practical step: Before anything else, check EmPower+ income eligibility for Westchester County using NYSERDA’s current HUD-based tables. For a $115,000 household in Westchester, the moderate-income tier is the likely pathway — meaning a 50% cost-share capped at $7,000 and net out-of-pocket in the $10–12k range rather than near-zero. Still meaningfully better than market-rate, and NYSERDA manages the contractor vetting.

Worked example: lower-income household, upstate (Onondaga County — Syracuse area)

Scenario: A homeowner in Salina (suburban Syracuse), Onondaga County — National Grid territory, IECC zone 5A. A 1,400 sq ft 1922 two-story farmhouse-style home. Household of four, income of $52,000. Replacing a fuel oil furnace with a cold-climate heat pump. The home has a gas-equivalent basement with room for a ducted air handler.

Climate context: IECC 5A is cold — Syracuse averages around 130 heating degree days more than Albany and winters regularly see sustained temperatures below 0°F. Cold-climate heat pump specification is not optional here; any system that isn’t rated to maintain heating capacity below 5°F is undersized by the standards of this climate. Multi-head ductless or a single ducted air handler paired with a cold-climate outdoor unit are both viable configurations.

Income context: Onondaga County’s 80% AMI for a household of 4 was approximately $65,000–$68,000 in 2024 (HUD tables; verify current year). At $52,000, this household is solidly below 80% AMI and qualifies for the low-income tier of both Clean Heat and EmPower+.

Equipment needed: For a 1,400 sq ft zone 5A home with fuel oil baseline, a 24k–30k BTU cold-climate heat pump is typically right-sized for the load. Full install including permits, electrical panel upgrade (common in 1920s homes), and labor in Onondaga County runs approximately $12,000–$16,000.

Available incentives:

• NYS Clean Heat (whole-home ASHP): $2,000–$3,000 average, administered through National Grid. National Grid’s Clean Heat schedule may differ from the statewide average — use the address-based rebate finder at cleanheat.ny.gov to pull the current National Grid figure.
• NYSERDA EmPower+ (low-income tier): No-cost install capped at $12,000 (upstate), plus HEAR rebate of up to $8,000 for the heat pump. Combined, these could cover the full cost of a right-sized cold-climate system.
• Electrical panel upgrade: The Appliance Upgrade Program covers up to $4,000 for panel upgrades — a common cost in pre-war upstate homes that lack adequate amperage for a heat pump. This can stack with EmPower+.
• Federal 25C: $0 — expired.

Net cost:

• Install cost: $14,000 (midpoint estimate including panel upgrade)
• EmPower+ low-income upstate cap: −$12,000
• HEAR heat pump rebate (within EmPower+): applies to remaining project costs up to $8,000
• Appliance Upgrade for panel (if separate from EmPower+ scope): −$2,000–$4,000
• Potential out-of-pocket: $0–$2,000

This is a genuinely favorable stack. A $52,000/year household in Onondaga County can potentially get a cold-climate heat pump system installed at little to no out-of-pocket cost, with the combined EmPower+ and HEAR rebates absorbing most of the project.

The upstate 5A equipment requirement: For Onondaga County, insist on a system with a verified cold-climate rating — look for NEEP’s Cold Climate Air Source Heat Pump (ccASHP) specification. Units rated to maintain capacity at -13°F (−25°C) provide the most reliable heating in Syracuse winters. Confirm your contractor is specifying a qualifying product before reservations are created.

Eligibility gotchas unique to New York

The Clean Heat contractor network requirement is absolute. Unlike some states where homeowners can apply for rebates independently after installation, NYS Clean Heat requires a network-enrolled contractor to initiate and manage the incentive reservation. If a contractor isn’t enrolled — no matter how highly reviewed they are — no Clean Heat incentive exists for that install. Verify contractor enrollment at cleanheat.ny.gov/find-a-contractor/ before signing any contract.

Con Edison customers have an additional hurdle for some programs. Con Edison’s territory (New York City, Westchester, and parts of Rockland County) involves specific Con Edison program pathways for certain electrification incentives. The cleanheat.ny.gov rebate finder will direct you to the right Con Edison enrollment pathway, but check your current rebate amounts through that address-based tool rather than assuming the statewide average applies.

NYC permit requirements. New York City’s Department of Buildings (DOB) requires permits for HVAC equipment replacement above certain thresholds. Installing a qualifying heat pump system without a required permit can forfeit Clean Heat eligibility — the program’s verification process typically requires permit documentation. In NYC, confirm with your contractor that they pull the appropriate DOB permit before installation begins.

AMI thresholds vary dramatically by county. New York City and its suburbs have some of the highest AMI figures in the country. The 80% AMI threshold in Westchester or Nassau County can be $100,000 or above for a household of 4. In rural upstate counties — Chenango, Delaware, Allegany — the same threshold might be $50,000–$55,000. Income-tiered programs (EmPower+, HEAR) use the county-specific HUD AMI figure, not a statewide average. If you’re anywhere near an income tier boundary, verify the current HUD table for your specific county before assuming you qualify.

Cold-climate equipment requirement for upstate zones. Clean Heat requires cold-climate rated equipment across all territories, but the practical stakes are highest in zones 5A and 6A. An undersized standard inverter unit won’t qualify for the rebate and will also fail to heat adequately below 20°F. NEEP’s cold climate heat pump specification — capacity maintained at 5°F or below — is the right benchmark. For the North Country (zone 6A), look for units rated to −13°F or lower.

Sales tax exemption on heat pump installations. New York State exempts qualifying heat pump installations from state and local sales tax. This isn’t a rebate, but it’s real money on a $15,000–$25,000 project — potentially $1,200–$2,000 in tax savings depending on your county rate. Confirm with your contractor that the exemption is being applied correctly on the invoice.

Renter eligibility. EmPower+ explicitly covers renters of one- to four-family households — this is meaningfully different from California’s programs, where the renter pathway is more restricted. The application must be submitted by or with the cooperation of the building owner (because the equipment becomes part of the property), but the income qualification is based on the tenant household’s income, not the landlord’s. If you’re a renter below the income threshold, ask your landlord to participate — the program is designed to serve this case.

Eligible product picks by New York climate region

New York’s three IECC climate zones call for meaningfully different equipment specs. Here’s how we’d match systems to each zone:

NYC metro and Long Island (zone 4A) — moderate cold-climate need

New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and Westchester County rarely see sustained temperatures below 10°F, though cold snaps do occur. The primary heating challenge is shoulder-season efficiency and humidity management. A quality inverter mini-split handles these conditions well for most retrofit applications.

For a 4A retrofit — say, a 700–1,200 sq ft apartment, brownstone floor, or single-zone addition — the Mr Cool DIY 24k is well-matched. At 24,000 BTU, it covers typical zone 4A loads, and the pre-charged DIY line set means a licensed electrician can handle the installation without a specialty refrigerant technician on site.

Central and Southern Tier, Capital region, Rochester corridor (zone 5A) — true cold-climate

Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Binghamton, and the Southern Tier fall in IECC 5A. Winters are genuinely cold — sustained temperatures below 0°F are not unusual in January and February. Standard inverter mini-splits lose capacity rapidly below about 20°F; a cold-climate rated system is the right spec here.

The Mr Cool Hyper 18k is engineered for extended-range cold-climate operation and is a strong fit for a single-zone primary room, home office, or master suite in a zone 5A home. For whole-home coverage, multiple Hyper units or a multi-zone cold-climate system sized to the full load is the right approach.

Adirondacks, North Country, Western Plateau (zone 6A) — extreme cold

Zone 6A covers the Adirondack Mountains, the St. Lawrence Valley, and high-elevation terrain in the Catskills and western plateau. Winter design temperatures in these areas regularly reach −10°F to −20°F. Heat pump selection here requires systems rated to maintain meaningful heating capacity at −13°F (−25°C) or lower.

For zone 6A whole-home applications, a multi-zone 36k BTU system provides the capacity to handle multiple zones simultaneously. Pair this with careful Manual J load calculations — a 6A home that isn’t well-insulated may need a backup heat source (electric resistance strip heat or a boiler retained as backup) for the coldest design days.

For extreme-cold zone 6A installations, discuss backup heat strategy with your Clean Heat contractor. In the Adirondacks, it’s prudent to retain a backup heating system for nights that fall below the heat pump’s design temperature floor — even the best units have limits.

What changes after mid-2026

NYS Clean Heat is funded through 2026–2030 under the PSC order, which provides more structural stability than California’s funding-cycle-dependent programs. But the incentive amounts within that framework are subject to change as utilities update their schedules. The averages published on cleanheat.ny.gov today may not be the amounts in effect when you’re ready to install.

EmPower+ and the HEAR/HEEHRA pool are more volatile. The federal IRA funding that backs the HEAR rebates in EmPower+ is subject to federal appropriations and policy decisions. NYSERDA’s ability to offer the up-to-$8,000 heat pump rebate within EmPower+ depends on continued federal funding. Check current program status at the time of your installation decision, not months in advance.

On the federal side, 25C’s expiration was a policy choice, not a funding exhaustion. If Congress acts to reinstate or extend the credit, we’ll update this page. For now, plan 2026 installations around state and utility programs rather than a federal credit.

Before any installation decision: verify current incentive amounts and EmPower+ income eligibility through cleanheat.ny.gov’s address-based rebate finder, NYSERDA’s MyEnergy Portal at nyserda.ny.gov, and your electric utility’s current rebate schedule. Incentive amounts and funding availability change faster than static program pages. The figures on this page reflect our best verification as of May 2026; treat them as a planning baseline, not a guaranteed contract amount.

Related

Tools and guides:

• BTU sizing calculator — size the system before specifying any equipment; New York’s three IECC climate zones make the right BTU class meaningfully different between NYC, Albany, and the Adirondacks.
• DIY mini-split installation guide — step-by-step on the install process for permit-eligible systems.
• Federal heat pump rebates — 25C history, the 2025 cutoff, and how the federal pool stacked with NY Clean Heat while it was active.

Other state rebate pages:

• Massachusetts heat pump rebates — Mass Save’s $10k whole-home tier, the Home Energy Assessment gate, MLP-town carve-outs.
• California heat pump rebates — TECH Clean’s funding-cap situation, SMUD’s Contractor Network, EBD Direct Install.
• Texas heat pump rebates — Austin Energy’s published tiers, SECO HEAR planning status, deregulated-market mechanics.
• Washington heat pump rebates — Pacific Northwest utility programs, climate-zone considerations, cold-climate spec requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Can I stack NYS Clean Heat with EmPower+ and the federal 25C credit in 2026?

The 25C credit is gone for 2026 installations — it expired December 31, 2025. For the state side: yes, Clean Heat and EmPower+ are designed to stack for income-eligible households. EmPower+ incorporates the Clean Heat incentive and the HEAR rebate within a single program application, so if you qualify for EmPower+, you access the full stack through one application rather than managing separate submissions.

Do I need a NYSERDA-enrolled contractor for Clean Heat?

Yes. The NYS Clean Heat program requires a network-enrolled contractor to create the incentive reservation before installation. Homeowners cannot apply after the fact or independently — the contractor must initiate the process. Verify contractor enrollment at cleanheat.ny.gov/find-a-contractor/ before signing any contract. A non-enrolled contractor means a forfeited incentive.

What if I’m a renter?

EmPower+ explicitly covers renters of one- to four-family households. This is one of the more tenant-friendly rebate structures in the country. The income qualification is based on your household’s income, not your landlord’s. The application requires the building owner’s cooperation (since the equipment becomes part of the property), so you’ll need to engage your landlord. Frame it as a benefit to them as well — the equipment upgrade improves the property and typically lowers utility bills. Contact NYSERDA at 1-866-NYSERDA to discuss the tenant pathway for your specific utility territory.

Does NYC’s permit requirement affect Clean Heat eligibility?

Yes. In New York City, the Department of Buildings requires permits for HVAC replacement work, including mini-split systems above certain thresholds. Clean Heat’s verification process typically requires permit documentation. A non-permitted installation can forfeit the incentive. Before installation begins, confirm with your contractor that they are pulling the required DOB permit — and factor that permit cost and timeline into your project plan.

Does NYS Clean Heat cover single-zone systems or only whole-home?

Both. The incentive structure distinguishes between “partial home” solutions (single-zone or supplemental systems — average $100–$400) and “whole-home” solutions (multi-zone or ducted whole-home replacement — average $2,000–$3,000). If you’re supplementing an existing heating system with a single zone, you’ll see a much smaller Clean Heat incentive than if you’re doing a complete home conversion. For the larger incentive to apply, the installation should replace the primary heating source for the home.