REGION – Vermont homeowners and renters can now access updated rebates from Efficiency Vermont, offering additional support to qualifying households for home energy upgrades like weatherization, new appliances, and heat pump heating and cooling systems.
The updates incorporate new federal income requirements that ensure Vermont’s low- and moderate-income households can continue to access additional incentives from Efficiency Vermont, electric utilities, and home weatherization partners.
“This update means income-qualified Vermonters can get extra help toward new heating systems, efficient appliances, and other upgrades that keep their homes comfortable and their energy bills affordable,” said Peter Walke, Efficiency Vermont’s managing director. “Many Efficiency Vermont rebates are available, whatever your income, but it’s crucial to offer extra help to those who need it.”
Support for income-eligible Vermonters goes beyond rebates. Efficiency Vermont offers free and low-cost energy efficient household appliances and energy-saving services for eligible households and renters, connects customers to income-based rebates from Vermont’s electric utilities, and works with the state’s weatherization assistance programs on free weatherization services for income-qualified households.
Efficiency Vermont programs, many with additional support for income-eligible households, include the following:
Free resources to save on energy – Call Efficiency Vermont’s energy advisers to understand your home’s energy use and ways to save, and to schedule a free virtual home energy visit to take a virtual tour of your home with an energy consultant for personalized advice to achieve your goals.
Rebates to save on energy-smart appliances – Stay cool this summer with $150 off an Energy Star “Most Efficient” window AC unit. Keep the indoor air clean and comfortable with up to $75 cash back on an air purifier, and find rebates for dehumidifiers, heat-pump clothes dryers, and other appliances.
Get up to $7,000 cash back on home weatherization. Insulating and air-sealing a home keeps it warmer in winter and cooler in summer, because a weatherized home uses less energy to maintain comfortable temperatures year-round. Get 75% of project costs covered, up to $7,000.
Save $375 to $2,200 with heat pump rebates. Heat pumps can both heat and cool a home, like air conditioners that can also run in reverse. Get $375 to $475 off a ductless mini split heat pump, or up to $2,200 off a ducted heat pump, and get up to $1,000 back for a heat pump water heater that delivers hot water for your kitchen, bathroom, or laundry room. Many utilities and Efficiency Vermont offer extra heat pump incentives for income-eligible households.
Financing solutions can help reduce the upfront costs for home energy projects, with extra help offered to income-qualified households. Local lenders offer home energy loans with no-to-low interest up to $25,000, while the Weatherization Repayment Assistance Program allows households to pay off weatherization and other home-energy projects on their monthly utility bill.
Based on the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development income guidelines, Vermont’s income levels consider a household’s county of residence, income, the number of people in a household, and the area median income.
The update means a family of four in Chittenden, Franklin, or Grand Isle counties earning $149,650 or less qualifies as moderate-income, while a family of four earning $99,750 or less qualifies as low-income. Elsewhere, households of four people in nine other counties (excluding Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle, Addison, and Washington counties) would be considered moderate income if earning $133,800 or less. The full breakdown of household income in all Vermont counties is on Efficiency Vermont’s website, www.efficiencyvermont.com.
Renters are also eligible for support under the updated income guidelines. Efficiency Vermont rebates for renters use rent limits, rather than renter income, to qualify. Renters in manufactured homes, multifamily units like duplexes and triplexes, and those living in studio or multibedroom apartments can access rebates and services.
More information on updated household income levels can be found on Efficiency Vermont’s website.