The 2026 guide to New York heat pump rebates (NYS Clean Heat and beyond)

New York pays homeowners real money to switch to heat pumps — but the amount depends on which utility serves your address, which equipment you choose, and whether you qualify for the income-boosted tiers most people never check. Here's how the 2026 stack works, in plain English.

NYS Clean Heat: the backbone program

NYS Clean Heat is the statewide framework, but it's administered by your utility — Con Edison, National Grid, NYSEG, RG&E, Central Hudson, or Orange & Rockland — and each sets its own incentive rates per unit of heating capacity. In practice, whole-home cold-climate heat pump conversions have earned from a couple thousand dollars to five figures depending on territory, home size, and whether you fully replace fossil heating or add a partial system. Full-displacement projects (removing the old fossil system entirely) consistently earn the top tier.

The programs that stack on top

• EmPower+ — income-qualified households can receive substantial additional funding toward heat pumps, insulation and air sealing, sometimes covering most of a project.
• NY Home Energy Rebates — New York was among the first states to launch federally funded home energy rebate programs; funding windows open and close, which is exactly why address-level verification matters.
• NY-Sun & storage adders — if you pair electrification with solar or storage, separate incentive tracks apply.
• Utility-specific bonuses — some territories run limited-time adders for weatherization completed alongside a heat pump.

Stacking rules are where projects gain or lose thousands: the order you apply in, whether your contractor is program-registered, and whether weatherization is bundled all change what each layer pays. Federal 25C tax credits ended December 31, 2025, so the state and utility stack is the whole game now.

What a smart 2026 sequence looks like

• Start with the free efficiency plan — it confirms your utility territory, current incentive rates, and income-tier eligibility.
• Weatherize first where the numbers say so: insulation and air sealing often unlock better heat pump performance and additional incentives.
• Choose full displacement if your goal is the top incentive tier and the biggest bill reduction.
• File before installation — most programs require pre-approval; retroactive applications are routinely denied.

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