Learn · Rebates · 7 min
State efficiency incentives, explained like a human: who pays, who qualifies, who files
Billions of dollars in home-efficiency incentives are budgeted every year, and a large share goes unclaimed. Not because homeowners don't qualify — because the process is a maze of utilities, deadlines, and forms written by committees. Here's the plain-English version.
Who actually pays
- Utility programs — funded through small charges on everyone's bill and paid back out as rebates. Mass Save in Massachusetts is the deepest example in the country; in New York, Con Edison, National Grid, PSEG Long Island, NYSEG and Orange & Rockland each deliver their own version to their own territory.
- State programs — legislative clean-energy funds. New York State Clean Heat and NYSERDA's insulation and electrification support are the two we file most often.
- Income-qualified tiers — most programs multiply their rebates for households under income thresholds; these are the most underused dollars in the system.
Why the amounts keep changing
Programs are funded in cycles. When a fund runs low, terms tighten; when a new cycle opens, they expand. Any website quoting exact rebate dollars is stale within a quarter — which is why your plan verifies live terms for your address instead of advertising numbers we'd have to walk back.
The filing problem
Most programs require applications before installation, contractor documentation, and follow-up paperwork — and nearly all of them require the INSTALLING contractor to already be an approved participant, which is why who does the work decides whether the money is even available. Our position is simple: we find every program your address qualifies for, we calculate what each is worth on your project, and we file all of it. You sign; we chase.