Energy efficiency rebates in California.
Every federal, state, and utility incentive for heat pumps, insulation, air sealing, and weatherization in California — cross-referenced and kept current.
Tell us about your project. We'll match you with local pros and every rebate you qualify for.
California Energy Commission
- Type
- State Agency
- Website
- www.energy.ca.gov
- IRA allocation
- $581M
Active rebate programs
4 programs currently accepting applications in California.
| Program | Amount | Eligibility | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| TECH Clean California Heat Pump (single-family) | Fully reserved | Waitlist only — SF heat pump HVAC/HPWH incentives fully reserved since Nov 14, 2025; installs only eligible after reservation approval | Closed |
| SMUD Heat Pump HVAC Rebates | $1,000–$3,000 (+$2,000 Go Electric panel bonus) | SMUD (Sacramento) customers; gas-to-electric conversion variable-stage $3,000 / two-stage $2,000, electric-to-electric $1,000; via SMUD Contractor Network, subject to funding | Active |
| LADWP Consumer Rebate Program | Up to $2,500/ton heat pump HVAC; up to $2,500 HPWH | LADWP residential customers; equipment installed on/after Nov 1, 2025; apply within 12 months of purchase; no attic insulation rebate | Active |
| BayREN BAMBE (multifamily) | $500/unit base + electrification adders (HPWH/HP HVAC $1,500/apt) | Bay Area multifamily property owners (5+ units); reopened to new applicants, first-come-first-served — $5.9M unreserved as of 7/1/26 | Active |
| Energy Savings Assistance Program | No-cost weatherization | Income-qualified (200% FPL), IOU customers | Active |
| SoCalGas HEER (gas appliances) Deadline soon | $80–$1,500 tankless / $300–$575 storage water heater | SoCalGas customers; gas equipment only (no HPWH, no insulation); first-come-first-served through Dec 31, 2026 or until funds exhausted | Expiring |
Run the numbers for California.
Free, no account needed. Every figure is cited, so you have a benchmark before a California contractor quotes you one.
IRA implementation status
How California is implementing the Inflation Reduction Act home energy rebates.
Metro areas in California
Local utility programs and municipal incentives by metro area.
SCE and LADWP territories, SoCalREN
PG&E territory, BayREN BAMBE (multifamily; Home+ single-family discontinued Oct 2024)
SDG&E territory; City of San Diego HEART program closed (full capacity Oct 7, 2025)
SMUD (municipal utility), strong efficiency programs
Rebates are step one
Once you know what California pays, here's the rest of the path: what order to do the work in, and what belongs on a fair quote.
What order to do it in
Envelope first, equipment second — how to sequence a retrofit to your budget and your rebates' deadlines.
How to read a quote
What belongs on a heat pump or insulation quote, and the red flags that mean keep shopping.
What attic insulation costs
Per-square-foot prices by material, and why this is the work rebate programs subsidize hardest.
Claim rebates after install
The document kit, the application walkthrough, and the mistakes that get claims rejected.
Rebates cover part of it. Here's the rest.
What California pays is the first rung. These cover the money questions underneath it: the 2026 federal rules, the state and utility loan programs worth checking before a bank, and the borrowing routes that come after.
How to pay for it
The whole money picture in order of cost: rebates first, then low-interest loans, then borrowing.
State energy loans
The state and utility loan programs we have verified at the administrator, with rates and conditions.
The 2026 rebate rules
What DOE Program Notices 26-1 and 26-2 changed about HEAR and HOMES, and which states are live.
Latest California energy news
Recent California rebate, policy, and efficiency coverage from our monitored sources.
A new gas line or cash to electrify? California lets households choose.
California has a new law that changes what happens when your gas utility needs to replace the pipe that runs from the street to your house. Right now, utilities just dig up the yard and install a new line, often costing $20,000 to $30,000, a cost spread across all gas customers' bills. Under the Home Energy Choice Act, utilities will instead have to offer households facing a line replacement a choice: get the new gas line, or take a cash incentive, potentially worth several thousand dollars, to switch to electric equipment instead, such as a heat pump, induction stove, or heat-pump water heater. The incentive is meant to cost less than a new pipe, with the difference saved by all gas customers. The law caps these programs at 1% of a utility's customers and is set to expire in 2035 unless renewed. Incentive amounts, and extra money for households in disadvantaged communities, still need to be worked out by the California Public Utilities Commission, with utilities required to get their programs approved by January 1, 2028. It's also not yet decided how much advance notice homeowners will get before a scheduled line replacement, which matters since that's the window to request the payout instead. California is the first state to require this approach, though a New York City utility and a Colorado utility already offer similar deals, and other states, including Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington, are considering their own versions. If you're in California and your gas line is due for replacement in the next couple of years, this program may eventually affect what options your utility offers you.
California SB 690 Limits Website Privacy Lawsuits Against HVAC Contractors
California has changed a law that affects HVAC companies, not homeowners directly, but it's worth knowing about if you've hired or are researching contractors in the state. Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 690, which limits lawsuits under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), a law originally written to criminalize wiretapping but later stretched to cover website tracking tools like chat boxes, Google Analytics, and Meta Pixel. Businesses, including small HVAC contractors, had been hit with lawsuits claiming these common website features violated customer privacy, with fines sought per website visit rather than per visitor. The new law removes the ability of individuals to sue over this specific type of claim (called pen-register and trap-and-trace violations). Instead, only the state Attorney General can pursue these cases. The change takes effect January 1, 2027, and also applies to similar lawsuits already filed in the two years before that date. It does not affect other parts of the privacy law, such as rules around wiretapping and intercepted communications, so some lawsuit risk remains for businesses. For homeowners, this mainly means fewer frivolous lawsuits distracting or draining smaller HVAC contractors, which could help keep service costs and availability more stable. It doesn't change anything about how your own data is collected when you visit a contractor's website, and it has no connection to equipment rebates, energy upgrades, or installation costs.
California SB 690 Limits Website Privacy Lawsuits Against HVAC Contractors
California has changed a privacy law that was being used to sue small businesses, including HVAC contractors, over routine website tracking tools like chat boxes, analytics, and ad pixels. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 690 on Sept. 30, which removes the ability of individuals to file private lawsuits over this type of tracking under the California Invasion of Privacy Act. Previously, companies anywhere in the country could be sued if a California resident visited their site and tracking software logged the visit — one local HVAC company faced a suit seeking $5,000 for every visit to its website, not every visitor. More than 800 such claims were filed in 2025 alone. Under the new law, these particular claims can now only be brought by the state Attorney General, not by private plaintiffs or the law firms that filed them on residents' behalf. The change takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, and also applies to pending cases filed within the two years before that date. This story is about contractors' legal exposure, not a direct homeowner issue, but it is worth knowing about if you have hired or are researching a local heating and cooling company. The law doesn't erase all website privacy risk; lawsuits over other parts of the same statute, dealing with consent and communication interception, can still go forward. So while the flood of lawsuits tied to this specific tracking issue should ease, it does not mean a company's website is entirely free of privacy rules.
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California: up to $4,000 back right now
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