Green Building Incentives and Installation Resources
Green building upgrades can make your building or home
healthier and more comfortable while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and
helping save money on utility bills. There are multiple currently available and
upcoming incentives from the federal, state, regional and local level to help
you earn savings on your next green building project. These incentives include
direct rebates, tax credits and affordable loans. Many of these incentives are
stackable to ensure maximum savings. If you are interested in learning more
about how to electrify your own home, check out the How
to Electrify Your Home webpage or visit Quitcarbon.com to get free guidance on making clean energy upgrades to your home.
With the passage of President Biden’s landmark bill, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), statewide rebates to improve home efficiency and support electrification are set to become available in late 2024 to early 2025. To take advantage of Clean Energy Tax Credits available through the IRA, check out these easy-to-understand information sheets from Third Act SoCal.
Check out this resource from Rewiring America to see an eligibility estimate of funds from the IRA for your next electrification project. More information will be shared when these funds become available through the state of California.
You can also check out this guide on IRA incentives in 2023 from Switch is On. Read more about how you will benefit from the IRA Here.
Federal:
Rebates:
The California Energy Commission is currently holding workshops to solicit feedback and develop rebate programs for energy efficiency and electrification. These funds will come in the form of two programs under the Home
Energy Rebates Umbrella:
- The Home Efficiency Rebates Program: Home Efficiency Rebates will award grants to State energy
offices to provide rebates that discount the price of energy-saving retrofits
in single-family and multi-family buildings.
- The Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate Program: The Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates will award grants to State energy offices and tribal entities to develop and implement a high-efficiency electric home rebate program.
Tax Credits:
Clean Energy Tax
Credits are currently available to be claimed by primary residences until the
end of 2023. There are two different groups of tax credits available:
- Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit: The Residential Clean Energy Credit equals 30% of the costs of
new, qualified clean energy property for your home installed anytime from 2022
through 2033.
- Home Energy Tax Credit: If you make energy improvements to your home (including appliances and efficiency upgrades), tax credits are available for a portion of qualifying expenses.
- How to use tax credits: File Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits with your tax return to claim the credit. You must claim the credit for the tax year when the property is installed, not merely purchased.
- This process can be daunting and burdensome for homeowners and those interested in purchasing electric vehicles. To simplify the process, Third Act Southern California put together a set of easy-to-understand information sheets to help you begin your energy efficiency journey.
State
- Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEEHRA) provides rebates for multifamily and single-family home retrofits including heat pump HVAC, heat pump water heaters, cooktops, ranges, ovens, and heat pump clothes dryers.
- TECH Clean California is a statewide initiative to accelerate the adoption of clean space and water heating technology across California homes. Enrolled contractors installing Heat Pump HVAC systems and Heat Pump Water Heaters can earn up to $3,100 per installation. To find a TECH Clean California enrolled contractor, visit Switchison.org.
- If you are a contractor, click here to apply for TECH Clean California Incentives.
- TECH Clean California recently announced a new round of rebates for Multifamily homes. If you are a Multifamily building owner interested in swapping out gas HVAC and Water Heating with Heat Pumps, fill out this form to reserve funds.
- The California Public Utilities Commission is currently proposing a Self-Generation Incentive program for Heat Pump Water Heaters – more info to come.
Regional
- The Southern California Regional
Energy Network (SoCalREN) Multifamily Program provides technical assistance and rebates to help you make
energy upgrades on your property. If you are a multifamily property owner, click this link to fill out an interest form.
- Southern California
Edison (SCE) directly funds the Golden State Rebates Program. Golden State Rebates provides instant rebate coupons for Air
Conditioners, Smart Thermostats, Electric Heat Pump Water Heaters and Gas Water
Heaters.
Local
- Electrify Santa Monica offers rebates on e-bikes, electric vehicle
chargers, and portable induction cooking hobs. Higher rebate amounts are available for income-qualified
residents. One rebate is available for each appliance type and may be stacked with other available rebates. Applications will be accepted until rebate funds are
exhausted.
Heat Pump Water Heater
Electrification Scenario
Say you own a single
family home (not income-qualifying) and are replacing your old gas water heater
with a new Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH) and the total project cost (unit cost
+ installation cost) = $8,000. By stacking rebates and incentives, here is how
much could be saved on the project:
- Electrify Santa Monica rebate program: $600
- Golden
State Rebates Program:
$500
- TECH Clean California: $2,865 (Average total incentive paid per residence in LA County)
- Home Energy Tax Credit: $2,000
- Total Savings = $5,965
The total cost of your
HPWH project has been reduced by 75% and now stands at $2,035.
Financing Options
- GoGreen
Financing offers affordable
loans to both single/multi-family homeowners and small businesses. Administered
by the State of California with support from the investor-owned utilities,
GoGreen facilitates financing for energy retrofits for qualifying properties.
- Property Assessed Clean Energy Program (PACE) offers a turnkey resource for residential and commercial property owners to finance energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation and seismic improvements. Sign up to receive PACE financing on your next energy efficiency project through a listed provider.
Find a contractor
Here is a list of contractors who performed heat pump water heater ("HPWH") or heat pump space heating/cooling system ("HP HVAC") installations in LA county.
For more information, contact environment.mailbox@santamonica.gov
Interested in learning more? Learn from the experts in this community electrification webinar!
Part 1 - A Guide to Electrification and Santa Monica's Zero Emission Building Code
Part 2 - A Guide to Electrification and Santa Monica's Zero Emission Building Code