Washington Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) Program
The State Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates Program provides grants to eligible third-party administrators to provide rebates and incentives to households and small businesses to purchase and install high-efficiency electric equipment and appliances. The Washington State Department of Commerce (Commerce) anticipates making funds available beginning in February 2024.
Accepting Local Government and Tribal Entity Funding Requests
Commerce is accepting funding requests from Local Governments, Tribal Governments, and Tribal supporting entities to establish or expand incentive programs for high-efficiency electric equipment and appliances. The funding request form will remain open until the current funding of $49 million for these entities is allocated.
Funding request form for Local Governments and Tribal Entities
Who is eligible?
Eligible entities that can apply for funding and administer rebates include:
- 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organizations
- Community Action Agencies
- Housing Providers
- Local Governments
- Tribal Governments and Tribal supporting entities
- Electric Utilities
Eligible recipients of rebates
- Low- & moderate-income (LMI), single- & multi-family households with income 150% of Area Median Income (AMI) or less
- Small businesses with fifty (50) or fewer employees
- Adult family homes licensed by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS)
What equipment and appliances are eligible for rebates?
Eligible Equipment for rebates and incentives includes, but is not limited to:
- Heat pumps for home heating and cooling (i.e., air-source, ground-source)
- Residential and commercial induction cooking equipment
- Heat pump water heaters
- Heat pump clothes dryers
- Electric panel and wiring upgrades required for installation of new electric equipment
All equipment must be ENERGY STAR certified or AHRI CEE North Region Certified.
How much funding is available?
A total of approximately $77,600,000 from the State Climate Commitment Account will be available for eligible entities to administer rebates and incentive programs across Washington State. Commerce anticipates investing in the following sectors:
- $37 million for Local Governments, including Cities, Counties, and Municipally Owned Utility Providers to administer rebates and incentives to LMI households and small businesses
- $18.6 million to leverage the Federal IRA HEAR Program and existing relationships through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Weatherization Program, and Housing Trust Fund
- $10 million in projects that install heat pumps in adult family homes
- $12 million in projects directly administered or supported by State and Federally Recognized Tribal Governments, Tribal supporting entities, and Tribal partnerships
Online Sessions
View the recordings of the online sessions held in March 2024 in the State HEAR Program folder (Box.com).
Request for Applications Resources
Commerce anticipates opening a Request for Applications (RFA) for additional State HEAR funds on April 29, 2024. View the draft RFA in the State HEAR Program folder (Box.com)
Commerce is accepting public comments on the draft RFA until April 24, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Program Administrators
Q: What is the timeframe for the program, and when do we have to spend funds by?
A: Funding for the HEAR Program is available until June 30, 2025.
Q: Can my jurisdiction apply multiple times for funding?
A: No, if you have already made a funding request, or are part of a funding request through a multi-jurisdiction partnership or consortium, you may not request more funding. However, if you are a city, and your municipal utility or county have requested funds, you may still request funds. If there are funds remaining after Commerce has funded all initial funding requests, Commerce may accept additional funding requests.
Q: Do eligible program administrators need to provide non-state matching funds?
A: No, matching funds are not required.
Q: What equipment qualifies for rebates?
A:
- Ducted and ductless heat pumps (air-source and ground-source)
- Residential and commercial induction cooking equipment
- Heat pump water heaters
- Heat pump clothes dryers
- Electric panel and wiring upgrades required to accommodate new electric equipment
All equipment must be ENERGY STAR Certified or AHRI CEE North Region Certified. Air-source heat pumps must be listed on the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership’s Cold Climate Air Source Heat Pump (ccASHP) Product List, or meet the most recent ENERGY STAR Cold Climate product criteria.
Where feasible, equipment that uses refrigerants must use low global warming potential refrigerants listed by the US EPA’s SNAP Program or the California Air Resources Board.
Rebates and incentives may not be used for new fossil fuel equipment, including fossil fuel heat pumps.
Q: Do programs using grant funds need to focus on fuel switching from fossil fuels to electric?
A: No, you are not required to fund fuel-switching projects. However, the goal of the HEAR Program is to help residential and commercial buildings transition away from fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Commerce encourages program administrators to use funds to meet these goals as much as possible.
Q: Are there certain guidelines for program administrators in how they run this program?
A: Commerce will allow program administrators to determine how their programs issue rebates. Methods for providing rebates could include, but are not limited to:
- Point-of-sale reductions in the purchase price or installation cost of eligible equipment
- Customers pay the full price of eligible equipment, then submit an application for a rebate check to be sent to them
- Paying for the full cost to install eligible equipment
Q: Can HEAR funds pay for program administration?
A: Yes, Commerce will allow program administrators to use up to 15% of awarded funds for administration costs, including staffing and contractor fees. Commerce may consider increasing the allowable program administration percentage on a case-by-case basis.
Q: Are these funds subject to Washington State prevailing wage requirements?
A: Rebates issued in the form of checks, purchase price reductions, or deductions from contractor invoices are not subject to prevailing wage requirements. However, if program administrators are directly paying for installation of eligible equipment, they must comply with state prevailing wage laws.
If a program administrator pays for labor with another non-public funding source, and then uses HEAR funds to pay for equipment, the funding used for the equipment is not subject to prevailing wage requirements.
Commerce is receiving additional clarifications from the Department of Labor and Industries about prevailing wage requirements for this program.
Tribal Governments are not required to comply with State prevailing wage requirements.
Q: Will Commerce require reporting on the use of grant funds?
A: Yes, Commerce will require program administrators to submit project and expenditure reports with each invoice submitted for reimbursement. Commerce is finalizing all of the reporting parameters, but anticipates requiring the following information:
- A site list of where rebates or incentives were provided
- Household income or small business size verification
- Pre-rebate fuel type or heating source
- Amount of rebate or incentive issued
- Date of equipment install
- Specifications of the equipment purchased or installed, including brand and certification
Q: What are the household income qualifications, and how can we verify income?
A: Program administrators can provide rebates to households with a household income of 150% or less of the area median income (AMI). Commerce uses the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Income Limits Dataset to determine AMI. Program administrators may use household participation in other income-qualified benefits programs – such as LIHEAP, SNAP, or income-qualified housing – to verify that households meet the income limit.
Important dates
January 2024: Launch of the program website and public survey for households and small businesses.
February 2024: Launch Local Government and Tribal funding request form and begin granting funds.
March 2024: Online sessions for households and small businesses, and eligible third-party administrators.
March – April 2024: Anticipated opening of Request for Applications (RFA) for adult family home and additional LMI residential program funding.
Resources
Contact
For more information, email HomeRebates@Commerce.wa.gov. Be sure to put “State Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) Program” in the subject line.
Survey
Commerce is soliciting feedback and comments from the public about the proposed program. Please follow the links below to participate in a survey to help Commerce plan future engagement opportunities and program parameters.