Efficiency Vermont sent a press release last month touting the state’s leadership in installing the most heat pumps per capita among states in the Northeast. That might have been a subtle dig at Maine, which has more heat pumps overall and has been installing them at a faster clip, or Massachusetts, which has big ambitions but lags behind. Each of those states is part of the U.S. Climate Alliance, which has set a goal of accelerating deployment of heat pumps, and incentive programs are a big part of achieving that target. But despite all of the glowing rhetoric, there is at least one major challenge: heat pump rebate programs in New England are struggling to reach low-income households, especially those currently heating with gas, the most important constituency.

As states across the country prepare to launch home energy rebates for efficient products like heat pumps, there are lessons to be learned from the existing programs in the Northeast. The goals of the new federal funding for home energy rebates include lowering energy burdens, reducing pollution, and innovative program designs that spur widespread adoption. Energy burdens and insecurity for low-income households are already unacceptably high in communities across the country, and the potential for skyrocketing gas prices as more households switch to efficient electric heating cannot fall on those already most likely to face utility shutoffs and evictions.

https://www.aceee.org/blog-post/2024/02/heat-pump-programs-cant-keep-leaving-low-income-households-behind