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VentiFlux heat-pump rebate estimator

A customer pre-screen from VentiFlux for PSEG Long Island, Con Edison Clean Heat, and EmPower+. The result identifies the utility rebate, the EmPower+ funding lane, stacking limits, fuel rules, and envelope work that still needs program verification.

RULES CHECKED · OCT 12 2026
01

Customer & service territory

Basic details used to route the estimate.

Primary residence in a 1–4 unit building?
02

What best describes your household income?

Choose one path. Customers who are not low income are never asked to enter a salary.

03

Home & equipment

These answers determine the utility program tier and required project path.

Other verified weatherization pathway?
Examples: prior utility/NYSERDA weatherization, Heat Pump Ready Envelope VEA, or qualifying envelope assessment.
Is the address in a NY disadvantaged community (DAC)?
Use the official NYSERDA DAC map, search the address, then return and select Yes or No.
Remove or permanently disable the old boiler / furnace?
If kept, will integrated controls make the heat pump primary?
Whole-house system sized to 100–120% of the entire heating load?
04

EmPower+ heat-pump readiness

Screen the current customer, building-envelope, equipment, and documentation rules.

Include EmPower+ in this screening?
Envelope minimums before or by completion: infiltration ≤10 ACH50 (≤14 ACH50 if the home is under 1,000 sq. ft.), attic R-40, walls R-11, rim joist R-14, and foundation R-14. Air sealing and insulation are therefore required when the assessment finds these minimums are not met.

What this estimate does — and does not do

The headline is the published utility rebate. The breakdown separately screens EmPower+ and, only where the official rules permit it, shows the maximum combined funding lane before approved scope and project-cost limits.

Important: This is an educational pre-screen, not an approval, reservation, or guarantee. Final eligibility, equipment, Manual J and NEEP design, cost-effectiveness, envelope test results, project-cost caps, income qualification, address status, funding, and stacking must be verified by the utility, NYSERDA, TRC, and participating contractors before a customer signs or relies on a quote.

Program logic used in the estimate

Con Edison: remove or disable the old system for Standard or Weatherized full-load tiers; keeping it requires integrated controls. Published rebates differ by single-family versus apartment and DAC status. The calculator applies the published 70% project-cost cap, or 85% in a DAC, when a project cost is entered.

PSEG Long Island: the published 2026 table is whole-house only. It requires participating contractors, qualifying cold-climate equipment, Manual J sizing at 100–120% of the entire dwelling load, and removal or qualifying integrated controls.

EmPower+: low-income work can cover 100% up to $12,000 upstate or $14,000 downstate; moderate-income work covers 50% up to $6,000 or $7,000. Sustainable Future funding can add up to $10,000 for an air-source or ground-source heat pump, subject to the approved scope and program review.

EmPower+ heat-pump requirements
  • Income-eligible primary residence in a 1–4 unit building, with residents paying utility or delivered-fuel bills.
  • Existing primary HVAC is more than five years old; EmPower+ does not fund replacement of an existing heat pump.
  • Air-source heat pumps are prequalified when replacing oil, propane, kerosene, electric resistance, or wood. Natural-gas-heated homes are excluded except limited pilots. Ground-source systems always require a cost-effectiveness screen.
  • The whole-house fossil system must be decommissioned. The system must use NEEP cold-climate design, be sized to 100–110% of heating load, and model at least 20% energy-cost savings; below 20% receives tertiary review.
  • Envelope minimums must be met before or by completion: infiltration ≤10 ACH50 (≤14 for homes under 1,000 sq. ft.), attic R-40, walls R-11, rim joist R-14, and foundation R-14.
  • Documentation includes Manual J, drawings, Manual S/NEEP sizing, AHRI/NEEP certificates, photos, 12 months of energy bills, commissioning records, and decommissioning records.
Which programs can stack?

PSEG Long Island + EmPower+: permitted from the EmPower+ side, but the PSEG low- or moderate-income incentive is deducted from the $14,000 low-income or $7,000 moderate-income downstate EmPower+ cap. PSEG’s own published stacking rule was not found, so this combination still needs confirmation before quoting.

Con Edison / NYS Clean Heat + EmPower+: cannot fund the same heat-pump measure. The result shows them as alternative lanes, never a combined total.

HEAR: as of the September 2026 EmPower+ manual, HEAR no longer funds heat pumps. It provides up to $1,600 only for air sealing, insulation, and ventilation on projects without heat pumps or heat-pump water heaters. Sustainable Future funding now carries the heat-pump incentive.

Income verification & Slipstream

Energy Finance Solutions (EFS), a service of the nonprofit Slipstream, issues income-qualification letters used by utility programs including PSEG Home Comfort Plus. EmPower+ is different: customers apply through NYSERDA’s MyEnergy Portal and TRC reviews income documentation. Entered income is not treated as verified.

EmPower+ contractor workflow

Official onboarding is: review the manual; submit the signed participation materials, experience, employee roster, insurance certificate, DBA if applicable, W-9, certifications, and supplemental information; complete the interview; attend six onboarding classes; then receive approval. New firms operate provisionally for six months. A contractor may initiate a customer application in its own MyEnergy Portal account with the customer’s wet or electronic signature.

NYSERDA pays the contractor after verified completion documents. Program invoices are submitted Tuesdays and Thursdays and contractor payment is typically within about two weeks. The customer contract must show the approved incentive and any customer contribution; moderate-income customers pay their 50% share to the contractor.

2026 changes and open questions
  • Homes built in 2011 or later are presumed weatherized for the NYS Clean Heat Weatherized Tier. The build-year shortcut does not apply to PSEG LI or EmPower+.
  • Federal 25C and 25D credits are $0 for 2026 heat-pump installs under current federal law.
  • DOE Notice 26-2 ended HEAR fuel-switching effective May 29, 2026. NYSERDA’s September 2026 EmPower+ manual removed heat pumps, heat-pump water heaters, panels, and wiring from HEAR eligibility; state Sustainable Future funds now support heat pumps.
  • NY IRA HOMES had not been confirmed as launched by October 12, 2026.
  • PSEG’s own rule for combining its rebate with EmPower+ was not found. EmPower+ requires the PSEG incentive to be deducted from its downstate cap, but program staff should confirm the PSEG side before quoting.
  • The current Con Edison manual found was dated December 16, 2024; confirm that no later supplement changed its same-measure stacking prohibition.
Official sources
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