News · Washington

Chelan PUD widens its ductless heat pump rebate: electric forced-air furnaces now qualify, same $1,600

By Ionel Glogoveanu, editor. Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown.

Published October 2, 2026. Facts read on the official source on October 2, 2026.

Caught by our daily source check October 1, confirmed by hand October 2: Chelan PUD’s ductless rebates now accept electric forced-air furnaces, not only zonal heat.

Chelan County PUD’s heat pump rebate page changed on October 1, 2026. Our automated daily re-read of the page reported the difference that evening, and we read the page by hand on October 2 to confirm it. In the rebate table, the “current heating type” for the three ductless (mini-split) rows — $1,600 in an existing single-family home, $2,000 in a manufactured home and $1,000 per unit in multifamily buildings of five or more units — now reads “Electric forced air furnace or zonal (baseboards, wall heaters, ceiling cable)”. Before October 1 it read “Electric zonal” only.

Nothing else in the table moved: the first-time ducted conversion from a forced-air furnace still pays $3,300 and still requires the contractor’s pre-authorization, the variable-speed upgrade pays $600, the income-qualified tiers of $2,100, $2,700 and $4,300 are still announced for fall 2026, and the window still runs for applications received April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027. Eligibility is still judged on the home’s current heating type and last winter’s electric heating use, and the PUD still notes that vacation homes may not qualify.

Our Washington page, verified on September 27, described the narrower rule in three places; we updated them on October 2 and published a dedicated Chelan County PUD page with the full table. Guides written before October describe the old rule.

What this means for you

If your Wenatchee, Leavenworth or Chelan home heats with an electric furnace and you choose a mini-split instead of a ducted conversion, you are now eligible for $1,600 ($2,000 in a manufactured home) where before you were not. The ducted conversion at $3,300 remains the larger rebate for the same house, with pre-authorization before any work starts.