News · Washington

Google’s AI Overview gives the wrong efficiency minimums for Wenatchee heat pump rebates

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

Published September 29, 2026. Facts read on the official source on September 27, 2026.

The AI Overview for “ductless heat pump rebates wenatchee” says 7.6 HSPF2 / 13.2 SEER2. Chelan PUD’s official minimums are 7.5 / 14.3 — a unit picked on it could fail.

On September 27, 2026, the AI Overview shown at the top of Google results for “ductless heat pump rebates wenatchee” stated that Chelan PUD equipment must meet “typically at least 7.6 HSPF2 and 13.2 SEER2”, citing a local contractor’s guide as its source.

Chelan County PUD’s official heat pump rebate page sets the 2026–27 minimums at 7.5 HSPF2 and 14.3 SEER2. The SEER2 floor is a full point higher than the Overview states. The dollar amounts in the Overview — $1,600, $2,000, $1,000 per unit, $3,300 and $600 — match the official page, which is what makes the efficiency error easy to miss.

We recorded it as a market correction, the first AI-generated answer in our corrections log. The Overview is generated, not published, so there is nobody to notify; the fix is a dated official figure that anyone can check.

What this means for you

Before you sign for a ductless system in Chelan PUD territory, check the model’s SEER2 rating on the AHRI certificate against 14.3, not against what an AI answer or a contractor page says. A 13.5 SEER2 unit is a fine heat pump and an ineligible rebate.