Rebates by state / Georgia

Georgia home energy rebates 2026: HER is open, HEAR returns in October for panels only

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

Georgia’s federally funded Home Efficiency Rebates (HER) are open: up to $16,000 for households below 80% of Area Median Income whose whole-home project saves 35% or more, and up to $4,000 at higher incomes, through a program-approved contractor. The HEAR appliance rebates have been paused since August 14, 2026; GEFA says they reopen in October 2026 with limited funding — its dashboard shows $344,000 left of HEAR funds — and only for electrical wiring and panel upgrades attached to an HER project. Separately, Georgia Power pays 50% of cost on efficiency upgrades — up to $1,500 for replacing an electric furnace with a heat pump and up to $1,700 for an insulation, air sealing and duct sealing bundle — capped at $2,500 a year. The federal 25C tax credit ended December 31, 2025.

Every Georgia program at a glance

HER: the Georgia rebate that is open now

The Home Efficiency Rebates pay for whole-home upgrades, not single appliances, and the amount depends on two numbers: your household income compared with your county’s Area Median Income, and the energy savings your project is modeled to achieve. The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) administers the program with U.S. Department of Energy funds, and it is open to every income level. You start with a program-approved contractor, who performs a home energy assessment and builds a scope of work that reaches at least 20% savings. GEFA warns that the assessment may carry a fee and that contractors may fold it into your final bill — ask about it before any work begins. Insulation, air sealing and HVAC upgrades are typical parts of a qualifying project. The program’s help line is (877) 348-5237, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern.

HEAR is paused until October, and comes back smaller

GEFA rewrote its HEAR program updates page between our October 2 and October 3 source checks; the change was reported on October 3 and we read it by hand on October 4; it changed again between our October 7 and October 8 checks and we re-read it on October 10. It says the HEAR program has been paused since August 14, 2026 and will reopen in October 2026 with a limited amount of funding. Under the revised program, single-family applicants can receive HEAR rebates only for electrical wiring and panel upgrades, and only in conjunction with an eligible single-family HER project; the new footnote says “HEAR will not reopen for the Multifamily pathway.” Applications depend on available funds, and GEFA names no day — it announces a Program Update webinar for Wednesday, October 14, 2026, noon to 1:00 pm ET, the likely place for one. HEAR was the point-of-sale rebate for households below 150% of Area Median Income, covering heat pumps, water heaters, cooking, panels and insulation; the fuel-switching projects many Georgia guides still describe ended on August 10 and are not coming back. Do not sign a contract that assumes a HEAR discount on a heat pump; price the job with HER or Georgia Power money, and treat a panel upgrade as a possible add-on once the reopening is live.

What GEFA’s dashboard shows: HEAR is almost spent, HER is not

GEFA’s new Rebates Dashboard (a Power BI panel, data last updated September 28, 2026, read October 4) puts numbers on the pause. HEAR has paid $49.4 million and reserved another $40.0 million, leaving $344,000 available — which is why the October reopening is “limited.” HER has paid $13.7 million, reserved $5.3 million and still has $68.7 million available. Across both programs 4,452 Georgia households have received rebates, averaging $12,181 per household, with $63.0 million paid in total. HEAR’s 7,917 installations were mostly electrical wiring and panels (3,600) and HVAC systems (3,331), followed by insulation, air sealing and ventilation (694) and appliances (292); the average HEAR rebate was about $7,900 per HVAC system and $2,800 per wiring or panel job. The network counts 166 active contractor companies in 113 counties, and a complete rebate pays in about five days on average. The dashboard is the only official measure of program funds we know of; treat its figures as a snapshot, not a guarantee.

Georgia Power’s rebates since August 1, 2026

Georgia Power’s Home Energy Improvement Program pays 50% of the cost of qualifying upgrades, up to a ceiling for each, to its residential customers at any income. New terms took effect August 1, 2026 and run through December 31, 2028, with total rebates capped at $2,500 per customer per year. Most amounts are higher in electrically heated homes than in gas-heated ones. Some measures require one of the program’s installers, who are BPI-certified Building Analysts; others accept any licensed professional or a do-it-yourself installation. You apply online within 60 days of the date on your paid-in-full invoice, and a complete application takes six to eight weeks to pay. The figures below come from the program’s 2026 preconditions and requirements; the web page lists each bundle $150 higher — the amount of the home energy assessment rebate.

Heat pump rebates in Georgia: it depends on what you heat with now

Your current heating fuel decides which Georgia heat pump money you can reach. If you heat with an electric furnace, Georgia Power pays 50% of the cost of an air-source heat pump, up to $1,500, under its 2026 rules. The installer must attest in writing that the heat pump replaced an electric furnace, and the indoor and outdoor units must be listed together as an air-source heat pump in the AHRI directory. If you heat with gas, that rebate does not apply, and federal HEAR will not help when it reopens in October, because it no longer funds replacing fossil-fuel equipment and will cover only wiring and panel upgrades. For gas-heated homes, the realistic path is HER: a heat pump can be one measure inside a whole-home project that reaches 20% or more modeled savings, usually alongside insulation and air sealing. The federal 25C credit ended for 2026 installations. Ask any contractor which program pays for your specific system before you sign.

Insulation and air sealing in Georgia

Insulation is where Georgia’s programs overlap most. Georgia Power pays 50% of the cost of attic insulation, up to $300 in electrically heated homes and $200 in gas-heated ones, when the existing attic insulation is below R-19 and you add R-49 or more, or bring the attic up to state code as the structure allows. The whole attic must be covered, radiant barriers do not qualify, and loose insulation can be installed by you or by a program installer; dense-pack and wet-spray cellulose need a program installer, and spray foam requires testing before and after. Watch one inconsistency: the program’s web FAQ still describes the starting point as R-38 or less, while the 2026 requirements document says below R-19 — ask before you buy. Bundling insulation with air sealing and duct sealing raises the ceiling to $1,700. Under HER, the same work can count toward your whole-home savings target. Our insulation rebates 2026 guide covers the federal insulate-first rule and recommended R-values.

How to apply, step by step

1. Check your income tier against your county’s Area Median Income using GEFA’s eligibility page.
2. For HER, pick a contractor from GEFA’s approved list and do not let work start until you have confirmed the contractor is listed.
3. Get the home energy assessment, and the price of the assessment, in writing before anything else.
4. Review the scope of work: the modeled savings percentage decides your HER tier.
5. For Georgia Power rebates, check each measure’s installer rule in the 2026 requirements, then keep the paid-in-full invoice.
6. Apply to Georgia Power within 60 days of the invoice date, with your meter number from your bill.

Can you stack these programs?

Some combinations work and one does not. HER and HEAR are both federal Home Energy Rebates, and federal law bars combining a HEAR rebate with any other federal grant or rebate for the same project — and when HEAR returns in October, its wiring and panel rebates are explicitly tied to an HER project, so ask GEFA’s contractor which program pays for which line. Georgia Power money is utility money, not federal, and its program sets its own limits: each measure has its own preconditions, and total Georgia Power rebates stop at $2,500 per customer per year. Whether GEFA lets a single HER project also claim Georgia Power rebates is set by GEFA’s program rules, and we have not found it stated on the public site — ask your HER contractor to show, in writing, which rebates the project will claim and from whom, before you sign. What does not stack with anything is the federal tax credit: it no longer exists for 2026 work.

The mistakes still circulating about Georgia

We read the Georgia guides that rank for these searches before writing this page. An Atlanta HVAC company’s guide, published April 7, 2026, still calls the federal 25C credit “the heavy hitter for 2026,” worth up to $2,000 a year through 2032 — the credit ended for equipment installed after December 31, 2025. The same guide presents HEAR as the rebate for switching from a gas furnace to a heat pump; HEAR has been paused since August 14, 2026, since May 29, 2026 it no longer pays for that switch, and its October reopening covers only wiring and panel upgrades. Several guides still quote Georgia Power’s heat pump conversion rebate at $1,000; the program’s 2026 requirements, effective August 1, set it at 50% of cost up to $1,500, and only for replacing an electric furnace. Many of these pages were right when written and went stale. Every correction we publish is logged, with its official source, in our public corrections log.

Before you sign a quote: what we’d verify

• No HEAR line on the quote unless it is a wiring or panel upgrade inside an HER project, after GEFA reopens the program in October; any other HEAR discount is not money you can count on.
• No federal tax credit line. 25C does not apply to 2026 installations.
• The contractor is on GEFA’s approved list for HER, or a Georgia Power program installer where the measure requires one.
• The modeled savings percentage, in writing — it decides whether your HER cap is $10,000 or $16,000, or $2,000 or $4,000.
• What you heat with now, on the paperwork. Georgia Power’s heat pump rebate needs the installer’s note that it replaced an electric furnace.
• A real Manual J load calculation before any heat pump is sized.

Sources and method

Every fact on this page was checked on September 26, 2026 against primary sources, and the HEAR status was re-read on October 4 and October 10, 2026: the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority’s official rebate site — its Home Efficiency Rebates page (incentive table), HEAR program updates (the pause and the October reopening), FAQs and the new Rebates Dashboard (a Power BI panel, data as of September 28, 2026, read in a browser on October 4) — and Georgia Power’s Home Energy Improvement Program page and its 2026 preconditions and requirements (re-read October 4, 2026: valid August 1, 2026 to December 31, 2028, 60-day application window, $2,500 yearly cap), which we treat as the authoritative figures where the web page differs. Federal rules come from DOE Program Notice 26-2 and the IRS. If an electric membership cooperative or a city utility serves your home, check its own efficiency program; we have not yet verified those. This is general information, not tax or financial advice.

Corrections involving Georgia. We log every error we find — ours and the market’s — with the official source: A Georgia HVAC guide still sells the 25C credit for 2026 and HEAR for gas-furnace swaps. See the full corrections log.

Frequently asked questions

Are Georgia’s Home Energy Rebates still available in 2026?

Partly. The Home Efficiency Rebates (HER) program is open through program-approved contractors, and GEFA says eligible households can get up to $16,000 depending on income and expected energy savings. HEAR has been paused since August 14, 2026; GEFA’s status page, read October 10, says it will reopen in October 2026 with limited funding, for single-family applicants only, and only for electrical wiring and panel upgrades tied to an eligible single-family HER project; it will not reopen for multifamily.

How much does Georgia’s HER program pay?

It depends on income and modeled energy savings. Households below 80% of Area Median Income get up to 98% of project cost, capped at $10,000 for 20–34% savings or $16,000 for 35% or more. Households at or above 80% get up to 50%, capped at $2,000 or $4,000.

Is Georgia’s HEAR program open?

Not as of October 10, 2026. GEFA’s HEAR status page says the program has been paused since August 14, 2026 and will reopen in October 2026 with a limited amount of funding. The revised HEAR will pay single-family applicants only, and only for electrical wiring and panel upgrades in conjunction with an eligible single-family HER project; “HEAR will not reopen for the Multifamily pathway.” GEFA’s dashboard (data as of September 28) shows $344,000 of HEAR funds available against $68.7 million for HER. No day has been announced; GEFA holds a Program Update webinar on October 14, 2026 at noon ET.

What does Georgia Power pay for a heat pump?

Under the Home Energy Improvement Program rules in effect since August 1, 2026, Georgia Power pays 50% of cost, up to $1,500, for replacing an electric furnace with an air-source heat pump, and up to $300 for a ground-source conversion. A licensed HVAC installer must do the work. Rebates are capped at $2,500 per customer per year.

I heat with gas. Can I get a Georgia heat pump rebate?

Not from Georgia Power’s conversion rebate, which requires replacing an electric furnace, and not from federal HEAR, which no longer funds fuel switching and, when it reopens in October 2026, will cover only wiring and panel upgrades. HER is the program to ask about: it pays for whole-home projects that achieve at least 20% modeled energy savings.

Is there still a federal tax credit for heat pumps in Georgia?

No. The 25C credit ended for equipment placed in service after December 31, 2025. A heat pump installed in 2025 can still be claimed on the 2025 return; extended returns are due October 15, 2026.

How long do I have to apply for a Georgia Power rebate?

Sixty days from the date on your paid-in-full invoice or receipt. Georgia Power says a complete application takes six to eight weeks to process, and the current program terms run from August 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028.

More state guides

Rebate rules are set state by state — see the full state-by-state registry, or the other states we cover in depth: New York, Maryland, Wisconsin, Colorado, Washington, Texas. For the federal side, read heat pump tax credit 2026 and insulation rebates 2026; every dated deadline is on our verified deadline calendar.