Energy efficiency news.
Rebate updates, policy changes, and technology developments — aggregated from 50+ sources, AI-enriched, and scored for relevance.
Invenergy says Trump’s offshore wind payout will fund a geothermal push
The energy developer Invenergy has agreed to give up four offshore wind leases off California, Maine, and New York in exchange for $765 million from the Trump administration. The company says it will use that money to invest in both natural gas plants and geothermal power projects. It's the third major developer to strike this kind of deal recently, following similar agreements from TotalEnergies and Ocean Winds, both of which also plan to put the payouts toward fossil fuel projects. Invenergy's plans include drilling work later this year on what's called an "enhanced geothermal system" — a technique that uses fracking and horizontal drilling to create artificial hot-water reservoirs deep underground, similar to a project Fervo Energy is developing in Utah. The company holds geothermal leases across five Western states. It hasn't said how much of the $765 million will go toward geothermal specifically, versus the natural gas plants it's also planning in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Wisconsin. For homeowners, this doesn't change any rebate or incentive program directly. But it reflects a broader shift: while the administration has worked to block offshore wind, it has left geothermal tax credits in place and continued funding that sector. Critics argue these lease buyouts don't offset the power that offshore wind was expected to supply to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, since the new gas and geothermal projects are being built in different regions entirely.
President Trump’s Coal Bailouts Lock-In Higher Costs, Forestall Real Solutions
The Trump administration is spending hundreds of millions more in taxpayer money to keep aging coal plants running, support new coal projects, and back a coal export terminal. This follows earlier moves to keep coal plants online past their planned retirement, push the military toward coal power, and roll back pollution rules covering mercury, toxic wastewater, coal ash, and carbon dioxide from coal plants. For homeowners, the practical concern is cost and reliability. Coal plants are now generally more expensive to keep running than building new wind or solar, so propping them up tends to push electricity prices up rather than down. Coal plants have also become the least reliable part of the power system, meaning these subsidies may not even deliver steadier power. At the same time, the administration is working to slow new solar and wind projects, which are typically the fastest and cheapest new power sources to bring online, and which pair well with efficiency upgrades, battery storage, and grid improvements. This is national energy policy news rather than a program change you can act on directly, but it matters for anyone watching utility bills. Electricity demand is already rising due to data center growth, and utility bills have been a strain for many households in the past year. Policy choices about whether to invest in coal or in renewables and efficiency will shape how much power costs in the years ahead, in every state.
Cómo podemos aprovechar el enorme potencial solar en las comunidades de justicia ambiental de Massachusetts
A new report on Massachusetts finds that neighborhoods classified as environmental justice communities (areas with more low-income, non-English-speaking, or racially diverse residents) have enough rooftop solar potential to power almost all 3 million households in the state, plus battery storage potential on top of that. Right now only about 1% of the solar capacity approved under the state's SMART incentive program sits on low-income properties, so this potential is largely untapped. Rooftop solar has already been shown to lower energy bills for low-income households, and more than 90% of the technical solar and storage potential in these neighborhoods falls in areas that also deal with extreme summer heat, meaning solar paired with batteries could help homes stay cool during outages or heat waves. The report points to several obstacles: limited financing options, aging home electrical systems, workforce shortages, and a lack of incentives for renters and condo owners, who make up two-thirds of this untapped potential since it isn't limited to single-family homes. It also notes that most current clean energy programs lack specific equity goals or funding set aside for these communities. For homeowners, the takeaway is less about a new program to sign up for and more about a signal of where state policy may be headed. Massachusetts lawmakers are currently weighing bills that would set equity-focused solar and storage targets and that would affect funding for MassSave, the state's main energy-efficiency rebate program. Changes to MassSave's budget could affect what incentives are available for solar, storage, or other electrical upgrades in the coming years.
Will New York Gov. Kathy Hochul sign a balcony solar bill?
New York lawmakers have passed the Solar Up Now New York (SUNNY) Act, which would legalize "balcony solar" — small solar panels that plug directly into a regular outlet and start feeding power into your home right away. Gov. Kathy Hochul has until the end of the year to sign it. Her office says only that it's under review, and given her recent record of pulling back on other state climate measures, her decision isn't a sure thing. Supporters, including Con Edison, are pushing for a signature, arguing it fits her focus on affordability. This matters most if you rent or own an apartment or condo and can't install rooftop solar. The bill would cap plug-in systems at 1,200 watts, enough to run something like a fridge and a laptop during daylight hours, and would let people install them without needing prior utility approval (though you'd still fill out an online form telling your utility about it). An 800-watt setup priced around $1,099 could cut a household's electric bill by close to $300 a year, according to clean energy advocates — modest, but installation takes under an hour and the savings start immediately. One catch: no plug-in solar product has yet been certified safe by a nationally recognized testing lab, though a certification program launched this year and the first approved products are expected soon. Seven other states have already legalized similar setups, and dozens more are considering it. If Hochul signs, New York would become the largest state so far to open the door to this kind of home solar.
Is New England’s new hydropower transmission line paying off?
A new power line carrying Canadian hydropower into New England went live in January, promising cheaper, cleaner electricity for Massachusetts. The state signed a deal with Hydro-Québec for a set amount of hydropower each year, meant to help meet its renewable energy targets. But six months in, the results are mixed. The line, called NECEC, has sat completely idle for roughly 27 days total, including a near two-week stretch this spring blamed on technical problems. When it does run, it mostly delivers power as planned. The bigger issue is that New England isn't necessarily getting more clean power overall. An older line from Quebec has been sending much less electricity south than it used to, so the new line may just be rerouting hydropower New England was already getting rather than adding to the total supply. Quebec has also started drawing some power back from New England on that older line, partly because drought has left its reservoirs low and it needs to serve its own customers first. That means New England is burning more natural gas to send power north, even as it imports hydropower for itself. For homeowners, the direct financial risk looks limited: Massachusetts' contract requires Hydro-Québec to pay penalties if it fails to deliver, so utility customers shouldn't bear the cost of these shortfalls. Whether the new line meaningfully increases the region's clean energy supply, and eventually electricity bills, remains uncertain. Industry voices point to wetter conditions expected in Quebec in future years and new hydropower and wind projects there as reasons for optimism, but for now the benefits are still unproven.
Catalyst Power and Connecticut Green Bank Partner to Advance Commercial Solar Deployment Across Connecticut
Catalyst Power and the Connecticut Green Bank have financed a set of five commercial rooftop solar projects in Hartford and Trumbull, Connecticut, totaling 1,025 kilowatts of generating capacity. Most of the projects are smaller installations, under 200 kilowatts each, on commercial building rooftops. Once running, the portfolio is expected to avoid more than 500 metric tons of carbon emissions a year. This is a commercial and industrial energy story, not a residential one, so it does not change what's available to homeowners directly. But it points to a broader trend worth knowing about: smaller solar projects often struggle to get financed because the paperwork, engineering review, and underwriting costs stay high even when the project itself is small. The Connecticut Green Bank, a state-backed financing organization that supports clean energy projects, worked with Catalyst Power to standardize that process, making it easier for smaller commercial solar projects to move forward despite rising costs and shifting federal incentives. For a homeowner, the relevant takeaway is that state green banks like Connecticut's exist to help finance and de-risk clean energy projects, and many states run similar programs, though the details and eligibility differ by state. If you're weighing solar or other energy upgrades for your own house, it's worth checking whether your state's green bank or energy office offers financing help, rebates, or loan programs, since the tools used here for commercial projects often have residential counterparts.
Solar generation in CAISO surpassed natural gas in the first five months of 2026
California's grid is running more and more on sunshine. In the first five months of 2026, solar power produced more electricity than natural gas plants across the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the grid operator covering most of the state. Solar output was up 21% compared with the same stretch in 2024, while natural gas generation dropped 60%. Solar beat gas on 82% of days this year, compared with just 21% of days back in 2024 and 2025. Behind this shift is a buildout of both solar panels and battery storage. Between April 2024 and April 2026, utility-scale solar capacity in CAISO grew 19% to 25 gigawatts, and battery storage capacity jumped 79% to 16 gigawatts. Batteries typically charge up during sunny midday hours when solar is producing more than the grid needs, then discharge that stored power in the evening and early morning. Natural gas capacity, meanwhile, stayed essentially flat at 29 gigawatts. Even with more solar and batteries online, and demand up 7%, the amount of electricity actually generated within CAISO fell 19%, because the state imported much more power from elsewhere. Cheap hydropower from the Pacific Northwest picked up as drought conditions eased there, and CAISO started drawing wind power from the new SunZia project in New Mexico this April. A fire at a large battery facility and other plant retirements over the past two years also played a role. None of this changes what a homeowner needs to do at home, but it points to a grid increasingly shaped by solar and batteries rather than gas-fired power.
Solar and wind try to navigate Trump’s obstacle course for tax credits
Large-scale solar and wind projects across the country are racing to lock in federal tax credits before a July 4, 2026 deadline, set by the tax law President Trump signed last year. Projects that "start construction" by then can still claim credits covering 30% or more of costs. Most big developers have already secured this status, known as "safe harbor," so the pipeline of new solar and wind is not expected to dry up right away. Battery storage projects were not affected by this deadline and keep their original tax-credit terms. The catch is what comes next. Safe-harbored projects now have four years to actually get built and connected to the grid, or they lose the credits. That is harder than it sounds: permitting delays, a backed-up process for connecting to the grid, and a series of new Trump administration hurdles are already slowing tens of gigawatts of projects. These include a near-freeze on permits for projects on public land, paused Defense Department reviews for wind farms, and new rules restricting equipment or financing tied to China, with more restrictive guidance still to come. Smaller developers, with less flexibility to shift equipment between projects, may struggle most to hit the four-year deadline. For homeowners, this doesn't directly affect existing home energy rebates or programs, but it matters for electricity costs. If projects get stuck and lose their tax credits, developers may pass higher costs on to power prices, at a time when many households are already dealing with rising electric bills.
Total Energy News – June 2026
Fuel prices have jumped sharply since the war with Iran began, and a new Vermont analysis puts numbers on the pain. Gasoline hit $4.47 a gallon by the end of May, up nearly 50% from $3.00 before the war, adding more than $75 a month for the average Vermont driver. Fuel oil rose $1.11 a gallon over the same period, so a 200-gallon delivery now costs more than $1,000, versus about $800 before. Across the state, higher gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil prices are estimated to have added $124 million in costs from March through May alone. Nationally, the average American household has spent an extra $190 on gasoline since the war started. For anyone heating with oil or driving a lot, these increases are a reminder that cutting fuel use — through better insulation and air sealing (blocking drafts and gaps that let heated or cooled air escape), or switching to a heat pump for heating and cooling — can matter more when fossil fuel prices are volatile. Separately, federal tax credits for electric vehicles and other home clean-energy equipment were phased out last year under the Trump administration and the GOP, and EV sales have taken a hit as a result. That means buyers can no longer count on those federal credits to lower the upfront cost of an EV, though other incentives may still vary by state. On the utility side, a 120-home pilot project in California is testing whether electric vehicles can double as backup batteries, supplying power to a home's appliances and even to the grid during outages or peak demand.
Despite It All: Watching US Wind and Solar’s Amazing Progress
Wind and solar power keep growing in the US, even as federal policy works against them. In April 2026, solar and wind together supplied 26 percent of the country's electricity, up from about 20 percent just a few years ago. In May 2026, solar generated more electricity nationwide than coal for the first time ever. Solar and wind, plus battery storage, have made up more than 90 percent of all new power capacity added in each of the last two years. This growth is happening despite moves by the Trump administration to slow it down, including buying back offshore wind leases from companies that won them at auction, and paying to keep aging coal plants running rather than let them close. Courts have repeatedly ruled against these actions, and offshore wind construction has continued. One development worth knowing about: some states, starting with Utah, have passed laws allowing "plug-in" or "balcony" solar, which lets a household, including renters and people in apartments, buy small solar panels that plug in directly and offset part of their electric bill without a full rooftop installation. Rules on this vary by state, so it is worth checking what your state allows. None of this changes anything about existing rebate programs directly, but it points to a broader trend: solar and wind are cheaper and faster to build than most other power sources, and their share of the electric grid keeps rising regardless of the political fight over them.
This spring, clean energy in the US set record after record
This spring, the mix of power on the grid shifted more than most people realize. In May, solar generated more electricity nationwide than coal for the first time, making it the country's third-biggest power source for the month. Coal plants can run around the clock, but the country now has enough solar panels installed that daytime sun alone outproduced coal for the whole month. The bigger story is what's happening after dark. In California, batteries (which store solar power to use later) covered 44% of evening electricity demand on one March night, and for a few hours on another day gas plants barely ran at all. A new wind farm feeding power in from New Mexico is also cutting into gas use overnight. New York set its own solar record in June, with most of that power coming from home and small business rooftop systems rather than big utility-scale farms, showing that even without wide-open desert, rooftop solar adds up. Texas broke records across the board this spring for batteries, wind, and solar working together. None of this changes what any single homeowner needs to do right now, but it points to where the grid is headed: more solar, more batteries, and less reliance on gas at times when demand is otherwise easy to meet. The real test comes this summer, when heat waves push demand and air-conditioning use to their peaks, to see whether these cleaner sources can keep holding their ground.
Assessing the Impact of Recent Fossil Fuel Price Increases on Vermonters
Fuel prices have jumped sharply in Vermont since war broke out in Iran at the end of February, and a new analysis puts a dollar figure on what that means for households. Gasoline rose from $3.00 a gallon in late February to $4.47 by the end of May, adding more than $75 a month to costs for the average driver, bringing typical monthly gas spending to about $240. Fuel oil, the fuel most Vermont homes use for heat, climbed from $3.98 to $5.09 a gallon over the same stretch. That pushed the cost of a typical 200-gallon delivery from around $800 before the war to over $1,000 in April and May. A colder-than-normal heating season meant many households burned through their early-season oil and had to buy more at these higher prices. Statewide, the analysis estimates gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil price increases added $124 million in costs across Vermont from March through May, compared with what residents and businesses would have paid at pre-war prices. Of that, about $77.6 million came from gasoline, $23.6 million from diesel, and $22.8 million from fuel oil. For homeowners, the takeaway is that heating oil remains both expensive and prone to these kinds of price swings. The analysis points to weatherization (sealing and insulating a home to cut heating needs) and switching to heat pumps or advanced wood heating as ways to reduce exposure to oil price spikes over time, and notes that electric vehicles are insulated from gasoline price swings since their fuel costs come from electricity instead.
Solar beat coal on the US grid in May — a new milestone
In May, solar panels generated more electricity nationwide than coal plants did — the first time that has happened for a full month. Solar made up 12.8% of U.S. electricity that month, while coal fell to 12.2%, near an all-time low. Natural gas remained the largest source, at 37%. The milestone is notable because it happened even as the Trump administration pushes to keep coal plants running, including emergency orders forcing aging plants to stay open and a recent $700 million commitment to repair old coal plants and build two new ones. The bigger picture is a long decline for coal. Two decades ago it supplied nearly half the country's power; last year that was down to 17%. No new coal plant has been built in the U.S. since 2013, while solar, wind, and battery projects have made up more than 90% of new electricity capacity added in recent years, because they're cheaper and faster to build than new fossil fuel plants. None of this changes anything about your own home directly, but it reflects a grid that is steadily shifting toward solar and away from coal. For homeowners, that broader trend is part of why rooftop solar, home batteries, and electric equipment like heat pumps increasingly draw on a cleaner mix of power than they did even a few years ago.
AI firms are getting creative as they scramble for energy
AI companies are scrambling for electricity to run data centers, and utilities can't keep up, so many firms are building their own power sources on-site. Big gas turbines are backordered due to supply chain problems, so companies are improvising: one developer signed a $1.25 billion deal for jet-engine turbines to power data centers, another is using turbines normally built for cruise ships, and Oracle plans to buy 2.8 gigawatts of fuel cells. Some proposals are far stranger, including floating data centers powered by ocean waves, an underwater data center off the Maine coast, and plans from Meta and Elon Musk to beam solar power from space or put data centers in orbit. Most of these unusual ideas are unlikely to happen soon, but they show how urgently these companies want power. The more ordinary workarounds matter now, though. These on-site gas plants are releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases, and some experts say they will push up electricity bills for regular customers. They also cause local air pollution, most notably from Elon Musk's xAI facility near Memphis, which has run dozens of unpermitted gas turbines on flatbed trailers. This fight over data center power is also playing out locally. Seattle and Flint, Michigan have paused new data center development while they write rules, and states including Texas, Ohio, Delaware and Pennsylvania are considering requirements that new facilities pay for grid upgrades or bring their own power. If a large data center is proposed near you, these debates over cost and pollution may end up affecting local electricity rates or permitting rules in your area.
BPA Board of Directors Announces Planned Leadership Transition
The Building Performance Association, an industry group focused on home energy efficiency, is changing leadership. CEO Steve Skodak, who has led the organization for six years, is stepping down as part of a planned transition. The board says the move is meant to position the group for its "next chapter" as it searches for a new CEO to lead going forward. Skodak will stay on during the transition to help keep things running smoothly for members, partners, and staff. The board has not named a timeline for hiring a replacement or given details on what changes, if any, might follow at the organization. This is a trade-group leadership change, not a shift in any rebate program, incentive, or energy code. It does not affect current weatherization programs, heat pump incentives, or other efficiency rebates homeowners might be using or considering. If you are researching upgrades like insulation, air sealing (sealing gaps that let air leak in and out of a house), or heat pump installations, this news does not change what is available or how to apply. It is worth keeping an eye on whether the group's new leadership shifts its policy priorities down the road, but for now there is nothing here that changes what a homeowner needs to do.
Minnesota now has a wind-powered green ammonia plant
A research plant near Morris, Minnesota is now making ammonia using wind power instead of fossil gas. Ammonia is the main ingredient in the fertilizer most corn farmers rely on, and it's normally made at huge plants using natural gas, then shipped in from elsewhere. The Morris facility uses a wind turbine to run equipment that splits water into hydrogen and pulls nitrogen from the air, then combines them into ammonia on site. It's small, producing only hundreds of kilograms a day, but researchers hope to scale it up. This matters mostly for farmers and the broader energy system rather than individual homeowners. A larger project in southern Minnesota, backed by a farm cooperative and a Texas-based company called Talusag, aims to build modular plants that could produce up to 12,000 tons of ammonia a year, though it lost out on an $8 million state grant this year and its timeline is uncertain. A similar Talusag plant is already running in Iowa. The bigger picture: this kind of local, wind-powered ammonia production could soak up extra wind power that otherwise goes to waste on windy days when the grid has nowhere to send it. Minnesota and its neighbors currently discard enough wind power on windy days to matter, and flexible users like ammonia plants could use that surplus rather than let it go unused. The same approach could eventually feed into cleaner steelmaking, since ammonia can carry hydrogen for industrial processes. None of this changes anything for a homeowner's own energy bills or upgrades right now, but it's a sign of how wind power is being put to new uses in the Midwest.
Largest wind farm in the United States slated to begin commercial operations
The largest wind farm in the country, the SunZia Wind Project in New Mexico, is set to begin commercial operations this month. It has 916 turbines spread across three counties and a total generating capacity of 3,650 megawatts, more than three times the size of the next largest U.S. wind farm. Construction began in 2023 after nearly two decades of permitting, and some turbines were already producing power during testing earlier this year. Most of the electricity from SunZia won't stay in New Mexico. A new 550-mile transmission line carries the power to Arizona and Southern California, with over 2,100 megawatts headed to the Palo Verde Substation for use in Southern California. This addition pushes New Mexico's total wind capacity to 7,647 megawatts, making wind the largest source of generating capacity in the state at 45%, ahead of solar and natural gas at 19% each. For homeowners, this project itself doesn't require any action, but it reflects a broader shift toward more wind power on the grid, particularly in the Southwest. On May 15, 2026, the California grid operator recorded 7,122 megawatts of wind generation in a single hour, 20% above the previous record set in 2024. More wind capacity feeding into regional grids can affect electricity supply and pricing over time in states connected to that grid, including Arizona and California, though the direct effect on any individual home's bill will depend on local utility rates and programs.
Maine Increases Heat Pump Rebates for 2026, Adds Whole-Home Bonus
Efficiency Maine has increased heat pump rebate amounts for 2026 and added a $500 whole-home heat pump bonus for upgrades completed between March 1 and December 31, 2026. Low-income households can receive up to $3,000 per unit (max $9,000), moderate-income up to $2,000 per unit (max $6,000), and any-income homeowners up to $1,000 per unit (max $3,000). The whole-home bonus requires that systems be sized for at least 80% of the home's peak heating load.
IRA Home Energy Rebates: Which States Have Launched Programs?
The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $8.8 billion for home energy rebates through two programs: HEAR (Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates) and HOMES (Home Efficiency Rebates). Implementation varies dramatically by state. California was oversubscribed within weeks. Texas has $690M allocated but no programs launched. South Dakota and Idaho declined or zeroed their funding, while Wyoming — often reported as having declined — actually holds a conditional ~$69M award (HOMES + HEAR) that was paused after Jan 2025 and is now being rebooted by DOE, though it is not yet claimable. Florida is in active pre-launch (its FDACS Florida Energy Saver portal shows a DOE-approval-to-statewide roadmap, ~$346M) despite earlier reports it had returned funds. States like Connecticut, Vermont, and New York have active programs integrated with existing efficiency infrastructure.
Mass Save Now Covers 100% of Weatherization Costs for Income-Eligible Households
Mass Save has expanded its income-eligible weatherization program to cover 100% of insulation and air sealing costs, up from 75%. The program includes no-cost energy assessments, insulation installation, and air sealing work performed by BPI-certified Home Performance Contractors. Income eligibility thresholds vary by utility territory. The HEAT Loan program continues to offer 0% interest financing up to $25,000 for homeowners who don't qualify for the income-eligible tier.
Cold Climate Heat Pumps Now Maintain Full Capacity Below -15°F
The latest generation of cold-climate heat pumps from Mitsubishi (Hyper-Heating), Fujitsu (XLTH), and LG (Arctic Engineering) are now rated to maintain full heating capacity at -15°F and continue operating down to -22°F. Field data from Vermont and Maine installations shows that properly sized cold-climate heat pumps can serve as the sole heating source in Climate Zones 5-7 without backup, provided the building envelope is adequately insulated and air-sealed. COP at 5°F ranges from 2.2 to 2.8 depending on model.
New Study Confirms Dense-Pack Cellulose Outperforms Fiberglass in Fire Resistance
A Building Science Corporation study comparing fire performance of dense-pack cellulose, fiberglass batts, and open-cell spray foam found that cellulose-insulated wall assemblies maintained structural integrity 40% longer than fiberglass and 25% longer than spray foam in standardized fire testing. The borate fire retardant in cellulose creates a char layer that slows flame spread. The study also noted that cellulose's air-sealing properties when dense-packed reduce oxygen flow through wall cavities, further slowing fire progression.
Federal 25C and 25D Energy Efficiency Tax Credits Terminated by OBBB
The federal tax credits for energy efficiency (Section 25C) and residential clean energy (Section 25D) are no longer available in 2026. Both were terminated by the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) signed into law on July 4, 2025. The 25C credit is not allowed for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, and the 25D credit is not allowed for expenditures made after December 31, 2025. State-level rebate programs funded by ratepayers are unaffected. IRA home energy rebates (HEAR and HOMES) are separate programs and remain funded where states have opted in.
NYSERDA Increases Comfort Home Insulation Rebates for 2026
NYSERDA has updated its Comfort Home program rebates for 2026. Attic and rim joist insulation rebates increased to $2,500 (from $1,600). Wall insulation rebates are now $3,000. Window replacement rebates were reduced to $2,000 (from $4,000). The EmPower+ program for income-eligible households provides up to $12,000-$14,000 in base funding for low-income households ($6,000-$7,000 moderate-income), with federal HEAR add-ons itemized per measure (up to $8,000 for heat pumps, $1,600 for insulation). All work must be performed by BPI-certified contractors listed in the NYSERDA contractor directory.
Understanding Blower Door Testing: What ACH50 Means for Your Home
A blower door test measures a home's air infiltration rate in air changes per hour at 50 pascals of pressure (ACH50). A typical older home measures 8-15 ACH50. Energy Star certification requires 5 ACH50 or less in Climate Zones 1-2 and 3 ACH50 or less in Zones 3-8. Passive House standard is 0.6 ACH50. For every 1 ACH50 reduction through air sealing, expect roughly 3-5% reduction in heating energy use. The test costs $150-400 when done standalone, or is often included free as part of a state-subsidized energy assessment.
Heat Pump Water Heaters: $300/Year Savings and a 2-3 Year Payback
Consumer Reports' updated analysis of heat pump water heaters shows an average annual savings of $300 versus electric resistance and $150 versus gas water heaters. With federal and state rebates, net installed cost ranges from $800 to $2,000 depending on location, yielding a 2-3 year payback. Top-rated models include the Rheem ProTerra ($1,800 MSRP), AO Smith Voltex ($1,700), and Bradford White AeroTherm ($1,900). The main installation consideration is space: HPWHs need 700+ cubic feet of air volume and produce cool, dehumidified exhaust air.
Efficiency Vermont Launches HEAR Rebates Through Existing Program Infrastructure
Update, July 2026: Vermont's HEAR rollout has since been paused and the state advises homeowners not to plan on HEAR funds for future projects — see current status on our Vermont page. Original coverage, March 2026: Vermont moved to deploy IRA HEAR (Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates) funding by integrating it into Efficiency Vermont's existing program structure, with income-eligible households applying through the same Efficiency Vermont process they already know and HEAR funding layered on top of existing state rebates for qualifying households.
Finally, a Clear Zero Emissions Standard! And LEED v5 Is on Board
The U.S. Department of Energy has set a national definition of what counts as a "zero emissions building," aiming to clear up years of confusing and conflicting standards. Buildings account for a big share of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and until now, different certifications and programs all defined "zero emissions" differently. The new definition sets three requirements: a building must be energy efficient, free of on-site emissions from burning fuel (with an exception for backup generators), and powered entirely by clean energy, whether generated on-site or purchased from off-site clean sources. Carbon offsets don't count. For existing homes, "energy efficient" under this definition generally means scoring well on the EPA's Energy Star scale or beating typical energy use for similar buildings. New construction has its own efficiency benchmarks, including options tied to Energy Star's new-home programs or the Zero Energy Ready Home certification, a federal label for highly efficient new houses. This is a technical, government-and-industry framework rather than a program you sign up for. The main real-world impact for now is on green building certifications like LEED, which is adjusting its next version to match this new definition, especially for projects aiming for top ratings. For a homeowner, this mostly affects the rules builders and certifiers follow behind the scenes. It does not create a new rebate or requirement for existing houses, but it may eventually shape how "zero emissions" or "net zero" claims are verified on any home built or certified going forward.
Weighing Embodied vs. Operational Carbon Tradeoffs
This piece looks at how building materials and energy use both add up to a home's carbon footprint, and how choices that help one side can sometimes hurt the other. "Embodied carbon" is the carbon released making and shipping materials like concrete, steel, or insulation. "Operational carbon" is the carbon tied to the energy a building burns over its life, for heating, cooling, and electricity. The discussion centers on how the two interact: a change that cuts your energy bills might require materials with a heavier carbon cost to produce, and vice versa. Spotting these tradeoffs takes looking at a whole project over its full life, not just one part of it. For an everyday homeowner, there's no specific program, rebate, or deadline here. It's more of a framework for thinking about upgrades. If you're weighing something like added insulation, new windows, or a different structural material, it's worth remembering that the "greenest" choice on paper for your energy bills isn't automatically the greenest choice once you count what it took to make and install it. Sometimes that tradeoff is still worth it, similar to trading a few minutes of sleep for being a little late. The main point is that lowering your home's carbon footprint isn't just about cutting energy use after move-in. It also depends on what went into building or renovating it in the first place, and the two don't always move in the same direction.
Community Rebuilding After the Palisades Fire
Homeowners who lost houses in the January Palisades fire are rebuilding with an eye toward making their new homes fire-resistant, and several are sharing what they've learned with the wider community. A group called Team Palisades, formed after the fire, connects neighbors to share resources and support each other through the rebuilding process. Architect and designer May Sung, who lost two homes, is rebuilding using standards from the Insurance Institute for Building & Home Safety (IBHS). Her plans include a standing-seam metal roof, steel dual-tempered glass doors and windows, walls rated for two hours of fire resistance, no roof eaves, and five feet of clear space around the house (sometimes called Zone 0). Neighbor Sue Kohl is further along in rebuilding, using similar measures: metal gates, fiber-cement siding, no open eaves, double-pane metal windows, interior sprinklers, a fire-resistant roof, and the same five-foot defensible space. A third neighbor, Allison Holdorff Polhill, is rebuilding to her home's original footprint with her architect, motivated partly by insurance costs after being dropped by her carrier and moving to California's FAIR Plan. These rebuilding stories point to a broader pattern for anyone in a fire-prone area: features like fire-resistant roofing, metal or tempered-glass windows and doors, non-combustible siding, no exposed eaves, and cleared space immediately around the house are becoming common in fire recovery and rebuilding, and may be worth researching if you live in a similar risk zone.
LEED v5 Is Here
A new version of LEED, the well-known green building certification system, came out on April 28, 2025. LEED is mostly used for commercial and large residential projects, but it shapes standards that eventually trickle down into home construction and renovation practices, so it's worth knowing about. This update, called LEED v5, replaces v4.1 and shifts the program's focus toward cutting carbon emissions, improving quality of life for building occupants, and protecting natural ecosystems. The biggest change is that about half of all credits in the new system now relate to cutting carbon, covering energy use, the carbon footprint of building materials, and transportation. Buildings seeking certification will need to meet new minimum requirements for tracking and reducing emissions, including from heating and cooling systems, appliances, and even how easy it is to get around without a car. A quarter of credits focus on human health and community well-being, including a new requirement that projects assess and plan for local climate risks like flooding, extreme heat, wildfire, or storms. The remaining credits reward protecting natural land, conserving water, and reducing waste. None of this directly requires anything of homeowners, since LEED certification applies to projects that choose to pursue it, not to code requirements for typical houses. But if you're renovating a home with LEED goals in mind, or watching how green building standards evolve, this update signals where the industry is heading: more attention to carbon accounting, resilience against climate hazards, and health-focused design, alongside the traditional focus on energy efficiency.
Four Embodied Carbon Questions from the LEED v5 Public Comment Periods
This news is about updates to LEED, the widely used green building certification system, as it works through a new version (v5) still open for public comment. The focus is "embodied carbon" — the emissions created by making, transporting, and installing building materials like concrete, steel, and insulation, as opposed to the energy a building uses once it's running. The changes mostly matter for architects, engineers, and developers working on certified commercial or large residential projects, not for someone doing a single-house renovation. LEED v5 would require project teams to measure and report the embodied carbon of a building's structure, exterior walls, and paved areas, and would offer credit for cutting that carbon through several different strategies, including buying lower-carbon materials. It would also raise the bar for how thoroughly teams have to account for a building's full environmental impact. For homeowners, the practical takeaway is limited: this is industry and certification policy, not a rebate or incentive program you can apply for. It signals that materials with lower embodied carbon (things like low-carbon concrete or responsibly sourced wood) are getting more attention from builders and code writers, and cities and states such as California and New York already have their own rules pushing in the same direction. Over time this could shape what materials are more available or promoted when building or renovating, but there's no new program, deadline, or dollar figure here that homeowners need to act on directly.
Q&A: AIA National President Evelyn Lee
This is an interview with Evelyn Lee, the new national president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), about her priorities for the profession. There's no news here about specific programs, rebates, or technical standards that would change what a homeowner can do to their house. Lee talks about a set of values she calls "Thrive" — transparency, humanity, resilience, boldness, vision, and empowering members — and how she wants architects to think more broadly about their role in society, from housing shortages to climate resilience to the use of artificial intelligence in design. She touches on the difference between "proactive" architecture (buildings designed to lead on sustainability or push new ideas) and "reactive" architecture, which responds to an immediate need, such as retrofitting older buildings to be more energy efficient after a disaster or new climate rules. She also names three buildings she finds notable: an energy-positive office building in Norway that generates more power than it uses, a low-carbon modular office building in London, and a mass-timber high rise in Milwaukee built largely from wood instead of steel and concrete. These are large commercial projects, not homes, and the piece doesn't mention any rebate programs, deadlines, or cost figures that would apply to a house. For a homeowner, this is background on where architecture as a profession says it's headed, not a change that affects your own upgrade plans right now.
Talking COP’s Buildings Breakthrough with Lindsay Baker
This is international climate policy news, not something that changes what's available for your house right now. At the 2023 U.N. climate conference (COP28), officials launched an initiative called the Buildings Breakthrough. It sets goals for the global building industry to work toward near-zero-emission, resilient buildings becoming standard by 2030, in line with the Paris Agreement's climate targets. Lindsay Baker, CEO of Living Future, described the initiative as laying out a clear set of focus areas for the building sector, essentially spelling out what role construction and building design need to play in meeting international climate goals, and where the industry should concentrate its efforts over the next several years. For a homeowner, this is background on where the building industry as a whole is heading, not a program you can apply to or a rebate tied to your address. It signals that governments and industry groups are coordinating around common targets for lower-emission, sturdier buildings worldwide. Any effect on your own home would come later, through whatever national or state policies, codes, or incentive programs eventually grow out of efforts like this one. For now, there is nothing here to act on directly, but it is a sign that building efficiency and resilience will keep getting more attention from policymakers in the years ahead.
Policy Shifts
A number of federal environmental programs are facing cuts or disruption under the current administration. The EPA is drafting a rule that would shrink its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which has tracked emissions from about 8,000 facilities a year since 2010, down to roughly 2,300 oil and gas facilities. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration faces a proposed 25% overall budget cut, including a 75% reduction to its research arm and cuts to satellite programs. The National Science Foundation has ended funding tied to diversity efforts and misinformation research, with vague new rules about what work can still be funded. EPA staff working on environmental justice issues have been told layoffs will hit by July 31. The next National Climate Assessment, a report that maps how climate change is affecting specific communities and has informed planning for heat, flooding, wildfire smoke, and sea-level rise, has also been disrupted. The roughly 400 volunteer authors working on the 2027 edition were dismissed in late April, following the widely used 2023 edition. Not all cuts are sticking. A federal judge ordered Citibank to release $14 billion of $20 billion in frozen Biden-era climate grants, ruling the EPA could not cancel them while a legal challenge continues. None of this changes current home rebate programs directly, but it signals broader uncertainty in federal climate and environmental data and funding that homeowners may want to watch, especially since rebate and grant programs can vary by state and may shift depending on how these federal changes play out.
CAB SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change
This is an art and design event, not an energy-upgrade program, so it doesn't offer a direct action for your home. The Chicago Architecture Biennial opened September 19, 2025, and runs through February 28, 2026, with free exhibits at the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington Street) and other Chicago sites, open 10 am to 5 pm daily. Its theme, "SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change," gathers over 400 projects responding to climate change and inequity. Some installations touch on ideas that overlap with energy-efficient home design, even if they're not retrofit projects themselves. The Forget-Me-Not Pavilion reworks an existing cross-laminated timber structure by adding flower-shaped openings and a permeable cork ground that lets rainwater soak into the soil instead of running off, an example of reusing a building rather than replacing it. Other pieces, like the Commons Reimagined seating installation and a photo series on Latin American cities, focus more on rethinking shared and public spaces than on individual houses. None of this changes what's available to homeowners in terms of rebates, tax credits, or upgrade programs. If you're near Chicago and curious about design ideas around adaptive reuse, natural materials, or reducing stormwater runoff, the exhibits are free to visit before the show closes at the end of February.
BuildingGreen to Participate in the IWBI Policy Summit in D.C.
On September 29, the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and Georgetown University are holding a Healthy Building Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. The event brings together government officials, public health experts, and building industry leaders to talk about policies that could shape how homes and other buildings are built and operated with health in mind, alongside energy performance. Speakers include a former U.S. Surgeon General, a member of Congress, and leaders from groups like ASHRAE (a major HVAC and building standards organization) and the U.S. Green Building Council. For homeowners, this is not an event with direct rebates or deadlines attached. It is a policy discussion about how indoor air quality, ventilation, and building health standards might influence future codes, incentive programs, and industry practices. Topics on the agenda include indoor air quality, the return on investment of healthier buildings, and how state and city policies can push for wider adoption of health-focused building practices. Nothing here changes what programs or credits are currently available for home upgrades. But the discussions could eventually feed into future building codes or incentive programs tied to indoor air quality and healthy-building standards, some of which affect single-family homes as well as offices and commercial buildings. If you are already tracking energy efficiency or indoor air quality upgrades for your own house, this summit is worth knowing about as background, since some of the policy ideas discussed here may show up later in state or local programs.
Why Did My House Survive?
A homeowner in Malibu shares why her house survived the January Palisades fire while many neighbors' homes burned down. She points to a mix of choices, some deliberate and some lucky, that made the difference. Before the fire, a city fire inspector had visited her home and advised her to keep patio furniture away from the house and clear dead brush and debris from her yard. She and family happened to finish that cleanup just two days before the fire hit, and moved the patio furniture onto the lawn as the wind picked up. Ring camera footage later showed embers blowing toward the spot where that furniture would have been. Beyond luck, her home had several fire-hardening features already in place: a Class A roof (rated noncombustible), dual-pane windows instead of older single-pane glass, plaster exterior walls with no wood eaves or vents for embers to exploit, weatherstripping sealing all sides of the garage door, and hardscaping instead of plants close to the house, such as gravel, brick pavers, tile, and concrete. Even a wood deck built from ipe, a dense hardwood, resisted burning. Her garage vents, though slightly larger than the recommended 1/8 to 1/16 inch spacing, had an interior grille that kept embers out. Her home still needs tens of thousands of dollars in cleaning and repair before it's livable again. She's since completed wildfire-defense training and had her home toured by a green building group as an example of what worked, hoping the lessons help other homeowners in fire-prone areas think about their own roofs, vents, windows, and yards.
Architect Gaetano Pesce once transformed the Chiat/Day New York Office
This one isn't about energy upgrades or home rebates. It's a design story about Italian architect Gaetano Pesce, who in 1994 created a radical, colorful office interior for the advertising firm TBWA/Chiat/Day in New York City. His design used resin and sculptural forms instead of standard office materials, and rejected typical corporate layouts in favor of unassigned seating and playful, unconventional spaces. At the time, critics called it impractical, and the office was dismantled within a few years, with much of the original work destroyed. The news here is that an exhibition called Work/Life Imbalance, curated by Kalei x Sweeterfat, is recreating and revisiting Pesce's original design. The show reflects on how his ideas about blending work, play, and personal freedom in office space feel more relevant now, given ongoing debates about remote work, returning to offices, and burnout. It's on view at Kalei in New York through August 3. There's nothing here about home energy efficiency, heat pumps, weatherization, or rebate programs. If you're weighing upgrades to your own house, this piece won't affect those plans one way or another. It's simply a look back at a piece of design history now being reexamined through a contemporary lens on work culture.
Optimism, Entropy and…Puppies?
This is a recap of a large architecture industry conference and doesn't have much bearing on decisions homeowners make about their own house. The main practical thread worth knowing about: steel and aluminum tariffs of 50 percent took effect this year, and speakers at the event discussed how rising material costs could push architects toward alternatives like mass timber (engineered wood products) or reclaimed materials, especially on smaller projects. If you're planning a renovation or addition that involves steel or aluminum, this is part of why costs in that area may be climbing. The rest of the coverage is about the mood and priorities of the architecture profession itself, discussions of artificial intelligence's growing role in design work, a long stretch of declining billings in the industry (a signal of softer construction activity), and calls for architects to get involved in local civic issues. None of this changes what's available to homeowners in terms of rebates, technology choices, or upgrade programs. If you're weighing a renovation, the one thing to note is that material costs, particularly for steel and aluminum components, may be higher right now because of the new tariffs, which could affect quotes you receive for certain types of work.
Quelling Environmental Anxiety at the Venice Biennale
This is a report on the Venice Architecture Biennale, an international exhibition where architects and designers showcase ideas about sustainability, technology, and the future of building. It doesn't cover specific products, rebates, or programs homeowners can use. Among the installations described: a display called "Tree Form" that uses actual tree trunks and branches as structural supports for buildings, aiming to turn low-value trees into usable building material with carbon benefits. Other exhibits explored themes like housing traditions in the Middle East, colonial history and design, and data visualizations tracing technology's history. Curators and architects from MIT, along with international pavilions from countries including Qatar and Britain, used the event to reflect on environmental anxiety and propose ideas for more sustainable, community-minded design. None of this points to immediate steps for your own house. It's a look at big-picture, experimental thinking in architecture and design circles rather than practical guidance on insulation, heat pumps, or rebates. If you're weighing an upgrade to your own home, this piece won't change your plans, but it offers a glimpse of where some designers hope building practices are headed in the longer run, including more use of natural materials and closer attention to how buildings fit into their surrounding environment and communities.
Stopped, Dropped & Rolled
The January 2025 wildfires that tore through Los Angeles, including the Palisades and Altadena fires, destroyed or damaged nearly 20,000 structures and killed at least 31 people, with an estimated $50 billion in damage. In the aftermath, many families turned to GoFundMe to cover losses, since some homeowners had lost fire insurance coverage in the months before the fires or found themselves underinsured when disaster struck. GoFundMe reported raising over $200 million for fire victims within two weeks, but research shows this kind of crowdfunding tends to help wealthier, better-connected communities more than lower-income ones, even though disadvantaged communities face a higher risk of losing homes to wildfire. The fires exposed deep gaps in insurance coverage. Some homeowners had policies canceled shortly before the fires after insurers required repairs, others lost coverage and ended up on California's FAIR Plan, a state-backed insurer of last resort used when private coverage isn't available. State Farm, the state's largest home insurer, has requested emergency rate increases of 15 to 38 percent depending on coverage type, a request still under review. Beyond insurance, rebuilding faces steep costs from rising material and labor prices, and residents worry about losing their communities to developers or long-term land sales, particularly among elderly and underinsured homeowners. Community land trusts and local mutual-aid efforts have emerged as ways some residents hope to preserve neighborhood character and keep displaced families able to return home.
FY26 Appropriations Update: Funding Increases Finalized for Key Energy Efficiency Programs
On January 23, President Trump signed the fiscal year 2026 federal budget into law, and it keeps money flowing to several programs that help pay for home energy upgrades. The Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program, which helps lower-income households seal up and insulate their homes, got $369 million, a $3 million increase over last year. The State Energy Program, which funds state-level efficiency efforts, stayed flat at $66 million. The Residential Buildings Integration program, which supports research and programs tied to home efficiency, rose to $65 million, up $5 million. And EPA's ENERGY STAR program, which certifies efficient appliances and homes, got $33 million, a $1 million bump. None of these increases were guaranteed. Earlier in 2025, these programs faced proposals to cut or eliminate their funding entirely. Advocacy from building-performance groups, contractors, and homeowners who signed support letters helped push Congress to maintain and grow the funding instead. For homeowners, this means the federal programs that fund weatherization assistance and support state and local energy-efficiency efforts remain in place for the coming year, with slightly more money behind them than before. If you've looked into weatherization help or state energy programs in the past, this funding continuing means those resources should still be available, though specifics on eligibility and how the money reaches individual households vary by state and program.
Volunteer at the 2026 National Conference & Trade Show
This news is about an industry conference, not a program that directly affects your home, but it's worth knowing about if you're deeply into energy-efficiency topics or work with contractors in this space. The 2026 National Home Performance Conference and Trade Show is happening April 13-16, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio, and organizers are looking for volunteers to help run it. Volunteers, called session assistants, help introduce speakers, track who attends each session, assist with timing and setup, and stay in the room to help attendees during talks. In exchange, volunteers get free registration, which covers the general session, the exhibit hall, all education sessions, meals, receptions, and continuing education credits. Lodging is not included, and volunteers are expected to attend every day of the conference and stay with their assigned track of sessions throughout. This conference draws people who work in home performance and weatherization (upgrades that seal air leaks and improve insulation), so it is really aimed at industry professionals rather than someone simply curious about upgrading their own house. If you want more information on volunteering, the contact is Bethany Dittmar Sowinski, Director of Education & Events, at [email protected].
Building Performance Association Approved to Sponsor Registered Apprenticeships for Energy Efficiency Careers Nationwide
The U.S. Department of Labor has approved national standards from the Building Performance Association (BPA) letting it sponsor registered apprenticeships for two energy-efficiency jobs across the country: Energy Specialist and Home Performance Laborer. A registered apprenticeship is a paid job that combines on-the-job training with classroom-style instruction, all following standards set by the Department of Labor. BPA will help employers set up these programs, connect workers with employers, and make sure the training meets federal requirements. This is workforce news rather than something that changes your rebates or upgrade options directly. But it points to more trained workers entering the home-performance field. The Energy Specialist track requires apprentices to complete over 2,000 hours of on-the-job work and at least 144 hours of instruction covering building science, weatherization (sealing and insulating homes to cut energy waste), energy audits, and healthy-housing practices, with a path toward industry certifications from the Building Performance Institute and RESNET. The related Home Performance Laborer program overlaps with this training. The approval builds on work BPA already did in Maryland, Virginia, Colorado, and Maine through a coalition called the ACE Network, which has helped register more than 1,000 apprentices so far. For homeowners, the practical upshot is a growing, better-trained pool of energy auditors and weatherization workers as demand for efficiency upgrades continues to rise, particularly in programs serving low-income households.
Volunteer at The Clean Energy for Homes Conference
This is a call for volunteers at an industry trade show, not a homeowner program, but it's worth knowing about if you're curious about the energy-efficiency field. The Clean Energy for Homes Conference and Trade Show is set for May 28-29 in Saratoga Springs, New York, and organizers are looking for volunteers to serve as session assistants. Session assistants help sessions run smoothly by introducing speakers, tracking attendance, helping with time management and setup, and staying in the room to help attendees. Volunteers need to commit to all conference days and attend every session in their assigned track, along with bringing a friendly, helpful attitude. In return, volunteers get free conference registration, which covers the general session, exhibit hall, education sessions, meals, receptions, and continuing education credits. Lodging is not included. This isn't a rebate or upgrade program for your house, but conferences like this are where the people who design efficiency programs, rebates, and technology (things like heat pumps, which move heat instead of generating it, or building tightness testing) gather to share information. If you want to learn more or apply to volunteer, the contact is Bethany Dittmar Sowinski, Director of Education & Events, at [email protected].
2026 is the Year of Resilience
The Building Performance Association, a trade group for weatherization and home energy efficiency contractors, is framing 2026 as a year of steadying the industry through policy and funding uncertainty at both the federal and state level. The group's CEO says energy efficiency programs have historically had support from both political parties, and the organization plans to keep advocating for policies that help the industry grow, even as specific programs and funding may shift this year. For homeowners, the more practical news is about the workforce that does this work. A recent industry report found nearly 2.4 million people across all 50 states work in energy efficiency jobs, but almost 9 in 10 companies surveyed say they still struggle to hire enough workers. To address that, the association is rolling out two new apprenticeship programs, an "Energy Specialist" track and a "Home Performance Laborer" track, now approved under national standards and backed by the U.S. Department of Labor. These are meant to train more workers faster and create clearer career paths in the trade. The group also runs industry conferences, including a national trade show marking its 40th anniversary this year, plus regional events, one in Saratoga Springs, New York in May, with another location to be announced. These gatherings are for professionals in the field rather than homeowners directly, but they're part of an effort to spread best practices and new technology, including AI tools, more broadly through the contractor workforce that eventually shows up at your door.
The Home Technology Revolution: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Remote Diagnostics to Drive Residential Energy Savings
A new report from the Building Performance Association looks at how artificial intelligence and remote diagnostics could change home energy systems in the coming years. The idea is that smart-home tools and AI-driven monitoring can catch problems in heating and cooling equipment earlier, make it faster and cheaper to apply for state or utility energy programs, and help contractors run their businesses more efficiently. For homeowners, the practical hope is that these technologies could eventually lower energy costs and make it easier to get through the paperwork involved in rebate or efficiency programs, without forcing anyone to give up choice over which appliances or fuels they use. The report also points to AI's potential to support "demand flexibility," meaning homes and grid systems that can better adjust energy use based on need, which its authors tie to a more resilient power grid. The report itself is aimed mostly at contractors and the people who run state and utility energy programs, since it focuses heavily on how AI can improve their operations and speed up program approvals. There is no specific rebate, deadline, or dollar figure here for homeowners to act on right now. It is more a look at where the industry may be headed as smart diagnostics and AI tools become a bigger part of home energy work, which could shape the kinds of programs and technology available to homeowners in the future.