Solar & Battery Regulation & Incentive Programs

Residential and Small-Scale Ground-Source Heat Pump Rebate Program

Program Overview

Category:: Financial Incentive
Program Type:: Rebate Program
Implementing Sector:: State
State:: Massachusetts
Eligible Storage Technologies:: Geothermal Heat Pumps, Heat pumps
Website:: http://www.masscec.com/learn-about-ground-source-heat-pumps
Incentive Amount:: New GSHP Rebate: $2,000 per ton with adders to eligible applicants
Retrofit Existing GSHP Rebate: varies with installation costs
Maximum Incentive:: Cap: $100,000/fiscal year/project system owner
Single-Family Residential System: up tp $10,000 plus income-based rebate adders
Eligible System Size:: Up to 120,000 BTU/hr, or 10 “Heating Tons” or “Tons”.
Equipment Requirements:: AHRI-rated COP and EER levels vary with technologies
All projects must have multi-speed or variable-speed blower motors
All compressors must use two-stage, multi-speed, or variable-speed drives, unless they are water-to-water units
Additional requirement on well can be found in the manual
Installation Requirements:: Must be installed by licensed installers
Administrator:: Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
Applicable Sectors:: Residential, Low Income Residential
Budget :: $48,000,000
Start Date:: 01/01/2015
Last Updated:: 08/14/2019
Funding Source: Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund

Summary

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center(MassCEC) provides rebates for the installation of small-scale ground-source heat pump (“GSHP”) systems, as part of MassCEC's Clean Heating & Cooling programs. Through the program, MassCEC supports new and retrofit ground-source heat pump installations by single-family, with incentive adders to low-income families.

Rebate Levels:

New GSHP installations:

Residential rebates are limited to the first 5 tons through this program at a base rate of $2,000 per heating ton. Full replacement of an existing GSHP installation may be considered a new GSHP installation. Following adders are available:

$1,500 per heating ton to households with income lower than 80% of the state median income
$1,000 per heating ton to households with income lower than 80% -120% of the state median income

Retrofit existing GSHP:

Eligible existing GSHP should be at the end of its useful life, and should be open-loop or incomplete. Rebates will be calculated as a percentage of eligible project costs up to a rebate cap, as detailed in the manual. Eligible project costs are defined as costs associated with replacement heat pump equipment purchase, new loop piping, well modifications or additions, and any associated labor. Internal distribution system upgrades or modifications and miscellaneous costs are not considered eligible project costs.

Application:

Project installation may not commence until the application has been approved by MassCEC through an award letter. All GSHP systems must be installed by licensed contractors and/or plumbers in accordance with the National Electric Code and manufacturer’s specifications. Systems must meet ANSI/AHRI/ASHRAE/ISO Standard 13256-1 for water-to-air models, Standard 13256-2 for water-to-water models, or AHRI Standard 870 for DX models. Detailed equipment requirements can be found from the manual. Once the system owner has decided to move forward with the project, the primary installer should apply for a rebate on the system owner’s behalf. To apply, applicants should provide an application, participant's agreement, electric bill, heat load calculation, AHRI rating certificate, and modeling software design report. Additional documents are required for applicants of specified adders.

**This Program is subject to changes to align with the Department of Energy Resources’ (DOER) current Alternative Portfolio Standard (“APS”) regulations and guidelines.