Con Edison and NYSERDA Heat Pump Rebates for Westchester Homes

Heat pump rebates in Westchester NY can take a meaningful bite out of a project, but the programs change often and the rules depend on which utility serves your address. Before you get attached to a number you saw online, it helps to understand how the incentive system is structured, who administers it, and what you need to verify yourself. This article walks through the landscape in plain terms. It deliberately avoids quoting dollar amounts, because those amounts are revised regularly.

Start With Your Utility

In New York, most residential heat pump incentives are delivered through your electric utility. In Westchester, that usually means one of three companies:

• Con Edison serves most of southern and central Westchester, including White Plains, the Sound shore and the river towns.
• NYSEG serves parts of northern Westchester.
• Central Hudson serves some northern Westchester communities as well.

Your electric bill tells you for certain. Each utility runs its own version of the state program, with its own incentive levels, eligible equipment lists and paperwork, so the answer for a house in Rye may differ from one farther north in Westchester County.

How NYS Clean Heat Works

NYS Clean Heat is the statewide heat pump program that New York’s utilities administer. In broad strokes, it offers incentives for qualifying air-source and ground-source heat pumps, with larger incentives generally aimed at systems that heat the whole home rather than supplementing an existing boiler or furnace.

The key detail many homeowners miss: incentives are typically paid through participating contractors who are enrolled with the utility. The contractor submits the application and project documentation, and the incentive is often reflected as a reduction on your invoice. If the installer is not enrolled, you may not be able to claim the incentive at all.

What the program usually looks at

• Whether the equipment is on the program’s qualified product list
• Whether the system is sized for full or partial heating load, supported by a load calculation such as ACCA Manual J
• What fuel the heat pump is replacing or supplementing (oil, propane, gas or electric resistance)
• Whether the home’s envelope, meaning insulation and air sealing, meets any program requirements
• Proper decommissioning of old equipment, where required

NYSERDA Programs for Income-Eligible Households

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) runs programs alongside the utility incentives. EmPower+ is aimed at income-eligible households and can help with energy assessments, insulation, air sealing and, in some cases, heating system upgrades. Eligibility is based on household income relative to state or area guidelines, and the program has its own application process and approved contractors.

NYSERDA has also offered assessment and financing programs for moderate-income and market-rate homeowners. Check NYSERDA’s website for what is open right now, since program names and structures have shifted over the years.

What About Federal Tax Credits?

For several years, the federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (Section 25C) and the Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) helped offset heat pump and geothermal costs. Federal legislation in 2025 changed the status of these credits. Before you count on any federal credit, check current IRS guidance or speak with a tax professional about whether the credit applies to equipment placed in service in your tax year.

Is a Heat Pump Right for Your House?

Rebates should not be the only reason to switch. Many Westchester homes have steam or hot-water radiators, and a ducted or ductless heat pump changes how the house is heated. Some owners keep the boiler as backup or for domestic hot water. Others have ductwork already in place from central air, which can make a ducted heat pump simpler.

A proper evaluation looks at your heat loss, electrical service capacity, where an outdoor unit can sit, and the condition of existing equipment. If your current system just needs attention, a sound heating repair or replacement plan may make more sense this year, with a heat pump considered later. Keeping the equipment you have in good shape through seasonal HVAC maintenance also buys you time to compare incentive offers without a breakdown forcing your hand.

Cold-climate performance matters here too. Westchester winters regularly dip into the teens and below, so ask whether the proposed model is rated as a cold-climate heat pump and how much of your heating load it will carry on the coldest nights. Also gather your recent fuel and electric bills. They help an installer estimate operating costs honestly, and some programs ask what fuel the new system is displacing.

Questions to ask any heat pump installer

1. Are you a participating NYS Clean Heat contractor for my utility, and can you show me?
2. Will you perform a room-by-room load calculation?
3. How will the incentive appear on my invoice, and what happens if it is not approved?
4. Is the proposed equipment on the current qualified product list?
5. What is the plan for my existing boiler, furnace or central air system?

What paperwork should you keep for a heat pump incentive?

Because the contractor files the application, homeowners sometimes end up with nothing but a final invoice. Ask for copies. If the incentive is reduced or questioned later, your own file is the only record you control.

• The signed proposal showing the incentive as a separate line and what happens to your price if it is not approved
• The model numbers of the outdoor and indoor units, matched to the program’s qualified product list
• The load calculation used to size the system, with the design temperature it assumed
• Photos of the old boiler or furnace nameplate and fuel tank before anything is removed or disconnected
• The utility’s approval or confirmation notice, plus any warranty registration for the new equipment

What our technicians look at before a heat pump quote makes sense

A lot of the houses we service around White Plains and the Sound shore heat with radiators and make domestic hot water off the boiler. That changes the rebate conversation. If a ducted heat pump would take over the heating but the boiler still has to run all summer for showers, you are keeping the fuel bill, the chimney and the annual burner service. Sometimes that hybrid still makes sense. Often the better plan is to look at the hot water side at the same time, with an indirect tank or a separate water heater, before deciding.

Ductwork is the other deciding factor. Homes that already have central air ducts sized for cooling are the simplest candidates for a ducted system, but ducts that were squeezed into an attic for a small AC may be too tight for heating airflow. We look at return sizes, duct leakage and the condition of the air handler first. An AC repair visit on an aging central system is a useful time to get that assessment.

The electrical panel is the quiet cost. Older Westchester homes on 100-amp service can need a panel or service upgrade before a whole-home heat pump fits, and some incentive programs treat that work separately. Get the electrician’s scope in the same proposal so the incentive math is honest.

• Ask where the outdoor unit will sit and how snow, roof runoff and defrost meltwater will be handled.
• Ask what heats the house if the heat pump fails during a cold snap.
• Keep your old boiler or furnace serviced until the new system is commissioned and approved.

Planning Your Next Step

The incentive landscape in New York is generous but moving. Identify your utility, read its current Clean Heat details, check NYSERDA for income-based help, and confirm federal tax treatment with current IRS guidance. Then get a written proposal that spells out the incentive assumptions. If you would like an honest look at the condition of your current heating system before deciding, our White Plains team is glad to help you weigh the options.