The HEEHRA program — the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate program, created by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and now administered as Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) — is a federally funded, state-run rebate that helps income-qualified households switch to efficient electric equipment. The Inflation Reduction Act (Public Law 117-169) appropriated about $4.5 billion and routed it to state energy offices through the U.S. Department of Energy. Where the HOMES rebate rewards whole-home energy savings, HEAR is an equipment-and-electrification program: it pays defined amounts toward specific upgrades, with a heat pump as the centerpiece, and it is limited by household income.
HEAR pays point-of-sale rebates against a menu of upgrades, capped at $14,000 per household. The largest line item is up to $8,000 toward an ENERGY STAR-qualified heat pump for space heating and cooling, plus up to $1,750 for a heat-pump water heater and amounts for an electric stove, a heat-pump dryer, an electrical-panel upgrade, and wiring. Income sets the share the program pays: households at or below 80% of area median income can have 100% of project cost covered up to the caps, those between 80% and 150% of area median income can have 50% covered, and households above 150% are not eligible. As with HOMES, HEAR cannot be combined with the HOMES rebate on the same single measure.
HEAR is active and funded, but, like HOMES, it depends on the state. The program's funding is authorized through September 30, 2031 or until depleted, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 did not eliminate it even as it repealed the Section 25C and Section 25D tax credits. Each state energy office administers HEAR under DOE guidance, and the administrative name most states use is Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates rather than the original HEEHRA. Rollout has been uneven into 2026: some states were issuing rebates, others had approved plans but no open applications, and a few had not launched. Because HEAR is income-qualified and point-of-sale, the household's income tier and the participating contractor both matter, so a buyer must confirm the current state program status.
For a 2026 buyer who qualifies by income, HEAR is the most generous federal-origin HVAC incentive still available, since the Section 25C and Section 25D tax credits expired at the end of 2025. A qualifying low-income household could see most or all of a heat-pump project covered, up to the $8,000 heat-pump line and the $14,000 household cap, often on top of a utility rebate. Higher-income households above 150% of area median income get nothing from HEAR and would look to utility rebates instead. Because eligibility hinges on area-median-income tiers, the participating-contractor requirement, and the state's launch status, confirm details with the state energy office before relying on the rebate.