CenterPoint CoolSaver refers to CenterPoint Energy's free residential air-conditioner tune-up in the Houston area, which pairs with a separate cash rebate for installing a new high-efficiency heat pump. CenterPoint is the wires, or delivery, utility for the metro, so these programs run through CenterPoint regardless of which retail electricity provider bills the home. The CoolSaver tune-up is delivered as a service, not a check: a participating contractor inspects and optimizes the existing system at no cost. The heat-pump rebate is a separate incentive applied through an approved Standard Offer Program contractor when new equipment is installed.
The CoolSaver tune-up is free to qualifying customers and covers work that normally costs about $150 to $200, including a refrigerant-charge check and a condenser-coil cleaning. The heat-pump rebate pays up to $500 per unit through the Standard Offer Program, the mechanism CenterPoint uses to fund residential efficiency upgrades. A qualifying smart thermostat can add about $75. The tune-up and the equipment rebate are separate programs and cannot be combined on the same job. Compared with the other large Texas metros, CenterPoint's cash amount is smaller than Austin Energy's roughly $3,000 whole-home rebate or San Antonio's tiered STEP rebate, but the free tune-up has no direct equivalent at either.
Eligibility follows the CenterPoint Houston Electric delivery area, which covers Harris County and much of the surrounding metro. The CoolSaver tune-up has its own conditions: the system must be operational, at least one year old, no larger than five tons, and it must not have received a CoolSaver tune-up in the previous five years. Demand for the tune-up climbs in spring as cooling season approaches, and participating-contractor calendars fill before summer, so the work is easiest to schedule early in the year. Because Texas runs a deregulated retail market in this region, the home's retail electricity plan does not change eligibility. The programs are tied to the CenterPoint meter, not to the retail provider printed on the monthly bill.
Neither program has a fixed calendar deadline, but both pay only while program funds remain for the year, and the tune-up is best booked before the summer rush. The Standard Offer Program rebate is routed through an approved, registered contractor rather than filed by the homeowner, so the choice of installer determines whether the rebate can be applied. That contractor must hold a Texas air-conditioning and refrigeration license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The matched system's AHRI Reference Number confirms its certified efficiency rating for the rebate. New split systems installed after January 1, 2026 use R-454B refrigerant under the federal AIM Act, and CenterPoint's qualifying equipment list reflects that change.