Green Building Incentives and Installation Resources

Interested in learning how to electrify your home? Learn from the experts in this community electrification webinar! 

Part 1 - A Guide to Electrification and Santa Monica's Zero Emission Building Code

Part 2 - A Guide to Electrification and Santa Monica's Zero Emission Building Code

Green building upgrades can make your building or home healthier and more comfortable while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping save money on utility bills. There are multiple currently available and upcoming incentives from the federal, state, regional and local level to help you earn savings on your next green building project. These incentives include direct rebates, tax credits and affordable loans. Many of these incentives are stackable to ensure maximum savings. If you are interested in learning more about how to electrify your own home, check out the How to Electrify Your Home webpage.

Federal

With the passage of President Biden’s landmark bill, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), rebates to improve home efficiency and support electrification are set to become available in late 2023 to early 2024.

Check out this resource from Rewiring America to see an eligibility estimate of funds from the IRA for your next electrification project. More information will be shared when these funds become available through the state of California.

Rebates:

Applications for States and Territories to implement $8.5 billion for home energy rebates are now open. These funds will come in the form of two programs under the Home Energy Rebates Umbrella:

  • The Home Efficiency Rebates Program: Home Efficiency Rebates will award grants to State energy offices to provide rebates that discount the price of energy-saving retrofits in single-family and multi-family buildings. 
  • The Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate Program: The Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates will award grants to State energy offices and tribal entities to develop and implement a high-efficiency electric home rebate program.

You can also check out this guide on IRA incentives in 2023 from Switch is On. Read more about how you will benefit from the IRA Here.

Tax Credits:

Clean Energy Tax Credits are currently available to be claimed by primary residences until the end of 2023. There are two different groups of tax credits available:

  • Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit: The Residential Clean Energy Credit equals 30% of the costs of new, qualified clean energy property for your home installed anytime from 2022 through 2033.
  • Home Energy Tax Credit: If you make energy improvements to your home (including appliances and efficiency upgrades), tax credits are available for a portion of qualifying expenses.

How to use tax credits: File Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits with your tax return to claim the credit. You must claim the credit for the tax year when the property is installed, not merely purchased.

State

  • TECH Clean California is a statewide initiative to accelerate the adoption of clean space and water heating technology across California homes. Enrolled contractors installing Heat Pump HVAC systems and Heat Pump Water Heaters can earn up to $3,100 per installation. To find a TECH Clean California enrolled contractor, visit Switchison.org.

If you are a contractor, click here to apply for TECH Clean California Incentives.

TECH Clean California recently announced a new round of rebates for Multifamily homes. If you are a Multifamily building owner interested in swapping out gas HVAC and Water Heating with Heat Pumps, fill out this form to reserve funds.

The California Public Utilities Commission is currently proposing a Self-Generation Incentive program for Heat Pump Water Heaters – more info to come.

Regional

Local

  • Electrify Santa Monica offers rebates for electric appliances, such as Heat Pump HVAC and Water Heaters, Electric Dryers, Induction Hobs/Ranges E-bikes and EV chargers. New electric equipment must replace existing gas equipment. One rebate is available for each appliance type and may be stacked with other rebates listed above.

Heat Pump Water Heater Electrification Scenario

Say you own a single family home (not income-qualifying) and are replacing your old gas water heater with a new Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH) and the total project cost (unit cost + installation cost) = $8,000. By stacking rebates and incentives, here is how much could be saved on the project:

The total cost of your HPWH project has been reduced by 75% and now stands at $2,035.

Financing Options

  • GoGreen Financing offers affordable loans to both single/multi-family homeowners and small businesses. Administered by the State of California with support from the investor-owned utilities, GoGreen facilitates financing for energy retrofits for qualifying properties.
  • Property Assessed Clean Energy Program (PACE) offers a turnkey resource for residential and commercial property owners to finance energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation and seismic improvements. Sign up to receive PACE financing on your next energy efficiency project through a listed provider.

Find a contractor

Here is a list of contractors who performed heat pump water heater ("HPWH") or heat pump space heating/cooling system ("HP HVAC") installations in LA county.

For more information, contact environment.mailbox@santamonica.gov