EmPower+ IRA Changes
Program/s: EmPower+
To: EmPower+ Participating Contractors & Hubs
Summary: EmPower+ IRA Changes
Questions: support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov
Effective for projects with new work scopes submitted after midnight on August 31, 2026, the EmPower+ program changes, outlined below, will be implemented to accommodate new guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Energy for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) funding. Work scopes submitted on or before August 31, 2026, will follow current program rules.
Incentive Strategy:
- Electrification: If a project has a heat pump or heat pump water heater, the program will use Sustainable Futures Program (SFP) funds to cover the heat pump water heater, heat pump, panel box, wiring up grade. SFP incentives can be stacked on top of the current EmPower+ project incentive caps.
- Insulation Projects: If a project does not have a heat pump, heat pump water heater, panel box, or wiring upgrade, EmPower+ will continue to offer up to $1,600 HEAR incentives for insulation, air sealing, and ventilation measures. HEAR funding will be applied first and no longer needs to reach an incentive threshold to be applied.
- DAC Incentives will no longer be available.
- Tier 1 and Tier 3 projects will have the same incentive caps for SFP funded measures, which may be stacked with the standard EmPower+ incentive caps of $12,000/$14,000 for low-income and $6,000/$7,000 for moderate- income households.
- HEAR and SFP funding are not available on the same project.
Measure Changes:
The following measures will remain HEAR.
| measure | measure code |
|---|---|
| Air Sealing | AS |
| Additional Attic Measures | ADDAS |
| Bath Fan | BFAN |
| Dryer Vent Repair | DVREPAIR |
| Ventilation Fans | Vent |
| Contractor Incentive – Equipment Bonus (Up to $150) | CI_EB |
The following measures will be moved to SFP funding after August 31.
| measure | measure code | max incentive |
|---|---|---|
| HPWH | HPWH | $5000 |
| ASHP | ASHP | $10,000 |
| GSHP | GSHP | $10,000 |
| Panel Box | ESRVU | $5,000 |
| Electrical Wiring Upgrade | KTWU | $2,500 |
The change in funding from HEAR to SFP, has provided EmPower+ with an opportunity to revisit certain measure incentive caps. The table below provides a breakdown of the IRA incentive caps and the new caps for SFP incentives for work scope submissions received after August 31.
| Measure | Prior IRA Incentive | New SFP Incentive for LI & MI |
|---|---|---|
| Heat Pump Water Heater | $1,750 | $5,000 |
| ASHP/GSHP | $8,000 | $10,000 |
| Panel Box | $4,000 | $5,000 |
| Electrical Wiring | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| Insulation, Air sealing, Ventilation | $1,600 | (Stay as IRA) |
The webinar outlining the changes referenced above may be found at the following link Home Modernization Program Update July 10, 2026.
If there are any questions, please contact support.residential@nyserda.ny.gov.