Program Announcements from 2/12/2026 to 2/25/2026

Program/s: EmPower+, Virtual Energy Assessments, Comfort Home
To: Participating Contractors
Summary: Monthly Contractor Update
Contact with Questions: residential.programs@nyserda.ny.gov

NYSERDA Home Modernization Monthly Contractor Webinar
Friday, March 6, 2026
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. ET

Webinar number: 2532 615 6287
Event password:  Energy1 

All attendees must register prior to joining the event. This process will allow you to add the meeting to your calendar and provides each individual with a custom link to join the meeting. Please do not share your link with anyone. To register, please click here.

All webinars are recorded and links to the recordings are available on the Contractor Support site.

No Announcements

Programs: Comfort Home
To: All Comfort Home Contractors
Summary: Air Infiltration Target
Contact with Questions: Keith Bohling

NYSERDA has made a change to its Comfort Home Program to better align other residential retrofit programs. Comfort Home will adopt an air infiltration target of 10 Air Changes per Hour at 50 Pascals (ACH50) or lower for 1-4 family homes, and 12 ACH50 or lower for manufactured homes. 

After running thousands of models and evaluating over 60,000 projects in all climate zones of New York, these air infiltration targets were determined to provide the best balance between installation costs, operating costs, and achievability with New York’s housing stock. 

At the conclusion of a Comfort Home project, the Participating Contractor must verify the home’s infiltration performance.  If the contractor cannot perform a blower door test, the reason must be documented with uploaded geo-tagged photos and they must use NYHEP to estimate the air leakage. 

This change will take effect for installations submitted in NYHEP on or after March 18, 2026.

Programs: Comfort Home
To: All Comfort Home Contractors
Summary: Program Announcements
Contact with Questions: Keith Bohling

1. Pilot/Program Manual Update

The January 2026 Comfort Home Pilot Program Manual is now available from the NYSERDA program support website at https://hpwescontractorsupport.com/.  At the top, point to Program Resources then click on Comfort Home Resources.  The Pilot/Program manual is available as the first link on that page.  Page 4 includes a list of the changes made in this version.

2. Contract Requirements

Please ensure that your process is aligned with the Comfort Home requirements.  Section 3.3 of the Pilot Program Manual states that:

Participating Contractors are free to use their own standard contract; however, any contract must be signed and dated by both the Participating Contractor and the homeowner/representative. The signed contract must be submitted to the Program. The Electronic Signature Policy is shown in Appendix A. The contract must include:

·         Total job cost

·         Comfort Home incentive labeled as “NYSERDA Comfort Home”

·         Other incentives (if applicable)

·         Net customer cost

The signed contract needs to align with approved work scope and be signed prior to the start of work. Any work scope changes from the contract must be included in a change order or new contract.

An invoice signed after the work is completed does not meet the program requirements.

3. Suggestion: Use a Note to describe project conditions and scope

A best practice that some contractors have adopted is proactively entering a note that in just a few sentences explains in plain English what’s happening in the home.  This note can help the reviewers easily understand the project and can significantly help when troubleshooting is needed.  Here are a few examples of actual notes from recent projects:

• Attic is fully insulated and air sealed. Proposing to spray foam basement rim joist with 2″ CCF (R-14). Submitting for package A, $2,500 incentive.
• Attic flat is fully insulated with R-49 of cellulose insulation. Proposing to spray foam basement rim joist with 2″ CCF (R-14). Proposing to dense pack all exterior walls with 4″ of cellulose (R-14). Submitting for package B, $3,000 incentive.
• Proposing to air seal all attic penetrations and open blow attic space with an additional 12″ of cellulose (R-42) over existing R-21 batts to bring attic insulation above an R-49. Proposing to spray foam basement rim joist and crawlspace foundation walls with 2″ CCF (R-14). Submitting for package A, $2,500 incentive.

4. Case Study Opportunity

NYSERDA is looking for your most impactful projects with happy customers to be featured in a few case studies.  We’re looking for projects to highlight the benefits for contractors and customers to participate in Comfort Home.  Case studies are no longer a static PDF file – they are colorful stories with photos, quotes, and can include video.  If you have a candidate project, please email details to Keith Bohling at Keith.Bohling@nyserda.ny.gov. 

Program/s:  Green Jobs-Green New York Residential Financing
To:   All Participating Contractors
Summary:  Multi-Factor Authentication for Web ProForma
Contact with Questions:  residential.financing@nyserda.ny.gov

Dear Participating Contractors:

To enhance the security of NYSERDA systems and protect sensitive information, NYSERDA will be implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for Web ProForma user access starting April 1, 2026. 

MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to verify their identity using more than one method, such as a password combined with verification code or approval sent via email, mobile prompt, text message, or authentication app.  This helps reduce the risk of unauthorized access and strengthens our overall cybersecurity posture.

As part of this implementation, each user must have their own individual account associated with a unique email address.  This email address will be used as part of the MFA process to send verification codes. Shared accounts or accounts tied to group or generic email addresses will not be supported under MFA.  Ensuring that each user has a unique account is essential for security, accountability, and successful MFA enrollment.

Users will be provided with guidance and support throughout the process.  We appreciate your cooperation as we take this important step to safeguard NYSERDA’s systems and data.

Questions about these changes may be submitted to residential.financing@nyserda.ny.gov. 

Thank you,

NYSERDA’s Residential Financing Team

No Announcements