TECH Clean California: Closed Statewide, Reopened in One Valley
TECH Clean California was the program that put a heat pump discount on many California contractors' invoices for several years. It paid through enrolled contractors, who took the incentive off the price. Its statewide single-family heat pump HVAC and heat pump water heater budgets were fully reserved on November 14, 2025. Our TECH Clean California record keeps what the last round paid and the closing dates of each budget.
The exception is the San Fernando Valley. As of November 2, 2026, TECH's incentives are open again to single-family residents of the Aliso Canyon priority communities: Porter Ranch, Granada Hills, Northridge, Chatsworth, North Hills, Canoga Park, Reseda, Winnetka, West Hills, Van Nuys and Lake Balboa. TECH's page lists 39 eligible ZIP codes, from 91303 to 91436, and says the remaining San Fernando Valley areas are expected in 2027, pending funding. The program is funded under Assembly Bill 157 with direction from the CPUC, and $20 million is available: $10 million for general market households and $10 million for income-qualified households.
| Equipment |
General market (80% of AMI or more) |
Income-qualified (below 80% of AMI) |
| Heat pump HVAC |
$2,000 to $5,000 |
$4,500 to $17,000 (HVAC and weatherization combined) |
| Heat pump water heater |
$2,000 to $3,500 |
$3,500 to $5,000 |
| Panel upsizing or replacement |
$2,000 |
$2,000 |
| Load management device |
$500 |
$500 |
| Induction cooktop or range |
Not offered |
$1,500 to $4,500 |
| Heat pump clothes dryer |
Not offered |
$1,300 to $1,800 |
Source: TECH Clean California San Fernando Valley page, read November 13, 2026. The same page's FAQ gives lower figures in places (heat pump HVAC at $2,000 general market and $4,500 to $14,000 income-qualified, induction at $1,500 to $4,000), so get your amount confirmed in the reservation, not from the table.
The rules that cost people money:
- Dates. Projects contracted before the launch date, or equipment installed before November 2, 2026, are not eligible.
- Contractor. You must use an enrolled TECH contractor, found on The Switch Is On Contractor Finder with the San Fernando Valley badge. Income-qualified incentives need a contractor trained for them, and that contractor must take the incentive off the invoice up front.
- Panels. General market panel and load management incentives only pay alongside a heat pump HVAC or heat pump water heater install.
- Limits. One incentive per equipment type per home; general market money is first come, first served; income-qualified money is prioritized for full electrification projects. The combined total from all programs cannot exceed the project cost.
- Housing type. Single-family homeowners and renters qualify. Condos and duplexes do not, and are expected to be served by a later multifamily offer. New construction is excluded.
For everyone else, TECH points to The Switch Is On's Incentive Finder, which lists the local offers that remain by ZIP code.
HEEHRA: What It Paid, and Why It Is a Waitlist Now
California calls the federal Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates program HEEHRA. The CEC runs it, and TECH delivered Phase I. The single-family offer was simple: a fixed $8,000 heat pump HVAC rebate for households below 80% of area median income and $4,000 for households between 80% and 150%. Multifamily projects could combine measures up to $14,000 per unit, including $4,000 for a panel, $2,500 for wiring and $840 for an electric stove or a heat pump dryer.
None of that is available for a new reservation:
- Single-family: fully reserved statewide since February 24, 2026. TECH places later requests on a waitlist, and a waitlisted project qualifies only if the heat pump goes in after the reservation is approved. Installing first and hoping for funds forfeits the rebate.
- Multifamily: fully reserved since September 1, 2026.
- Phase II: $152 million, with availability "to be announced at a later date," according to the CEC. The CEC's application to the U.S. Department of Energy is still in development.
Since DOE Program Notice 26-2 took effect on May 29, 2026, federal HEAR rebates pay only for upgrading existing electric equipment, not for switching from gas; our heat pump rebate by state guide covers that change. If Phase II launches under that notice, a household replacing a gas furnace may not qualify at all. Plan a gas-to-electric project around the programs that are open today.
How the 80% and 150% tests are calculated, including the household-size adjustment, is explained in our AMI income limits guide.
No-Cost Installs: The Equitable Building Decarbonization Program
For income-eligible households, the most valuable California program in late 2026 is not a rebate at all. The Equitable Building Decarbonization (EBD) program, funded by the state and partly by the federal HOMES program, sends a contractor to do a free home energy assessment and then installs upgrades at no cost to homeowners and tenants of single-family homes. The CEC says HOMES money in California currently flows only through this direct install program, which receives 60% of the state's HOMES funds, or $142.3 million.
What it can install, per the Center for Sustainable Energy's April 16, 2026 announcement: heat pumps for heating and cooling, insulation and air sealing, heat pump water heaters, induction ranges or cooktops, electric clothes dryers, lighting and indoor air quality measures, and electrical wiring and service panels.
Where. Three regional implementers run it: PODER in Northern California, the Center for Sustainable Energy in Central California and PSR-LA in Southern California. The Central California launch served Bakersfield, Fresno, Los Banos and Modesto first, with more communities planned later in 2026. The CSE release puts $93 million into its region and $494 million in state and federal funds into the program statewide.
How to start. Complete the income check at ebd.energycenter.org (Central California) or with your regional implementer, give basic household and utility details, and schedule the assessment. Nothing is installed unless the owner or resident agrees.
The decision rule is simple: if your household might be income-eligible, check EBD before you pay for anything. A no-cost install beats any rebate in this guide, and buying equipment first can disqualify the home for measures the program would have paid for.
Utility Programs by Territory
California's utility offers vary more than its state programs. The publicly owned utilities set their own rebates; the investor-owned utilities (PG&E, SCE and SDG&E) delivered most of their heat pump money through TECH, which has closed statewide.
SMUD (Sacramento)
SMUD raised its heat pump rebates in February 2026, and its release says it did so because federal credits expired on December 31, 2025 and state programs ran out of funding. As published on February 18, 2026:
| Conversion |
SMUD rebate |
| Gas to electric heat pump HVAC |
Up to $3,000 |
| Gas to electric heat pump water heater |
Up to $4,000 |
| Electric to electric heat pump HVAC upgrade |
$1,000 |
| Electric to electric heat pump water heater upgrade |
$1,000 |
A SMUD customer replacing both a gas furnace and a gas water heater can therefore receive up to $7,000. SMUD's details and applications are at smud.org/GoElectric; the release does not list amounts for induction ranges or panels, so check that page for those.
LADWP (Los Angeles)
LADWP's Consumer Rebate Program covers residential efficiency equipment for LADWP electric customers. Check its current heat pump and heat pump water heater amounts on the program page before signing; homes in the San Fernando Valley part of LADWP territory should also check TECH's Aliso Canyon offer, which is separate.
PG&E, SCE and SDG&E
For the investor-owned utilities, the heat pump money ran through TECH Clean California and HEEHRA, and both are closed for new statewide projects. What remains is:
- Low-income programs: CARE (a discount on the utility bill), FERA and the Energy Savings Assistance program (no-cost efficiency upgrades for income-qualified customers). Enrollment in CARE, FERA or ESA also makes a customer eligible for SGIP's equity battery budget.
- SGIP, the battery incentive, described below.
- Local and regional offers found by ZIP code on The Switch Is On's Incentive Finder, which TECH now points customers to. In the Bay Area that includes BayREN's listings.
Rates matter as much as rebates here: a heat pump's running cost in IOU territory depends on the rate plan. Our California electricity rates guide explains the time-of-use and tiered plans.
SGIP: Batteries for Low-Income Households
The Self-Generation Incentive Program pays for battery storage. Its residential money in 2026 is concentrated in the Residential Storage and Solar Equity budget, which the CPUC announced on May 29, 2025 with $280 million: up to $1,100 per kWh of storage and $3,100 per kW of solar for low-income customers at or below 80% of area median income or enrolled in CARE, FERA, ESA or related programs.
At $1,100 per kWh, a 10 kWh battery (an assumed size for the arithmetic) would qualify for up to $11,000. Budgets are reserved in order and can run out, so the installer must confirm remaining budget in your utility territory before you sign. Our SGIP record has the program details, and the battery's role in solar economics is covered in our California solar cost guide.
Solar itself has no state rebate. The 25D credit ended, and new solar customers export under net billing at rates well below retail, which is why storage is part of most California solar payback math now.
