TECH Clean California Heat Pump Rebate: 2026 Status & Amounts

Last reviewed: September 29, 2026 (UTC)

Searching for a TECH Clean California heat pump rebate in 2026? Start with availability, not the published amount. As of February 24, 2026, TECH's single-family page says HEEHRA rebates are fully reserved statewide and new income verifications are closed. TECH's HEEHRA page, the Eligibility Express page, and the HEEHRA Support Portal report closed single-family intake. The CEC program page provides program context and the reservation rule. For local options, use the Switch Is On finder.

That does not mean every California heat pump rebate is gone. It means you need to separate three different questions before you trust the savings line in a quote:

• Is the quote using the older TECH Clean California incentive?
• Is it using the income-qualified HEEHRA rebate that runs through TECH?
• Or is it really using a local utility or regional rebate that is still live at your address?

Quick answer: what is closed and what still matters

Contractors, utility pages, and search results keep reusing TECH Clean California amount tables and HEEHRA workflow language. If you do not know which bucket your quote is using, it is easy to mistake an older statewide number for a live rebate.

How much was the TECH Clean California heat pump rebate?

The easiest way to avoid confusion is to separate the older TECH single-family incentive from the HEEHRA single-family rebate.

Historical published legacy TECH Clean California HVAC amounts

On TECH's single-family incentives page, the published single-family HVAC amounts were:

TECH also published separate air-to-water heat pump amounts:

Those numbers still matter because older quotes and third-party pages keep pointing to them. They are not proof that the statewide reservation path is open today.

Historical published single-family HEEHRA heat pump amounts through TECH

TECH's HEEHRA page and the California Energy Commission's rebate page use this homeowner-facing amount structure for qualifying single-family heat pump HVAC projects:

That HEEHRA table is the one many homeowners mean when they ask about the TECH Clean California heat pump rebate now. Treat it as a historical published amount, not a current reservation guarantee.

Who qualified for these rebates?

The qualification rules changed depending on which TECH path a homeowner was actually using.

Legacy TECH Clean California single-family incentive rules

On the older TECH single-family incentives page, the standard HVAC incentive was tied to the replacement scenario, such as whether the furnace stayed as backup or was fully decommissioned. TECH also published an equity adder for households that met at least one of these income-related tests:

• household income at or below 80% of area median income; or
• household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level.

That older program also tied eligibility to residential electricity customers working with a TECH Clean California contractor. On The Switch Is On incentive resources page, TECH's partner program also says legacy TECH heat-pump incentive customers had to enroll in an approved demand-response program.

HEEHRA single-family rules through TECH

The HEEHRA path is narrower. TECH's HEEHRA page and the California Energy Commission say the single-family rebate is for California homeowners, condo owners, owners of manufactured or mobile homes, and small properties up to four units when the project is replacing an existing non-heat-pump primary heating source with a qualifying heat pump.

That is why HEEHRA is not just a general statewide heat-pump discount. It is an income-qualified, contractor-led rebate path that depends on both household verification and approved project reservation.

How the contractor and reservation flow actually worked

This is where many homeowners get tripped up.

1. Income verification was only one step

If a project depended on HEEHRA, the homeowner first had to go through the HEEHRA Eligibility Express portal or the HEEHRA Eligibility + Support Portal. Both current verification pages say new single-family intake is closed. The support portal is also explicit: an approved income verification is not an approval or reservation for the rebate.

After income approval, the approval PDF goes to the contractor email listed in the application, and the contractor moves the project into the reservation step.

2. A TECH-certified, HEEHRA-trained contractor had to move the project forward

The California Energy Commission and TECH's HEEHRA page both direct homeowners to work through a TECH-certified, HEEHRA-trained contractor rather than treating this like a stand-alone homeowner rebate form.

This is also where it helps to separate the older TECH incentive from HEEHRA. The Switch Is On incentive resources page says demand-response enrollment is required for the older TECH incentive, but not for the HEEHRA rebate. If a contractor mixes those rules together, ask which program path they are actually quoting.

3. The reservation had to be approved before installation

The California Energy Commission says projects must have an approved reservation (preapproval) or they will not be funded. The HEEHRA Eligibility + Support Portal says the same thing in plainer language: do not move forward with installation until the reservation is approved.

If your project is only on a waitlist, that is not the same thing as having secured the rebate.

4. The equipment still had to meet current rules

For a project using HEEHRA, current TECH equipment rules and CEC guidance say that residential and light-commercial air-conditioning and heat-pump systems eligible beginning January 1, 2026 must use refrigerants with GWP <=700 (700 or lower). Check the exact model's refrigerant value against that rule before relying on a quote. This is an equipment-eligibility check, not proof that a reservation or rebate is available.

5. Payment could show up in two different ways

TECH's HEEHRA page says the rebate may reach the customer in one of two ways:

• as an instant discount on the invoice; or
• as a reimbursement or check after the rebate is processed.

That is why you should always ask the contractor to show the gross project price before incentives and then show exactly how the rebate is expected to appear.

What "fully reserved," "waitlist," and "closed to new income verifications" mean in practice

These phrases are related, but they do not mean the same thing.

Fully reserved statewide

This means the published rebate amount may still appear on official pages, but the statewide funding bucket for new single-family projects has already been committed.

Closed to new income verifications

This means a homeowner who has not already passed the intake step should not assume they can start a new single-family HEEHRA application right now. The TECH HEEHRA page and HEEHRA Eligibility Express say new single-family income-verification applications are closed. The HEEHRA Eligibility + Support Portal says the Phase I single-family program is closed to new projects, verifications, and reservations. The CEC provides program context and reservation rules, rather than the current single-family status signal.

Waitlist

This means a project may still be sitting in line if funding becomes available again. But a waitlisted project is not an approved reservation, and TECH's HEEHRA page says a waitlisted project is only eligible if the heat pump is installed after the reservation is approved.

The cleanest question to ask any contractor is:

Do you already have an approved reservation for this project, or are you only expecting one later?

If the answer is vague, treat the rebate as unconfirmed.

What Californians should check next if the statewide TECH path is closed

The TECH-specific question is whether the statewide rebate path is still live, and if not, what the historical numbers actually mean now.

If your project does not already have an approved TECH or HEEHRA reservation, go directly to The Switch Is On incentive finder. Enter a ZIP code and choose a project type to see area-relevant programs. Treat a result as a lead, not a guarantee that your home qualifies. Open the official local-program page to confirm that the program covers your service territory and check its eligibility and current terms before counting any incentive in a quote. Then use WattWallet's California Heat Pump Rebates Guide for the fuller statewide picture across utility, city, and regional programs.

Two address-specific examples:

• LADWP customers: LADWP's Consumer Rebate Program lists heat pump HVAC rebates of up to $2,500 per ton for qualifying systems. It has its own customer, equipment, permit, and documentation rules.
• SMUD customers: SMUD's heating and cooling rebates lists up to $3,000 for qualifying heat pump HVAC systems installed by participating contractors. SMUD says rebates depend on funding and program requirements.

Outside those service territories, use the finder and the utility's own terms before treating a local incentive as part of a quote.

If a contractor still shows a TECH or HEEHRA line item in a 2026 quote, ask them to spell out which of these buckets it depends on:

1. an older TECH reservation that was already secured;
2. an already-approved HEEHRA reservation; or
3. a separate address-specific local utility or regional rebate.

Important 2026 caution on the old federal tax credit

Do not let a 2026 quote assume the old federal 25C heat-pump tax credit still applies automatically.

The IRS energy efficient home improvement credit page says homeowners can claim the credit for improvements made through December 31, 2025, and that the credit is allowed only for qualifying property placed in service on or after January 1, 2023, and on or before December 31, 2025. The California Energy Commission points Californians to that same federal deadline.

If a contractor is still blending a 25C line item into a brand-new 2026 project without explaining the install date and tax-year logic, ask for the quote to be broken apart. Use WattWallet's Tax Credit vs Rebate guide to separate the two.

Recommended next step for most homeowners

Before you treat a TECH Clean California heat-pump rebate number as real money, ask for these four things in writing:

1. Which program path is this quote using? Is it the older TECH incentive, a HEEHRA reservation, or a local utility rebate?
2. Is there an approved reservation already attached to the project? If not, do not assume the money is secured.
3. If it is not a TECH or HEEHRA reservation, which local program is paying? Ask for the exact utility or regional program page, not just a generic "California rebate" label.
4. If a federal tax credit is included, what official rule says this install date still qualifies? Ask for the tax-credit line to be shown separately from the rebate math.

If your main question is the broader California landscape beyond TECH, go next to WattWallet's California Heat Pump Rebates Guide. If you need the deeper HEEHRA program context, use the HEEHRA Rebates guide.

Short FAQ

Does California still have a TECH Clean California heat pump rebate?

New statewide single-family HEEHRA intake is closed, and the published legacy TECH amounts are historical rather than a new reservation offer. Some local California utility and regional rebates may still be available by address.

Is the TECH Clean California rebate the same as HEEHRA?

No. TECH Clean California has hosted more than one heat-pump incentive path. The older single-family TECH incentive and the single-family HEEHRA rebate are related, but they are not the same amount table or eligibility path.

Does an approved income verification mean my rebate money is reserved?

No. The HEEHRA Eligibility + Support Portal says an approved income verification only confirms income eligibility. Funding is only reserved once the contractor's reservation request is approved.

Can I install the system while my project is on the waitlist?

Do not assume that is safe. TECH's HEEHRA page says waitlisted projects are only eligible if the heat pump is installed after the reservation is approved.

What should I check if the statewide TECH rebate is closed?

Use the Switch Is On incentive finder with a ZIP code and project type to see programs relevant to your area. Then confirm service territory, eligibility, and current terms on the official local-program page. LADWP and SMUD are examples of local paths with their own rules. For WattWallet's broader statewide routing help, use the California Heat Pump Rebates Guide.