If you’re in the market for a new heat pump, you may have already reached out to installers for quotes. Each one is likely different, and some may include line items for discounts or tax credits that aren’t explained.
None of those quotes is necessarily wrong. Some of those line-item discounts or credits in Westchester County come from a utility incentive your contractor deducts from the invoice before you pay, and some of it may include a tax credit you can claim months later on a return.
Those are different programs with different rules, and what you end up paying depends on which tier your house qualifies for, how the system is designed, and who files the paperwork.
The Federal Credit Is Gone, and That Changes the Math
Section 25C, the federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit that covered 30% of qualifying heat pump costs up to $2,000, no longer applies to equipment placed in service after December 31, 2025. Public Law 119-21 pulled that end date forward from 2032, and the IRS guidance on the change states the credit is not allowed for any property placed in service after that date.
The phrase “placed in service” means that eligibility is not determined by when you signed the contract or paid the deposit. A homeowner who put money down in October 2025 and then waited for a backordered air handler until February has no federal credit, because the system was not running by the deadline.
One state credit survives and has even gotten larger, though it does not cover the air-source heat pumps most homeowners in Westchester County are quoted. New York’s geothermal energy system credit applies only to ground-source systems, which move heat through pipes buried in the yard rather than through an outdoor unit beside the house.Â
It covers 25% of qualifying equipment costs, and the cap rose from $5,000 to $10,000 for systems placed in service on or after July 1, 2025.
How NYS Clean Heat Money Actually Reaches You
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) runs the NYS Clean Heat program statewide, but the utilities administer it inside their own territories. For nearly all of Westchester County, that means Con Edison reviews the project, assigns the tier, and pays the incentive.
Your contractor enrolls your project and documents the equipment and the load calculation. The approved amount then comes off your final invoice before you pay it.
While this is a better arrangement for many than a mailed rebate that can force consumers to float several thousand dollars for months waiting on a check, the paperwork must be correct before work begins. There is no way to go back and claim Clean Heat money on a system that is already installed and running.
| Program | Who Administers It | How You Receive It |
| NYS Clean Heat, full load conversion | Con Edison, on behalf of NYSERDA | Deducted from the installed price by your contractor |
| NYS Clean Heat, partial to full load | Con Edison, on behalf of NYSERDA | Flat amount bringing an existing partial system up to full load |
| Con Edison efficiency offers | Con Edison | Applied at install or issued after verification |
| NYSERDA financing | NYSERDA | Low-interest loan covering the remaining balance |
What the Programs Pay in Con Edison Territory
Two things set the rate, and they stack. Con Edison’s residential air source incentive for a single-family full-load conversion that decommissions the old fossil system runs $7,000 at the standard rate, or $10,000 if the house qualifies for what the program calls the Weatherized Tier. In a Disadvantaged Community, those same two figures become $8,000 and $11,000.Â
Those figures assume the old fossil system comes out. Con Edison also pays to keep it and add integrated controls so the heat pump runs as the primary heat source, but that path costs $2,500 for a single-family home, or $4,500 in a Disadvantaged Community.
Ground source retrofits reach much higher, from $25,000 at the standard rate to $40,000 for a weatherized home in a Disadvantaged Community, with the incentive capped at 70% of project cost, or 85% in those communities.
The Weatherized Tier is a rate for homes whose insulation and air sealing already meet the program standard, and a home built after 2010 qualifies automatically. An older house qualifies by documenting the envelope either through a qualifying weatherization program or a home energy assessment that certifies air sealing, attic insulation at R-38, and a blower door result inside the program threshold for the home’s age and size.
Housing stock across Westchester County leans heavily toward homes built between the 1920s and the 1950s, plenty of them balloon-framed and with little or no wall insulation and a leaky attic plane. Sealing and insulating these homes first can move a project from $7,000 to $10,000, and it also shrinks the system your house needs, which lowers the installed price.
Why Your Contractor Choice Decides Eligibility
Only a participating contractor can submit a Clean Heat application. If you hire a company outside the network, you won’t have access to this incentive on that project at all, and no one can file it retroactively on your behalf once the equipment is in. That single decision is worth more than most of the line items homeowners compare across quotes.
A. Borrelli Mechanical is a participating contractor with Con Edison and handles the enrollment and completion paperwork as part of every heat pump project. Ask any company you are considering to confirm their participating status in writing before you sign anything.
The Order of Operations Before You Sign
Start by confirming the proposed equipment appears on the program’s qualified product list. For cold climate air source systems, that means the NEEP Cold Climate Product List, and integrated controls have to appear on the program’s own controls list. Con Edison pays a flat amount by category, so higher-rated equipment does not earn you a larger incentive, but equipment that is not on the list earns nothing at all.
Then ask whether the design covers your full heating load. Every space heating category in the 2026 program requires it, so a system sized to cover only part of the load can leave you with no incentive rather than a smaller one. Ask about sizing in the same conversation, since a system specified above 120% of the calculated load can trigger extra review.
Ask for the quote written two ways (the gross installed price and the net price after the incentive comes off), so you can see what you are actually paying. If the remaining balance is more than you want to write a check for, NYSERDA residential financing offers loans from $1,500 to $25,000 over 5-, 10-, or 15-year terms, including an on-bill option that adds the payment to your utility bill.
Get the Numbers for Your House
If you are working through heat pump quotes for a home in Westchester County and want the incentive math done honestly, contact A. Borrelli Mechanical. We are a family-owned HVAC and plumbing company and have been serving the local area since 1981.
Call or contact us online to schedule a no-cost estimate that shows both the gross and the net price, and we will take the Con Edison paperwork from there. Your family’s comfort, our family’s commitment.
