ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico has launched its first Home Energy Rebates program, supported by the federal Inflation Reduction Act.
The state has begun the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) portion of the program, which is designed to help low- and middle-income households install home energy-efficiency improvements such as insulation, air-sealing, and heat pumps, in order to reduce whole-home energy consumption.
“Increasing access to home energy upgrades is a money saver and a job creator — and we congratulate New Mexico for making the clean energy transition affordable for all New Mexicans,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in a press release.
New Mexico is jump-starting its rebates program by offering low-income owners of single-family homes up to $1,600 off home insulation purchased at participating retailers.
Later, New Mexico’s HEAR program will provide low-income homeowners (defined as those earning 80% or less of the median income in their area) and low- and middle-income renters (those earning 150% or less of the area median income) up to $14,000 in rebates to upgrade equipment and appliances. They will be able to save up to:
• $8,000 for an Energy Star-certified electric heat pump for space heating and cooling.
• $4,000 for an electrical panel.
• $2,500 for electrical wiring.
• $1,750 for an Energy Star-certified electric heat-pump water heater.
• $1,600 for insulation, air sealing, and mechanical ventilation products.
• $840 for an Energy Star-certified electric heat-pump clothes dryer and/or an electric stove, cooktop, range, or oven.
“The HEAR program will accelerate New Mexico’s journey to a clean-energy future, helping to fulfill a goal established at the beginning of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration,” said Melanie Kenderdine, secretary-designate of the state’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. “We are especially proud that this program will help many New Mexicans who might not otherwise be able to afford to participate in the clean energy transition.”
There is a second Home Energy Rebates program that New Mexico will launch later. Under the Home Efficiency Rebates (HER, also called HOMES, for Home Owners Managing Energy Savings), households will be able to save thousands of dollars on measures that reduce whole-home energy consumption.