West Virginia launches $88M home energy rebate program

West Virginia's Office of Energy has launched its statewide Home Energy Rebate Programs, according to WOWK 13 News. The state secured $88 million in federal funding to run two schemes: Home Efficiency Appliance Rebates (HEAR), which covers efficient appliances such as heat pump water heaters, electric stoves and clothes dryers, plus the wiring and ventilation upgrades needed to support them, and Homeowner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES), which targets whole-home work like insulation, air sealing and heating and cooling systems.

Eligibility depends on where a household lives, the upgrades chosen, and household income, per the Office of Energy. During a pilot phase the program received more than 300 applications. The first resident to get upgrades, Huntington homeowner Judy Fry, received a new furnace and air conditioner and saw her bill drop from around $310 to $226 under comparable weather, saving roughly $100. "It had been the same weather, the same 100 degrees... so it's fairly accurate," Fry told WOWK 13 News. The launch also marked the graduation of six contractors from the West Virginia Energy Efficiency Contractor Training Program, part of a push toward 300 trained contractors statewide. The Office of Energy expects the programs to reach 10,000 West Virginia homes and generate about $4 million in combined annual household savings.

Why this matters beyond West Virginia

HOMES and HEAR are both funded through the federal Inflation Reduction Act, and West Virginia is one of a growing number of states rolling out these rebates — availability and rules vary by state, so homeowners elsewhere should check their own state energy office or the DSIRE database for what's live locally. The timing matters: the federal 25C and 25D tax credits that have helped cover efficient furnaces, heat pumps, insulation and solar in recent years are ending, with 25D no longer applying to spending after December 31, 2025, and 25C no longer applying to equipment placed in service after that date. State and utility rebates are becoming the main lever left for cutting the upfront cost of this kind of work, which makes it worth checking what's on offer before booking a contractor.

What the upgrades actually cost

The appliances and systems named in West Virginia's programs line up with projects we track closely. Replacing an old furnace is one of the biggest-ticket items: a typical job runs around $6,000, with a full range of $4,700 – $7,800, though the figure moves a lot with the type of furnace, venting changes and how hard the unit is to access. Furnace replacement has the full breakdown by efficiency rating.

A heat pump water heater — the kind of appliance HEAR funding is built for — typically costs $1,900, against a gas or electric tank swap in the $1,300 – $2,200 range; the heat pump option costs more upfront but uses far less electricity to run. New central air conditioning, meanwhile, runs around $10,000 for a typical ductless mini-split setup, with the full range at $7,850 – $13,000.

Because HEAR also funds the wiring and ventilation work needed to support efficient appliances, it's worth knowing that a full house rewiring job typically costs $8,000, though many of these upgrades only need a smaller panel or circuit change rather than a full rewire. For households going further and swapping a furnace and AC for a single ducted heat pump system, the typical cost is $14,500, within a range of $11,300 – $18,800. See Heat pump installation for how that compares with keeping a gas furnace as backup.

How we calculate these figures

We build our cost estimates from labor hours multiplied by local trade rates, plus materials, then check them against market pricing and real contractor quotes — not survey data or press releases. The figures above are before sales tax, which varies by state, and before any rebate is applied. Electrical, plumbing or structural changes tied to these upgrades usually need a local permit, so factor that into your timeline even if a rebate covers part of the material cost.

If a rebate or utility incentive is on the table, it still pays to get more than one quote: contractor pricing for the same furnace or heat pump swap can vary widely in the same area. If you've already got a quote in hand, our "is my quote fair" tool can tell you how it stacks up against local rates before you commit.