Insulation & air sealing
The upgrade with the biggest rebate in both states.
- Up to 90% back in Vermont
- Up to 75% back in New Hampshire
- Free if you are income-qualified
What we cover
Every upgrade, and what New Hampshire or Vermont pays for it
Seven upgrades, two rebate programs, one river between them. Start with the one that fits your house — or start with the audit, which is what most people should do.
Upgrades and their rebates
Cold-climate heat pumps
Heat and cool from one system, on electricity.
- Up to $6,250 in New Hampshire
- Up to $2,200 in Vermont
- Extra $200–$2,200 income bonus in VT
Ductless mini splits
Zone-by-zone comfort with no ductwork.
- $475 per indoor head in Vermont
- $250–$1,250 per ton in New Hampshire
- Great for capes, additions and ells
Central air conditioning
Lower your cooling costs in an old house.
- $70 per ton on ENERGY STAR units in NH
- Heat pump swap earns far more
- Window units rebated in VT
HVAC tune-up & duct sealing
Cheapest way to get more out of what you already own.
- Duct sealing folded into weatherization rebates
- Annual tune-ups protect rebate eligibility
- Leaky ducts waste 20–30% of your heat
Geothermal heat pumps
Ground-source heat, built for Upper Valley winters.
- Up to $3,000 in Vermont
- Per-ton heat pump rebates in New Hampshire
- Federal 25D credit ended Dec 31, 2025
Home energy audit
The document that unlocks the weatherization money.
- $100 copay in NH (worth $400–$600)
- Required before VT weatherization rebates
- Free direct-install items on the spot
The order that actually saves money
Almost every homeowner we talk to arrives with the last step in mind. The boiler is old, the oil bill is brutal, and the plan is to replace the heating system. It is understandable and it is usually backwards.
- Audit. A blower-door test tells you where your specific house is losing heat. In New Hampshire it costs $100 and comes with $150–$400 of free hardware installed. In Vermont it is the gate to the 90% weatherization rebate. How audits work →
- Air seal. The cheapest measure per unit of heat saved, every time. The attic plane, the top-plate penetrations, the rim joist, the bulkhead.
- Insulate. Attic first, then the basement or crawlspace, then walls if the house takes dense-pack. Carries the largest rebate in both states. Insulation & air sealing →
- Seal the ducts, if you have them. Twenty to thirty percent of what a forced-air system produces commonly leaks into an unconditioned basement or attic. Duct sealing →
- Then size the equipment. A tightened house needs a smaller, cheaper system that runs longer at lower output — which is exactly how a heat pump wants to run. Heat pumps →
Why the order matters financially, not just technically
Size a heat pump for a leaky house and you buy more tonnage than you will need next year, pay for it, and then run it oversized — short-cycling, lower efficiency, shorter equipment life. Doing the envelope first routinely drops a system by a ton or more, which is thousands of dollars of capital cost that no rebate was ever going to cover for you.
Free rebate check
Which of these should you actually do first?
Tell us the town, roughly when the house was built and how you heat it now. We come back with the upgrades that make sense in that order, what NHSaves or Efficiency Vermont pays for each one this year, and what has to happen first.
Free, no obligation, and we do not sell your information.
Not sure which one applies to your house?
Tell us the town, the age of the house and how you heat. We’ll tell you where the money is.