Efficiency Maine is loosening new requirements for heat pump rebates. Executive Director Michael Stoddard says it is backing away from an insistence that older heating systems be "disconnected" or hooked to a generator in order to receive state rebates.
"There was some concern about whether that seemed too aggressive of a step for getting these two systems to separate from each other so that the heat pump could run, unobstructed and achieve its full potential," he says.
Stoddard says Efficiency Maine is now only recommending older heating systems be turned off, or thermostats turned down. Efficiency Maine is sticking with its revamped rebate program that will offer state rebates only for whole-house installations. He points out a federal rebate remains available for people installing a heat pump unit designed to heat just a part of a home, like a single room.