Per federal guidance, retroactive rebates will not be available for the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate (HEAR) Program.
Federal guidance does require states to offer retroactive rebates for Home Efficiency Rebate (HOMES) Program projects initiated on or after August 16, 2022, that meet certain requirements.
To be eligible for retroactive rebates through the HOMES program, projects will need to meet ALL federal and state requirements. Federal requirements can be reviewed on the DOE’s Retroactivity Fact Sheet. Additional State requirements were approved at the Commission’s open meeting on April 25th and are now subject to DOE’s final review and approval.
Be sure to keep any project documentation, including any assessment reports and itemized contractor invoices. Also, keep documentation on the equipment that was replaced. Once the HOMES program is available to Wisconsin residents, you can check if your prior project meets program requirements to receive a rebate.
Wisconsin HOMES Retroactive Rebate Requirements
The DOE provided states with their minimum requirements to determine if a project is eligible to receive a retroactive HOMES program rebate in the form of a Retroactivity for Consumers Checklist. The Commission approved two additional requirements to help screen projects for retroactive rebate qualification. The DOE’s review of Wisconsin’s HOMES program application will occur over the next few months.
The full list of the proposed requirements to determine eligibility to receive a retroactive HOMES program rebate under review by the DOE for their final approval are listed below.
- The retrofit began on or after August 16, 2022.
- A home assessment was conducted prior to the retrofit that recorded each of the following:
- Dwelling type
- Performance of efficiency of the dwelling unit and its components, materials (such as insulation), and systems
- Existing equipment, materials, or systems to be replaced.
- The contractor identified the new equipment, systems, or materials proposed for installation and modeled the energy savings based on those measures.
- Prior to initiating the retrofit, the contractor produced an energy savings estimate using a DOE-approved modeling software consistent with BPI 2400 and based on an energy savings model calibrated to the dwelling unit’s historical energy use.
- The modeled energy savings estimate met or exceeded 20 percent of total dwelling unit’s energy use.
- The contractor obtained written acknowledgement from the customer of the proposed project’s estimated impact on household energy costs and consumption, including an estimate in dollars of the energy savings in the first year based on current utility rates at the dwelling unit.
- The contractor obtained written acknowledgement from the consumer of the remaining payment amount they will owe after applying the Home Efficiency rebate.
- The contractor provided the total cost of all upgrades within a completed project invoice inclusive of any rebated amount.
- The retrofit included at least one major upgrade as defined in the Program Requirements and Application Instructions, Section 2.1.
- Did not include generation technologies.
- Collected all data required in the Data & Tools Requirements Guide.
- If seeking a rebate amount requiring income-verification based on categorical eligibility, the customer must provide documentation of enrollment in a recognized program within the preceding 24 months of the project being completed.
- An application requesting a retroactive rebate is submitted no later than December 31, 2025.
In addition to the DOE Retroactivity for Consumers Checklist summarized above, Wisconsin’s draft application to DOE includes additional requirements, including that applications for retroactive rebates need to be submitted by December 31, 2025. More details on Wisconsin requirements will be provided before program launch.
