Our discussion on how to save energy at home briefly hits on more than 30 changes you can make in and around your home, from cheap-yet-effective steps to upgrades that require upfront spending, but quickly pay for themselves from lower utility bills to systems and renovations that minimize what you pull off the grid, but come at steep prices.

Often, the extra costs of energy-saving improvements can be reduced by tax credits and utility company rebates. But on July 4, President Trump signed into law a sprawling bill that ended generous tax credits for green-energy projects. You can still claim the “Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit” when preparing your 2025 tax return, but you must complete and pay for eligible projects by December 31.

Below are the energy-saving rebate programs available at the time of this writing. We didn’t include low-interest loan programs or incentives available for new home construction. We also didn’t look for community grants for multi-home projects or programs for owners of commercial buildings. There are also many programs available to landlords of apartment buildings.

Check EnergyStar.gov and the links below for up-to-date info. Also check the website of the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE).

Act Fast to Take Advantage of Canceled Federal Tax Credits

You can still claim the “Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit” if you complete and pay for projects by the end of 2025. This incentive provides tax breaks to homeowners who make green improvements to their primary residences. The credit is equal to 30 percent of the cost of the following types of eligible projects; for some there are individual annual maximum allowable credits:

• Air-sealing and insulation improvements—no cap
• Central ACs—$300 cap for most systems
• Energy audits—$150 cap
• Exterior doors—$250 per door, $500 limit for multiple doors
• Gas and oil furnaces—$600 cap for units with 97+ AFUE
• Windows and skylights—$600 cap

If you do more than one of the projects listed above there’s a maximum tax credit of $1,200 each year.

A separate tax credit of up to $2,000 is available if you buy a qualifying heat pump, heat pump water heater, or biomass stove or boiler (for example, one that burns wood pellets). That credit also goes away at the end of 2025.

If you install a ground-source heat pump or solar panels you may qualify for a 30 percent federal tax credit with no cap. Again, you have to complete all work by the end of 2025 to get the incentive.

Rebate Programs Funded by the Inflation Reduction Act Languish

The new law that ended energy efficiency tax credits did not cancel rebate programs authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. But since taking office, President Trump’s administration has slowed or halted approvals for these programs, and it’s still unclear whether rebates for Delaware Valley area residents will ever launch.

The IRA allotted more than $350 billion for energy and climate programs by establishing incentives for U.S. households and businesses to shift to technologies that consume less energy and cut greenhouse-gas emissions. About $80 billion of that was earmarked for rebates of up to $14,000 per household for making green energy upgrades over the next decade. The largest rebates would have encouraged households to switch to heat pumps to heat and cool their homes. These aren’t tax credits; they’re point-of-sale rebates that homeowners will receive as discounts as they make preapproved improvements.

The IRA required each state to create its own rebate program and then submit its plans to the Department of Energy for approval. Only a handful of states received funding prior to Trump’s inauguration. Since then, no new state rebate programs have launched.

Pennsylvania set up the Penn Energy Savers program to implement its rebate programs. As of today, its website still provides info on eligibility and rebate amounts, but doesn’t say when its programs will launch.

Similarly, in January 2025, before Trump took office, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities announced it received over $185 million in federal funding for its rebate programs approved during the Biden administration. At that time, it reported anticipating rebates would be available in fall 2025.

Delaware’s website still reports that it expects to launch its program “once funding is received later this year.”

Websites of most other states still report their programs will be available in 2025 but we have found it difficult to get updated info on them.

We’Il let you know if and when these generous rebate programs become available for this area.

Local Incentive Programs

Listed below are incentives from local utility companies in effect in July 2025. Programs come and go; check with your utility and the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency for up-to-date info.

Before starting a project, confirm that you qualify. Rebate programs usually require homeowners to work with the utility’s “approved” contractors or to file paperwork before installations.

Energize Delaware

Customers must first sign up for an energy audit, which costs $50. For no additional cost, during the assessment advisors will install up to $250 of energy-saving products (LED light bulbs, faucet aerators, pipe insulation, etc.).

For any additional recommended work, Energize Delaware will pay 75 percent of the costs for air sealing and duct sealing work and 50 percent of the costs of other projects, with the following caps:

• Air sealing—$900 to $1,800, depending on improvement attained
• Crawlspace encapsulation—$1,000
• Duct sealing—$550 to $700, depending on improvement
• Insulation, attics—$900 to $1,100, depending on level of improvement
• Insulation, floors—$650
• Insulation, foundation walls—$650
• Insulation, knee walls—$400
• Insulation, rim joists—$200
• Insulation, siding/sheathing—$1,200
• Insulation, walls—$1,800

If recommended, Energize Delaware will also pay 50 percent of costs for the projects listed below, up to the following caps:

• Central ACs—$650 or $1,250, depending on energy efficiency
• Furnaces, boiler—$850 for units with 90+ AFUE and equipped with modulating controls
• Furnaces, condensing boiler with on-demand hot water—$1,100 for units with 95+ AFUE
• Furnaces, gas—$750 for units with 96+ AFUE and equipped with electrically commutated motors
• Heat pumps, air-source—$800 or $1,600, depending on unit’s energy efficiency
• Heat pumps, mini-split—$550 or $1,100, depending on energy efficiency, for first unit, then $350 or $550 for each additional unit
• Heat pump + furnace hybrid systems—$1,450 or $2,250, depending on energy efficiency
• Heat-pump water heaters—$1,100
• Smart thermostats—$150 when bundled with other measures
• Tankless water heaters—$650
• Ventilation equipment—$400
• Whole-home dehumidifiers—$400

Jersey Central Power & Light

• Free energy audits
• Appliance recycling—$100 rebate for turning in an old refrigerator or freezer
• Central ACs—$100 rebate for units with SEER2 15.2+; $200 rebate for units with SEER 17+
• Clothes dryers—$100 or $300 rebate, depending on energy efficiency
• Clothes washers—$100 or $150 rebate, depending on energy efficiency
• Dehumidifiers—$40 rebate
• Ductless mini-split heat pumps and ACs—$750 rebate
• Furnace fans—$100 rebate for units with electronically commutated motors
• Heat pumps, air-source—$500 rebate for units with SEER2 15.2+ and HSPF2 7.8+; $750 rebate for units with SEER2 17.1+ and HSPF2 7.8+; $1,000 rebate for cold-climate units
• Heat pumps, ground-source—$1,500 rebate
• Heat pump water heaters—$750 rebate
• Programmable thermostats—$100 rebate
• Refrigerators—$75 or $100 rebate, depending on energy efficiency
• Room ACs—$30 rebate

PECO

Rebate amounts listed below are for completing just that project; there are bonus rebates available for those who complete more than one of the following projects:

• Air purifiers—$25 rebate
• Central ACs—$150 rebate for units with SEER2 15.2+; $200 rebate for units with SEER2 16.0+
• Clothes dryers, electric—$15 rebate
• Clothes dryers, gas—$15 rebate
• Clothes dryers, heat-pump—$75 rebate
• Clothes washers—$25 rebate
• Dehumidifiers—$25 rebate
• Furnace blower motors—$50 for models equipped with electronically commutated motors
• Furnaces, gas—$350 rebate for models with 95+ AFUE; $600 rebate for models with 97+ AFUE
• Furnaces, gas boiler—$350 rebate for models with 90+ AFUE; $600 rebate for models with 94+ AFUE
• Heat pumps, air-source—$200 rebate for units with SEER2 15.2+ and HSPF2 7.8+; $300 rebate for units with SEER2 17.1+ and HSPF 7.8+
• Heat pumps, ductless mini-split—$150 rebate for units with SEER2 15.2+ and HSPF2 7.8+; $300 rebate for units with SEER2 17.1+ and HSPF 7.8+
• Programmable thermostats—$50 rebate
• Power strips—$15 rebate for advanced models
• Refrigerators—$20 rebate
• Room ACs—$10 rebate
• Water heaters, gas tank—$125 rebate for Energy-Star certified models
• Water heaters, heat-pump—$350 rebate for Energy Star-certified models
• Water heaters, tankless—$400 rebate for Energy-Star certified models

PGW

• Furnaces, gas—$400 rebate for units with 95+ AFUE
• Furnaces, gas boiler—$1,000 rebate for units with 94+ AFUE
• Programmable thermostats—up to $70 rebate
• Tankless water heaters—$400 rebate

PSE&G New Jersey

• Free energy audits
• Air purifiers—$50 rebate
• Appliance recycling—$100 for turning in an old refrigerator or freezer; $35 rebate for each room AC and dehumidifier
• Central ACs—$60 rebate for units with SEER2 15.2+; $120 rebate for units with SEER2 17+
• Clothes dryers—$200 to $300 rebate
• Dehumidifiers—$40 rebate
• Dishwashers—$100 rebate
• Ductless mini-split heat pumps—$300-$450 rebate
• Heat pumps, air-source—$300 rebate for units with SEER2 15.2+; $450 rebate for units with SEER2 17+; $600 rebate for cold-climate units
• Furnace blower motors—$60 rebate for installing an electronically commutated motor
• Furnaces, gas—$540 rebate for units with 95+ AFUE; $780-$1,050 rebate for installing dual-fuel system
• Furnaces, gas boilers—$540 rebate for units with 90+ AFUE; $600 rebate for units with 95+ AFUE
• Programmable thermostats—$60 rebate
• Refrigerators and freezers—$75 to $100 rebate
• Room ACs—$30 rebate
• Ventilation fans—$25 rebate
• Water heaters, gas tank—$400 rebate
• Water heaters, gas tankless—$500 rebate
• Water heaters, heat pump—$750 rebate

South Jersey Gas

• Free energy audits
• Central ACs—$100-$200 rebate
• Furnaces, gas—$900 rebate for units with 95+ AFUE
• Furnaces, gas boiler—$900 rebate for units with 90+ AFUE; $1,000 rebate for units with 95+ AFUE
• Programmable thermostats—$100 rebate
• Water heaters, gas tank—$400 rebate
• Water heaters, tankless—$500-$750 rebate

Additional Resources to Help You Go Green at Home

Consumer Reports
Ratings of appliances, lightbulbs, window AC units, etc.

Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency
Rebates and tax incentives available from utilities and governments

Earth911.com
Green tips, plus database of recycling centers and where to dispose of hazardous household waste

Efficient Windows Collaborative
Help with window selection and estimating cost savings

Energy Star
Certifies energy-efficient appliances and HVAC equipment

National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Research and publications on renewables; offers a calculator that estimates energy production and cost of solar installations

Passive House Institute U.S.
Certification and training for net-zero energy-use builders, contractors, and manufacturers

Residential Energy Services Network
Certification for energy auditors

Rewiring America
Educational resources; tracks public policy for electrification projects

Snugg Pro
User-friendly web-based energy-auditing software

YouTube.com
Thousands of DIY videos from experts (but also non-experts)

Zero Energy Project
Advice and lists of products and suppliers for home buyers, builders, and designers interested in net-zero energy-use homes