Replace Your AC: Rebate Concierge for SDG&E Customers

The state of HVAC incentives in 2026

The rebate landscape for HVAC has shifted significantly in the past twelve months. Some programs have ended, some have been fully reserved, and some remain active. Earth Air's rebate concierge service exists because the rules change faster than most homeowners can track. Below is the honest current state — verify before signing any contract that promises an incentive.

What ended (don't plan around these)

• Federal 25C tax credit: Up to $2,000 for qualifying air-source heat pumps. Ended for equipment placed in service after December 31, 2025 per P.L. 119-21 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act). If your install completed in 2025, you may still claim on your 2025 federal return (IRS Form 5695) — talk to your tax preparer. New 2026 installs do not qualify.
• HEEHRA single-family rebates: Up to $8,000 for income-qualified households. Fully reserved statewide as of February 24, 2026. No new income-verification applications accepted. Waitlisted projects have no guaranteed funding. Do not plan a project around HEEHRA without an already-approved reservation. (Multifamily HEEHRA may differ — check techcleanca.com.)
• TECH Clean California single-family heat pump HVAC reservations: Fully reserved statewide in early 2026. Verify current status at techcleanca.com and switchison.org before assuming TECH funding on a new project.

What's still active (verify amounts at signing)

• SDG&E rebates: The most reliably active layer for North County and San Diego County homeowners. Amounts vary by equipment type, efficiency tier (SEER2 / HSPF2), and whether you're switching from gas. Applied as instant rebates through participating contractors. Verify at sdge.com/rebates before signing — eligible equipment lists update.
• Manufacturer rebates. Brand-specific factory rebates (Trane, Carrier, Lennox, Rheem, Daikin, Mitsubishi) cycle seasonally. We track the active ones and stack them where eligibility overlaps.
• City/county program tweaks. Occasionally individual jurisdictions run promotions — typically for electrification or weatherization bundles. We flag these when they appear in our permitting workflow with the relevant AHJ.
• Financing rate promotions. Not technically rebates, but the lender (we use GoodLeap) periodically runs reduced-interest promotional rates that can save more than a one-time rebate would.

What "rebate concierge" means at Earth Air

1. Eligibility check before quote. When you ask for a quote, we look up which programs you currently qualify for given the equipment we'd recommend, your home, and your AHJ. We tell you the real numbers, not the marketing-page numbers.
2. Equipment selection that maximizes eligibility. Sometimes a one-tier-up SEER2 model unlocks a meaningfully larger rebate. We'll show you both options with the rebate-adjusted net cost, and you decide.
3. Paperwork on us. SDG&E forms, manufacturer rebate registration, AHRI certificates, equipment serial-number documentation — we file it. You don't fill out a stack of forms to save the money you were quoted.
4. Tax-credit documentation (where applicable). We give you a clean install package — equipment specs, AHRI cert, dated invoice — that your tax preparer can use if any state-level credit applies in a future tax year.

What the savings look like in practice

For a typical North County home replacing a gas furnace + AC with a single high-efficiency heat pump in 2026, the active stack tends to land in the $500–$2,500 range from SDG&E + manufacturer rebates combined. That's real money, applied to the install price up front. It is not the $5,000–$10,000 stack that was possible in 2024–2025 when 25C and HEEHRA were active. Anyone still quoting that level of savings is selling you on incentives that no longer exist.

Get your real numbers

Send us your address, current heating/cooling setup, and what you're looking to replace. We'll run the eligibility check and tell you what's really claimable on your project this month.

[email protected] · Contact form · or have a quote in hand already? Free 2nd opinion will include the rebate eligibility check.