Connecticut Rebate Guide

Energize CT Insulation Rebates and Home Energy Solutions in 2026

Energize CT’s insulation rebate page lists up to $2.00 per square foot or 75% of the cost, whichever is less, up to $10,000, for professionally installed insulation. The insulation has to be recommended at a Home Energy Solutions visit, approved by the program before the work starts, and installed by a contractor in the Energize CT Insulation Installers Network. The standard visit has cost $40 since April 1, 2026. Households in the two income-based tiers get the visit at no cost and larger insulation incentives, up to 100% off approved insulation projects. Roof decks don’t qualify, and the federal homeowner tax credit for insulation ended with 2025.

The program is open to residential customers of Eversource, United Illuminating (UI), Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG) and Southern Connecticut Gas (SCG), in houses of one to four units. Every program rule, figure and date below comes from Energize CT’s own pages and documents, the four utilities’ pages, the Connecticut Green Bank, the state and the federal agencies named, read on October 23, 2026, and each one names where it comes from. Program rules change, so the links to check them yourself are at the end.

What Energize CT is

Energize Connecticut, usually written Energize CT, is the name the state’s utility efficiency programs run under. Its pages describe it as “an initiative of the Energy Efficiency Fund, the Connecticut Green Bank, the State, and your local electric and gas utilities with funding from a charge on customer energy bills.” The programs follow a three-year Conservation and Load Management Plan. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) approved the 2025–2027 plan in September 2025, a $705 million investment, and said the programs completed over 29,000 weatherization projects in Connecticut homes in 2024. The Energy Efficiency Board’s report on 2025 counts 30,525 homes weatherized that year.

Who can use it:

  • The utility account. Energize CT’s Home Energy Solutions page says “All residential customers of Eversource, CNG, SCG and UI are eligible for this program if the home has not received these program services within the last six years.” A house qualifies through its electric company or its gas company.
  • The heating fuel. UI’s page puts it as “No matter how you heat your home.” Energize CT’s 2026 rebate terms add that, to get a rebate, the customer must heat with electricity, natural gas, oil or propane, or be replacing a heating system that uses one of them.
  • The building. The program is “ideally suited for 1-4 unit family homes,” and the insulation rebate is available for single and multifamily homes with up to four units. Owners of buildings with five or more units go through Energize CT’s Multifamily Initiative instead.
  • Renters. Landlord approval is required before the visit is scheduled.
  • Municipal electric customers. Energize CT lists eight municipal or tribal utilities outside its programs: Bozrah Light & Power, Groton Utilities, the Jewett City Department of Public Utilities, the Mohegan Tribal Utility Authority, the Norwalk Third Taxing District Electrical Department, Norwich Public Utilities, South Norwalk Electric and Water and the Wallingford Department of Public Utilities. Their customers should check that utility’s own programs. Energize CT says all residential customers of Eversource, CNG, SCG and UI are eligible, so a house on municipal electricity that buys gas from Eversource, CNG or SCG should ask that gas company to confirm before booking.

Home Energy Solutions in CT: the visit that comes first

Home Energy Solutions, or HES, is Energize CT’s in-home energy assessment, done by an authorized contractor. Nothing in the insulation rebate happens without it. Energize CT describes the visit this way:

  • It begins with health and safety tests, then a blower-door test “to pinpoint drafts and air leaks.”
  • If the house has forced hot air or central air conditioning, the technicians test the ductwork.
  • Air sealing is done by the program’s contractor, at the second visit in the two-visit model, and advanced power strips, low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators may be installed. UI, CNG and SCG also list hot water pipe wrap.
  • You get an assessment report with the blower-door results and recommended upgrades, and a U.S. Department of Energy Home Energy Score if you opt in at the start of the visit.

The cost. “Effective April 1, 2026, the initial visit has a copay of $40,” Energize CT and Eversource both say; UI, CNG and SCG list the same $40, and Eversource says it applies to either visit model. Households in the Enhanced Incentives and Income Eligible tiers get the visit at no cost. Air sealing is free for up to seven hours, and “Larger or older homes may require extra time, for which a $10 hourly fee applies.”

The $40 is not fixed. On February 11, 2026 the Energy Efficiency Board voted 10–0 to let the utilities set the copay anywhere from $0 to $75 without another Board vote, and the utilities then set it at $40 starting April 1, 2026, so check the amount when you book. The utilities’ notice to the Board also says “Copay reimbursement is available for customers who install qualifying energy efficiency upgrades by March 31, 2027,” and the Board’s minutes say the customer requests it with a form the lead technician leaves. The consumer pages don’t mention the refund, so ask for the form at the visit.

One visit or two. Since January 1, 2026 the program has run two models. The one-visit model does the assessment, the health and safety tests, the on-the-spot improvements and the air sealing in a single visit, if no barriers are found. The two-visit model does the assessment and basic improvements first, then comes back for air sealing and approved upgrades. Two visits are required for two- to four-unit properties and income-eligible households, and may be recommended for larger homes or homes built before 1985. Energize CT also suggests the two-visit model if you are planning upgrades such as insulation, and Eversource describes the second visit as the one for upgrade work such as insulation and air sealing.

The limits. A home that has had these services in the last six years is not eligible again. “Because of high demand for this program, there may be a waiting list. The program is subject to available funding.” A quality assurance inspector may come out or contact you after the visit.

How to book. Apply to your electric or gas utility online or by phone, or choose an authorized contractor with Energize CT’s Find-a-Contractor tool; an authorized contractor then contacts you to pick the visit model and schedule it. Income-eligible households apply through Energize CT’s income verification portal or by mail, and the utility assigns the contractor.

A contractor’s own free estimate, ours included, is not a Home Energy Solutions visit and does not open the rebate.

Energize CT income limits for 2026–2027: the three tiers

Energize CT runs Home Energy Solutions in three tiers, set by household income:

  • Home Energy Solutions (standard): households above 80% of the state median income. A $40 copay, no-cost air sealing and access to rebates, “like up to 75% off insulation.”
  • Home Energy Solutions – Enhanced Incentives: households above 60% of the state median income and below 80% of the area median income. A no-cost assessment and enhanced incentives for insulation, heat pumps and heat pump water heaters, with insulation at “$2.50/sq. ft., up to 100% off.” Income verification is required. DEEP approved it on May 5, 2026 as a pilot for low- and moderate-income households, and the utilities launched it in the second quarter of 2026.
  • Home Energy Solutions – Income Eligible: households at or below 60% of the state median income. A no-cost assessment, two visits, a contractor the utility assigns, and “up to 100 percent coverage of insulation costs.” Assets such as the home and car don’t count, and a household may also qualify under its utility’s hardship criteria. Eversource says its customers on the Electric Discount Rate or the Matching Payment Program may already be pre-qualified. A renter’s landlord completes a landlord authorization and may be asked to pay some of the costs of deeper measures.

Energize CT’s limits by household size, gross annual income, labeled “As of August 2026” and for the “2026–2027 Fuel Season”:

  • 1 person: Income Eligible up to $48,714; Enhanced $48,715 to $64,953; standard $64,954 and above.
  • 2 people: Income Eligible up to $63,703; Enhanced $63,704 to $84,939; standard $84,940 and above.
  • 3 people: Income Eligible up to $78,692; Enhanced $78,693 to $104,924; standard $104,925 and above.
  • 4 people: Income Eligible up to $93,681; Enhanced $93,682 to $124,908; standard $124,909 and above.
  • 5 people: Income Eligible up to $108,669; Enhanced $108,670 to $144,893; standard $144,894 and above.
  • 6 people: Income Eligible up to $123,658; Enhanced $123,659 to $164,879; standard $164,880 and above.
  • 7 and 8 people: Income Eligible up to $126,469 and $129,279. Energize CT publishes no 7- or 8-person range for the other two tiers.

The Enhanced ranges are defaults: Energize CT says the actual range is set from your area median income once you enter your zip code. If your income is anywhere near a line, ask which tier you are in before you pay a copay; the middle tier gets a no-cost visit and a higher insulation incentive.

How much the Energize CT insulation rebate pays

Energize CT’s residential insulation incentive page, which shows an incentive duration of January 1 to December 31, 2026, lists:

  • Standard: “rebates up to $2.00 per square foot or 75 percent of the total cost, whichever is less, up to a maximum of $10,000,” at the same $2.00 for attic floors, floored-over attics, walls, garage ceilings, rim joists and basement ceilings. Energize CT’s pages don’t say whether the $10,000 applies to the whole project or to each area, so on a big job, ask.
  • Environmental justice communities: “increased incentives of $2.50/sq.ft. up to $15,000 for eligible areas.”
  • Enhanced Incentives tier: up to $2.50 per square foot on the rebate page; the tier’s own page says “$2.50/sq. ft., up to 100% off.”
  • Income Eligible tier: up to 100% of insulation costs, through the tier’s own contractor.
  • Self-installed insulation: $0.25 per square foot for approved projects, and “All self-installed insulation requires an inspection prior to rebate payment.”

How “whichever is less” works, as plain arithmetic: on 1,000 square feet of attic floor, $2.00 a foot sets the most the rebate can be at $2,000, and 75% of the cost is the smaller number only if the job cost less than about $2,667. The $10,000 maximum matters only on a job of more than 5,000 square feet that also cost more than about $13,333.

The 2026 rebate terms add three conditions: the rebate “cannot be combined with any other utility rebate or incentive,” it can’t exceed the total cost of the measure and its installation, and Energize CT asks you to “allow up to ninety (90) days for payment.” The offering “is subject to change without prior notice.”

Not every Energize CT document agrees on the rate. Its Insulation & Windows page says up to $1.70 per square foot, and the utilities’ plan documents list insulation at “Up to $1.70/sq. ft.” for 2026 and, in a September 2026 draft, for 2027; the rebate page and the UI, CNG and SCG pages say $2.00, with a $10,000 cap. The plans call their incentive tables estimates and say the final levels are posted each January 1, so the rate for work done in 2027 isn’t settled. The amount on your approved project is the one that counts.

Environmental justice communities (EJC)

DEEP defines one as “a distressed municipality, as designated by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development; OR a U.S. census block group where 30% of the population is living below 200% of the federal poverty level.” In DEEP’s 2025 set, 37 towns are distressed municipalities, where every address counts as an environmental justice community, among them Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, New Britain, Meriden, New London and Torrington; in many other towns only some neighborhoods do. Norwich is on the list too, but a Norwich home that buys its electricity and gas from Norwich Public Utilities is outside Energize CT and should check that utility’s own programs. DEEP updates the data each December or January, and its map shows whether a given address is inside one.

Which parts of the house qualify, and which don’t

The rebate page lists five areas, each with a ceiling on the insulation already there and a minimum when the work is done:

  • Attic floors: existing insulation no more than R-19; finished at R-49 or more, or R-38 where R-49 isn’t structurally practical.
  • Floored-over attics: existing R-4 or less; finished at R-19 or more.
  • Above- and below-grade walls: existing no more than R-4; finished at R-13 or more.
  • Basement and garage ceilings: existing no more than R-6; finished at R-19 or more.
  • Rim joists: existing no more than R-6; finished at R-13 or more.

The existing-insulation ceiling is the rule people miss. An attic floor that already has more than R-19 doesn’t qualify for the attic rebate.

Accepted materials: “Fiberglass Batts, Blown Fiberglass, Cellulose, Dense Pack Cellulose, Rockwool, Spray Foam, Rigid Foam, Mineral/Stone Wool, Natural Fiber.” Spray foam is on the list. At closed cell’s R-6.9 to R-7.1 per inch, 2 inches on a rim joist comes to about R-14, just past the R-13 the rebate asks for; ratings vary by product, so the installed depth and R-value belong on the invoice. Open cell, at R-3.9 to R-4.2 per inch, needs about 3 1/2 inches to reach R-13. Our guide to open and closed cell spray foam compares the two.

What doesn’t qualify. Energize CT’s 2026 Residential Rebate Terms and Conditions, revised April 2026, say the insulation rebate is “Valid only for areas of a residential building envelope separating conditioned and non-conditioned space. Attic roof decks and rafters do not qualify. Conditioned basements, detached garages, and garages without living space above do not qualify.” They add that areas with health and safety barriers found at the visit, such as mold or presumed asbestos-containing material, “may not be eligible.” Vermiculite in an attic is one of those: the EPA says to assume it contains asbestos and leave it undisturbed.

For a spray foam job the roof deck exclusion is the one that matters. Foaming the underside of the roof deck to bring the attic inside the house is the right call in some houses, most clearly where the air handler and ducts sit in the attic, but it is not the rebated measure. Price both ways before you decide: the attic floor with the rebate, and the roofline without it. Whoever quotes it, a roof-deck foam job does not come with the Energize CT rebate. Our roof insulation guide and spray foam cost guide cover the trade-off.

Three gray areas are worth a question to the program before you count on the money. The rebate page lists below-grade walls while the terms exclude conditioned basements, so if the basement is heated, ask. Neither page names crawl spaces, so if the crawl space is the job, ask how it would be written up. And cathedral ceilings over living space aren’t named either: Energize CT’s 2025 rebate sheet let them qualify at R-38 or more where the space was intentionally conditioned living space, but the 2026 documents don’t mention them.

How to get the Energize CT insulation rebate, step by step

  1. Check your account and tier. Confirm your electric or gas company is Eversource, UI, CNG or SCG, and see which income tier you fall in.
  2. Book Home Energy Solutions. Through your utility online or by phone, or by choosing an authorized contractor with Energize CT’s Find-a-Contractor tool. Income-eligible households apply through the income verification portal or by mail.
  3. Get the recommendation. “Insulation must be recommended during a Home Energy Solutions visit.” Energize CT says you receive the insulation rebate application during that visit.
  4. Get quotes from network installers. “To receive the rebate, installations must be performed by an approved contractor” from the Energize CT Insulation Installers Network. Energize CT’s Find a Participating Contractor tool, the same one used to book the visit, lists the network’s members, and the 2026 terms require the installer to hold an active Connecticut Home Improvement Contractor license.
  5. Get approval first. “Projects must be approved before installation.” Insulation installed before the approval misses the rebate. Ask the Home Energy Solutions contractor how approval is given for your project.
  6. Have it installed. A quality assurance inspector may visit or contact you to verify the work, in some cases before the rebate is paid.
  7. Submit the application as the form instructs, or online. On the deadline, Energize CT’s own documents disagree: the 2026 terms say measures must be purchased and installed between January 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027 and a mailed application postmarked by March 31, 2027, while the rebate page shows the incentive running to December 31, 2026. Follow the date on the application you are given, and don’t leave it to the last weeks.
  8. Wait for payment, up to 90 days by the 2026 terms. Whether the check can be made out to the installer, or the rebate taken off the invoice, isn’t stated on the public insulation pages; ask the program.

Financing: the Smart-E Loan and the Micro Loan

Smart-E Loan. The Connecticut Green Bank’s Smart-E Loan covers attic, wall and floor insulation. Its standard rates are 6.99% for 5, 7 or 10 years, 7.49% for 12 years and 7.99% for 15 years, and the Green Bank notes that lender participation varies on 15-year terms. “The current maximum loan amount for Smart-E is $50,000.” The home must be in Connecticut, owner-occupied, and a residential building with one to four units, with condominiums individually metered, and the lender makes the final underwriting decision. Up to 25% of the loan can go to non-energy measures. A Home Energy Solutions visit is not a requirement for Smart-E, Energize CT says, though the Green Bank says some improvements may require an energy assessment first. The 1.99% rate advertised through December 31, 2026 is for heat pumps only, on projects of $25,000 and under, with a blended rate above that; insulation alone starts at 6.99%. The project goes through one of the Green Bank’s approved contractors, who submits it, so ask whether your contractor participates; the Green Bank’s Find a Contractor list shows who does.

Energize CT Micro Loan. A 0% interest loan of up to $3,000 over three years, subject to credit approval by Capital for Change, for UI or Eversource residential customers who own and occupy a one- to four-unit home, condos and vacation homes included. The improvements must be recommended through Home Energy Solutions and installed by an approved contractor, and insulation must meet the current HES rebate requirements.

Other help for lower-income households

The state’s Weatherization Assistance Program, federally funded and run by DEEP with Connecticut’s Community Action Agency network, uses the same eligibility as the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program, 60% of the state median income, and gives priority to the elderly, people with disabilities, families with children and high-energy users. Its typical measures “may include heating system tune-ups and repairs, blower-door-guided air sealing, attic and sidewall insulation, and health & safety inspections.” It can’t work on a home weatherized by WAP, LIHEAP, HUD or USDA programs in the last fifteen years. Applications go through the energy assistance intake.

The Residential Energy Preparation Services program (REPS), which paid to clear barriers such as asbestos, vermiculite, mold and knob-and-tube wiring for income-eligible homes, has fully spent its funds and is keeping a waiting list. Don’t plan around it.

What changed for 2026

  • The copay came back. DEEP announced in September 2025 that the usual $75 copay was waived until December 31, 2025. The utilities then extended the waiver to visits scheduled by March 31, 2026 and completed by June 30, 2026; visits scheduled from April 1, 2026 carry the $40 copay, inside the $0 to $75 range the Energy Efficiency Board approved in February.
  • One visit or two. The one-visit and two-visit models started January 1, 2026.
  • A middle income tier. Enhanced Incentives, for households between the income-eligible limit and 80% of area median income, approved by DEEP as a pilot on May 5, 2026.
  • No federal homeowner tax credit. The IRS says the 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit “will not be allowed for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025,” so insulation installed in 2026 gets no federal homeowner tax credit. Energize CT’s own FAQ says “this tax credit expired at the end of 2025.” What 2025 work can still claim is in our insulation tax credit guide.
  • Still no federal home energy rebates. DEEP reports that the U.S. Department of Energy renamed them in June 2026: HEAR is now the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate program (HEEHR) and HER is now Home Owner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES). DEEP’s own page says “HEAR rebates are not currently available” and “HER rebates are not currently available,” and in an update to the Energy Efficiency Board dated October 8, 2026, DEEP said it “hopes funding will be available in early 2027.” Don’t count on it for a 2026 job.

What Connecticut doesn’t offer

There is no Connecticut income tax credit for insulation: the state’s 2025 income tax instructions list none. There is no sales tax break either. The Department of Revenue Services says the exemption for residential weatherization products, insulation among them, was repealed for sales on and after January 1, 2016, and those sales are now subject to sales and use tax. And there is no federal homeowner tax credit for insulation installed in 2026.

Insulation quotes in Connecticut

Energize CT pays its professional-installation insulation rebate only on work by a contractor in its Insulation Installers Network, and its Find a Participating Contractor tool lists them, so check any installer there before you sign. If the rebate matters most, book Home Energy Solutions first and use a network contractor. If you want spray foam where the rebate doesn’t reach, such as the underside of a roof deck, or you would rather not wait for the program, we price the job on its own merits.

Our free estimate is our own walk-through, separate from Home Energy Solutions and not a route to the rebate. We look at the attic and its top plates, the knee walls, the rim joist and garage ceiling, the crawl space or basement, and the venting and combustion air of any furnace, boiler or water heater that burns fuel, and you get the scope, the materials, the depths and the price in writing. Most of our projects run between $3,500 and $12,500. Call 914-554-2289, 8am–8pm, seven days, or use the contact form. The Home Insulators is family-owned, based in New Rochelle, NY since 2015, with a 100-plus-person in-house crew that never subcontracts, and we work in all eight Connecticut counties; see every Connecticut town we serve.

Common questions about Energize CT insulation rebates

How much is the Energize CT insulation rebate in 2026?

Energize CT’s rebate page lists up to $2.00 per square foot or 75% of the total cost, whichever is less, up to a maximum of $10,000. Homes in an environmental justice community may be eligible for $2.50 per square foot, up to $15,000. The Enhanced Incentives tier gets $2.50 per square foot, up to 100% off, and the Income Eligible tier up to 100% of insulation costs. Self-installed insulation on an approved project earns $0.25 per square foot after an inspection.

What is Home Energy Solutions, and what does it cost?

It is Energize CT’s in-home energy assessment, done by an authorized contractor: health and safety tests, a blower-door test, a duct test where there are ducts, air sealing and a report of recommended upgrades. Since April 1, 2026 the standard visit has a $40 copay, with air sealing free for up to seven hours and $10 an hour after that. The Enhanced Incentives and Income Eligible tiers pay nothing for the visit. A home that had the service in the last six years isn’t eligible again.

Do I need a Home Energy Solutions visit to get the insulation rebate?

Yes. The insulation has to be recommended during a Home Energy Solutions visit and the project approved before installation, and for the professional-installation rebate the work has to be done by a contractor in the Energize CT Insulation Installers Network. You receive the rebate application at the visit.

Does the Energize CT rebate cover spray foam?

Yes, in the qualifying areas. Spray foam is on Energize CT’s list of accepted materials for attic floors, floored-over attics, walls, basement and garage ceilings and rim joists, each with a limit on the existing insulation and a minimum R-value afterward. Spray foam on the underside of the roof deck does not qualify.

Does the rebate cover insulating the roof deck or rafters?

No. Energize CT’s 2026 rebate terms say attic roof decks and rafters do not qualify, and neither do conditioned basements, detached garages or garages without living space above. The rebate covers only parts of the house that separate heated or cooled space from unheated space.

Who qualifies for no-cost Home Energy Solutions?

Households at or below 60% of the state median income, through the Income Eligible tier, and households above that but below 80% of the area median income, through the Enhanced Incentives tier. For a household of four, Energize CT’s 2026–2027 limits are $93,681 for Income Eligible and $93,682 to $124,908 for Enhanced Incentives, a range that varies by zip code. Income is verified.

What is the deadline for the 2026 Energize CT insulation rebate?

Energize CT’s documents disagree. The 2026 rebate terms say the insulation must be purchased and installed between January 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027, with a mailed application postmarked by March 31, 2027, while the rebate page shows the incentive running January 1 to December 31, 2026. Follow the date on the application you receive at your Home Energy Solutions visit.

Can I install the insulation myself and still get a rebate?

Yes, at a lower rate. Energize CT’s rebate page lists $0.25 per square foot for approved self-installed insulation, and all self-installed insulation is inspected before the rebate is paid. The higher professional-installation rebate requires a contractor in the Energize CT Insulation Installers Network.

Does Eversource have an insulation rebate in Connecticut?

Yes, and it is the Energize CT rebate. Eversource, United Illuminating, Connecticut Natural Gas and Southern Connecticut Gas run the same Home Energy Solutions program and the same insulation incentive. Eversource’s Connecticut page advertises up to 75% off insulation upgrades and says the initial visit has had a $40 copay since April 1, 2026, and Energize CT’s rebate page lists up to $2.00 per square foot or 75% of the cost, whichever is less, up to $10,000.

Does Energize CT cover homes on a municipal electric utility?

Not through the electric account. Energize CT serves customers of Eversource, UI, CNG and SCG, and lists eight municipal or tribal utilities, including Norwich Public Utilities, Groton Utilities, Wallingford’s utility and the two Norwalk districts, whose customers should check their own utility’s programs. A home that also buys gas from Eversource, CNG or SCG should ask the gas company whether it qualifies.

How to check this yourself

Read on October 23, 2026. Where a page shows its own date, it is given.

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