A new heat pump to replace your older furnace, boiler, or electric resistance heater is the latest tech to cut your carbon footprint, get off of natural and boost your energy efficiency in one go (with the right design and installation).
We live in exciting times, because the push for decarbonization and inversely, electrification, makes Boulder County one of the best markets in the country in terms of heat pump incentives.
Now in 2026 and more than ever before, Boulder homeowners can take advantage of the Boulder County Income-Qualified Rebates and tax incentives to help bring down the cost of a new heat pump.
This includes many different entities, ranging from State, County, City, and local utilities.
Below, we explain how Boulder County’s heat pump rebates work to make sure you get all the savings you’re qualified for, how to make sure to get them, and more.
There are a few different categories of heat pump rebates, so I want to mention that we’re mainly talking about air-to-air cold climate heat pumps for this article and for homeowners largely within the city and county of Boulder itself. Stay tuned for future ones on the other types. Let’s dive in!
Who is Providing Heat Pump Incentives in Boulder?
To give some resources and references to start off, there’s a good list of entities all providing heat pump incentives if you live in Boulder. Perhaps the best news of all – you can stack these rebates on top of each other, receiving the benefits of many or all for the same installation.
You can check out each one separately by clicking the link –
- Colorado State Heat Pump Tax Credits – up to $1,000 for a cold climate heat pump
- Boulder County Income-Qualified – up to 50% of the program costs up to $2,000 per year.
- City of Boulder – as of September 8, 2025 – all rebates fully allocated and now unavailable for a cold climate heat pump
- Xcel Energy – up to almost $10,000 for a cold climate heat pump (depending on specific calculations)
Yes, you read that right. There are incredible incentives out there to cut the gas line and to go electric, and you can work towards collecting them all! These numbers are even higher for income-qualified homeowners as well.
*Caveat: You must install a very efficient (known as cold-climate rated) heat pump in order to maximize all of these incentives.
Many of the rebate programs are very strict on the equipment you install, which will ensure you gain all the benefits from heat pumps, even down to those frigid nights, where the temperature can creep below zero. I’ll expand on the requirements below, including giving some details on each program.
Some Heat Pump Advice From a Heat Pump Installer
Before we start with the incentives, I wanted to quickly add just a few thoughts as a heat pump installer ourselves, who are in this on a daily basis, and who are also listed as approved heat pump contractors in these local rebate programs. The comment is not to gloat, but instead to offer a word of caution –
There are thousands of heat pump units (equipment) out there, and the rebate requirements are incredibly strict in terms of which ones qualify for rebates. Unfortunately, many on the shelves and being offered still do not qualify.
The requirements additionally flow into everything else, including by not limited to correct design, sizing, correct (professional) installation, licenses, and everything else.
Perhaps the most strict program is Xcel Energy’s. They audit us on a random/round robin basis, and their installation requirements and equipment specifications are incredibly strict in order to stay in as an approved contractor.
There’s much more, but I would just offer to make sure you find a contractor who is an expert in, comfortable with, and a proponent of cold climate heat pumps in the Front Range area.
This will avoid a lot of heartache, broken promises, high energy bills, and uncomfortable homes into the future, and is really what my comments are trying to convey in the end.
I hope that all makes sense. OK, now on to the rebates!
NEW: Changes to EnergySmart Rebates Starting in 2026
As of 10/30/2025, and now starting in 2026, EnergySmart has just announced that the majority of rebates focused in Boulder and surrounding areas (that EnergySmart manages) will offer rebates exclusively for Income Qualified customers/homeowners only.
Rather than reinvent the wheel, I feel like copy-pasting the latest email directly from EnergySmart would be of most help:
Starting in 2026, EnergySmart will focus exclusively on our Income Qualified rebates, serving households earning at or below 100% the annual median income (AMI) in Boulder County (see chart below). This change will help us stretch our support, offer larger rebates, and ensure taxpayer-funded assistance reaches the households that need it most – while continuing to compliment the many other incentives now available across our community.
What’s changing in 2026:
- EnergySmart’s Standard rebates will no longer be available
- EnergySmart’s Income Qualified rebate amounts are adjusting to:
- Up to $2,000 per year, not exceeding 50% of the project cost after accounting for other incentives
What’s staying the same:
- EnergySmart will continue to provide advising services for all Boulder County residents regardless of income levels on their home efficiency and electrification projects
- EnergySmart will also continue to help all residents find rebates and incentive programs from other sources to help fund those projects
Boulder County – Income Qualified Heat Pump Rebates
Funded by the County’s Sustainability Tax, Boulder County offers even higher rebates. Specifically they offer 50% of project costs for energy efficiency or home electrification upgrades up to $2,000 per year.
To qualify for this higher incentive, your household must make at or below the Area Medium Income (AMI) listed here (the 100% number or less):
| Household Size | 80% AMI | 100% AMI |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $84,400 | $105,500 |
| 2 | $96,400 | $120,500 |
| 3 | $108,480 | $135,600 |
| 4 | $120,480 | $150,600 |
| 5 | $130,160 | $162,700 |
| 6 | $139,760 | $174,700 |
| 7 | $149,440 | $186,800 |
| 8 | $159,040 | $198,800 |
Per their website, if you’re below the 80% figure, you may be eligible for even more financial assistance for your home upgrades.
To meet this eligibility for the higher AMI-based rebates, you must pre-qualify by submitting this form here before anything gets installed.
Also, things change all the time in this crazy heat pump world, so please be sure to review their entire site for any instructions or requirements that might change.
City of Boulder Heat Pump Rebates
The City of Boulder no longer has heat pump rebates available through the city. Per their website:
These rebates are no longer available.
EnergySmart has discontinued Standard Rebates in order to focus exclusively on our Income Qualified rebates. This change helps us stretch our support, offer larger rebates, and ensure taxpayer-funded assistance reaches the households that need it most – while continuing to compliment the many other incentives now available across our community. Read more about what this means.
Like the County’s rebates, here are (even bigger) rebates if you live within the City of Boulder, which is funded by the city’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) Tax:
To stay updated on any changes, please visit the City of Boulder Rebates page.
If you’re income qualified, please refer back up to that section, as it’s the same program for both the City and County of Boulder.
Federal, State, and Xcel Energy’s Heat Pump Rebates
To prevent this article from getting too long, I’ll quickly outline the other stackable incentives you can get if all rebate requirements are followed for these cold climate heat pump installations.
Be sure to check out each one of them individually, as we’ve written more extensive articles on them as well.
State of Colorado Heat Pump Tax Credit
This is another great one where you can receive up to $1,000 for an eligible cold climate heat pump installation if all requirements are met.
This is provided to you by a registered/approved heat pump contractor within the State program, and it’s an up-front discount listed on your invoice for the install.
Please see our in-depth article here on details for this one!
Xcel Energy’s (New Since January of 2025) Amazing Heat Pump Rebate
In short – Xcel Energy just tripled their rebates for 2025 and 2026 for cold climate heat pumps! It’s part of their new Clean Heat Plan, where over $300M is being injected into their goal of electrifying 200,000 homes throughout Colorado in the next few years.
Here is what their rebates were just increased to:
As of January 1, 2025:
- Non-Cold Climate ASHP – $900 / cooling ton
- Cold Climate ASHP – $2,250 / heating ton
- Ground Source Heat Pump – $3,300 / heating ton
- HeatPumpWaterHeater – $2,250
Xcel Energy’s rebate calculations can not only be confusing, but are the most strict of anyone’s with their new program rollout recently. This includes design documentation, correct installation, equipment requirements, duct sealing, and much more. If not done absolutely to their program, you may not get this rebate.
Check out our in-depth article here for how these rebates work, the requirements, and some examples as well.
Wrapping it Up
This again can get pretty confusing, but with a little bit of research you can become empowered with all the steps and requirements needed to take advantage of these incredible rebates in not only the City and County of Boulder, but the others too.
If you’re looking into heat pumps, need help with rebates, or just have some general questions about heat pumps, please contact us here.
Thank you for your time and I hope this article helped. We will continually update these as the rebate programs change to keep you informed. Stay tuned!
