DIY Heat Pump, Solar - obtaining state / utility incentives

[volleyballer]

Hello,

Inspired by MMM's blog posts about DIY installation of heat pumps and solar, I am interested in doing the same on my own house. I have a fairly modern 90% efficiency gas furnace that works great. I would love to add a Mr Cool Universal heat pump to this system for a dual fuel setup. The materials (outdoor unit, indoor coil, and lineset) are about $5k.  I feel like the installation of this is within my wheelhouse as a DIY'er and engineer.

Does anyone have experience obtaining utility / state incentive moneys for such projects as a DIY'er ? In my state (NY), NYSERDA requires heat pump installation by a "clean heat certified contractor" to obtain incentive moneys (about $4,400 for the project I'm envisioning). Is there any way around this? I suppose I could start an LLC and apply to be a certified contractor? If I could make this work I could potentially get central air / dual fuel system for almost free!

Same question could apply to solar as well.

[BudgetSlasher]

I looked into something similar in Maine at one point, though without state solar the money at play wasn't as much.

What I found, at that time, was there was a state class to take, a code of conduct, you HAD to be listed on their database with contact info (meaning people would be calling you as they would a contractor), and I believe there were a couple other things I am forgetting.

Here is what you would need in your state: https://nystatewidecmp.programprocessing.com/programapplication/?ft=822091043BBC4F09A7D5F7DB2C9CF255

The big ones that stand out to me is that you will need a certificate of insurance, which means you will need commercial insurance and the following training:

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Section 608 Technician Certification;
  Certificate of ASHP Manufacturer-sponsored installation training; and
  Certificate of ASHP Manufacturer-sponsored sizing/design training

There are members here who have done heat pumps w/o 608, legally I would not recommend that (MrCools with the pre-charged line sets might be their own beast). As for the other two, I do not think they make sense for a one off installation.

Also note you have to have an agreement with the utility company, which seems to be pretty similar b/t the companies. That requires the installation to meet incentive application requirements, I would suggest finding out if MrCool even qualifies before thinking any further.

For more details you can read section for of the manual, starting on page 61: https://saveenergy.ny.gov/NYScleanheat/assets/pdf/NYS-Clean-Heat-Program-Manual.pdf.

4,400 on a 5,000 installation sounds like a lot. I tried to look up the specifics but based on what I found (https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/ny/sun-pumped/Heat-Pump-Incentives) air source is by only some utilities, so I cannot dig further. In our state it billed as up to X,XXX where it is either a percent up to X,XXX of a flat for the 1st, 2nd ... units totaling X,XXX.

[Syonyk]

Does anyone have experience obtaining utility / state incentive moneys for such projects as a DIY'er ? In my state (NY), NYSERDA requires heat pump installation by a "clean heat certified contractor" to obtain incentive moneys (about $4,400 for the project I'm envisioning). Is there any way around this?

Call and ask, but usually not.  However, the cost savings from DIY are usually more than the "contractor with incentives" savings, as they will absolutely seem to price in the incentives as profit.  What's the cheapest way to get the system done?

Same question could apply to solar as well.

Solar incentives shouldn't require a contractor.  Your power company may have some requirement on it, but state and federal incentives almost always are totally fine with DIY work.  You just have to meet code and your local requirements.

I did my own solar, I know a range of other people doing their own solar.  It's not hard.

[derekjr]

I'll only speak to the HVAC equipment aspect of this post.  My experience with HVAC related rebate and incentive programs is that equipment must be AHRI rated.  It is unlikely that there is an AHRI rating for a Mr. Cool heat pump and evaporator coil mated to the furnace that you have.  You generally need to have matched equipment (same manufacturer) to get AHRI ratings.  If you can get around the other issues, I suspect you would need to install a Mr. Cool furnace (if they make one) as well to qualify for an incentive.  If the incentives are as large as you say, that could be worth it... I've never seen incentives that large for an air source heat pump setup except in low income situations.

[affordablehousing]

I would consider calling listed contractors and asking them if they would accept a $2000 honorarium for letting you use their license and taking the liability of the job while you did the work. I looked into something like this and they usually wanted an amount equal to their profit to take on that responsibility. You'll also have to deal with inspections, permits and that nonsense which is a big time suck.

[volleyballer]

I appreciate the responses, and apologize for taking so long to reply back to my own post (last month or so was crazy).

I would consider calling listed contractors and asking them if they would accept a $2000 honorarium for letting you use their license and taking the liability of the job while you did the work. I looked into something like this and they usually wanted an amount equal to their profit to take on that responsibility. You'll also have to deal with inspections, permits and that nonsense which is a big time suck.

This seems like a very pragmatic approach. How did you find such a contractor? Just trial and error? 

...
The big ones that stand out to me is that you will need a certificate of insurance, which means you will need commercial insurance and the following training:

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Section 608 Technician Certification;
  Certificate of ASHP Manufacturer-sponsored installation training; and
  Certificate of ASHP Manufacturer-sponsored sizing/design training

There are members here who have done heat pumps w/o 608, legally I would not recommend that (MrCools with the pre-charged line sets might be their own beast). As for the other two, I do not think they make sense for a one off installation.

The technician certification would probably be the most difficult / time consuming one to get. I can probably get the sizing and install training certs through the manufacturer. I am also a PE which ticks another one of the boxes on the NYSERDA program for ASHP designer.


Since I made my post, the newly passed Inflation Reduction Act now also offers up to $8,000 for heat pump installations starting in 2023, although there are not many details on how that will be implemented. Assuming the income limits are based on w-2 household income, I would just squeak in under the 150% of area median income limit and qualify for $4,000 from the feds.

The other juicy carrot that NYS has out there is low interest financing, currently at 3.5% (not sure how long the term is). I would love to  finance the total cost of a solar + heat pump install at 3.5% for 10 years or so, get the tax rebates back when I file my taxes and invest those in I-bonds making 9%. That would be awesome!

I'm guessing the price of heat pumps is going to magically spike starting in 2023...