Rebates and tax credits in Colorado

Money toward an HRV or ERV

Programs that pay toward the unit itself. Some take the money off at the distributor, so ask whether an installer’s price already includes it.

• Efficiency Works ERV and HRV rebate

  Efficiency Works (Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland municipal utilities) · Residential electric customers of Estes Park Power and Communications, Fort Collins Utilities, Longmont Power & Communications, and Loveland Water and Power

  $500 per unit for an ERV or HRV, up to 100% of the project cost

  Through a participating service provider, who must measure airflows. At least 50% sensible recovery efficiency, installed to ASHRAE 62.2-2013. Other kinds of mechanical ventilation are no longer listed.

  Names HRVs or ERVsProgram page: Ventilation rates effective January 1, 2026

Federal home energy rebates

Federal money that Colorado runs. HEAR has a category for “insulation, air sealing, and ventilation” worth up to $1,600 for households under 150% of area median income; each state decides what counts as ventilation. ENERGY STAR’s table for HEAR says this category requires ENERGY STAR certification, and ENERGY STAR’s U.S. criteria for ventilation cover fans, not HRVs or ERVs, so ask the program whether an HRV or ERV counts before relying on it. HOMES pays toward whole-home upgrades modeled to save energy.

Air sealing and insulation

These programs are more common than ventilation rebates, and sealing a house is often what makes it need planned fresh air. If a program is sealing yours, ask whether it requires ventilation afterward and whether it pays for it.

• Xcel Energy Colorado insulation and air sealing rebates

  Xcel Energy · Xcel Energy Colorado customers

  2026 amounts not confirmed from Xcel. Xcel's 2024 Colorado sheet (effective January 1, 2024, opened by HouseExhale on October 12, 2026) listed air sealing $200 (20% CFM50 reduction), wall insulation $350 and attic insulation $400, capped at 30% of cost. Secondary directories give different, higher figures that do not agree with each other.

  Work must be done by a participating contractor (Adams County, July 2026). A secondary directory says a Home Energy Squad visit or energy audit is needed before work; not confirmed from Xcel.

  Ventilation not mentioned in what we readProgram page: Adams County page modified 2026-07-21; Xcel sheet effective 2024-01-01

• Efficiency Works Homes insulation and air sealing incentives

  Efficiency Works · Residential electric customers of Estes Park Power and Communications, Fort Collins Utilities, Longmont Power & Communications, and City of Loveland Utilities

  Air sealing, by reduction from the first blower door test: $310 (more than 15%), $460 (more than 25%), $620 (more than 33%), $770 (more than 50%). Insulation: $1.16 per sq ft (conditioned crawl space, basement wall, cantilever floor, floor over garage, exterior wall, uninsulated attic knee walls, cathedral ceiling, conditioned attic); $0.77 per sq ft (flat-ceiling attic, already-insulated attic knee walls). Total limited to 100% of upgrade cost.

  Efficiency Works Homes listed service provider; air leakage test before and after; combustion safety test; pre-approval before work if incentives exceed $2,500 (otherwise capped at $2,500). Funding is limited and values can change without notice.

  Ventilation not mentioned in what we readProgram page: Effective 2026-01-01

• Energy Smart Colorado rebates (Gunnison Valley)

  Energy Smart Colorado, with Gunnison County · Primary residences in Gunnison and Hinsdale counties

  Up to $2,000 for weatherization (insulation and air sealing) and up to $2,000 for electrification; up to $4,000 total

  Household income up to 150% of area median income (2025 limits) or a listed Community Priority Member; an Energy Smart Colorado home energy assessment first, with the work recommended in the report; air sealing must cut CFM50 by at least 10% (blower door before and after); air sealing before insulation; rebates while funds last.

  Ventilation not mentioned in what we readProgram page: 2026 document (cites 2025 income limits)

State tax credits

• Colorado heat pump tax credit (claimed by the installing contractor)

  Installed on or after January 1, 2026: air-source $1,000 credit ($333 minimum customer discount); ground-, water- or combined-source $2,000 ($667 minimum discount); heat pump water heater $250 ($83 minimum discount). Amounts drop again in tax year 2029.

  A state income tax credit for heat pumps and heat pump water heaters. The registered installing contractor claims it and must pass a minimum discount to the customer; homeowners file nothing.

  Ventilation doesn’t count

Low-income help

The federal Weatherization Assistance Program can pay for air sealing, insulation and, where needed, ventilation at no cost to households that qualify by income. In Colorado it’s run by Colorado Energy Office, delivered by local weatherization agencies by county. Apply online or through your county's provider. Services include air sealing and insulation; ventilation is not listed. Waiting lists are possible..

Before you sign

1. Don’t start work yet. Many programs need pre-approval, a participating contractor or a test first, and work begun early often can’t qualify.
2. Write down your electric and gas utilities. Rebates usually follow the utility, not the town.
3. Read the conditions: a listed contractor, a qualifying model, your heating fuel, income limits, and install and claim deadlines.
4. Ask each installer whether any discount is already in their price, and who files the paperwork.
5. Get it in writing: each rebate, who applies for it, and what happens to the price if it’s denied.

More on costs and how to check: What drives the cost of ventilation and How to compare quotes.

Worth knowing

• Colorado's HEAR single-family rebates closed in August 2026. The state FAQ gives both August 1 and August 2, 2026 as the closing date. A reservation was required before work; work done without one is not guaranteed a rebate. [s1, s3]
• HEAR for small multifamily buildings (under 50,000 sq ft) had about $13.7 million set aside but was not yet available as of the August 3, 2026 dashboard. [s2]
• Power Ahead Colorado, run by the Denver Regional Council of Governments, launched a rebate of up to $1,500 for ENERGY STAR cold-climate heat pumps in the Denver metro area on July 15, 2026. It does not cover insulation, air sealing or ventilation. [s15, s16]
• Colorado's state income tax credit for heat pumps does not cover ventilation, insulation or air sealing. No Colorado tax credit for those was found, but the Department of Revenue was not checked. [s6]
• Efficiency Works paid $500 toward an HRV or ERV under its 2024 sheet. Ask Efficiency Works whether that offer still applies before counting on it. [s9]
• Not checked yet: Black Hills Energy, Colorado Springs Utilities, and Denver's Climate Action Rebates. Xcel's own rebate pages could not be opened.