High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act (HEEHRA)

Formerly known as the Zero-Emission Homes Act (ZEHA)

The High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act (HEEHRA) provides point-of-sale consumer rebates to enable low- and moderate-income households across America to electrify their homes. HEEHRA will help American families save money on their monthly energy bills, create healthier indoor air environments, and reduce their carbon emissions.

HEEHRA is a voluntary program that covers 100 percent of electrification project costs (up to $14,000) for low-income households and 50 percent of costs (up to $14,000) for moderate-income households. Qualified electrification projects include heat pump HVAC systems, heat pump water heaters, electric stoves and cooktops, heat pump clothes dryers, and enabling measures such as upgrading circuit panels, insulation, air sealing, ventilation, and wiring. Project costs will cover both purchase and installation costs. And, notably, these point-of-sale rebates will act as off-the-top discounts when a household makes the purchase.

This historic legislation was included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. The original Senate bill — the Zero-Emission Homes Act (ZEHA) of 2021 — was introduced by Senator Heinrich (D-NM), and its House companion was introduced by Representatives Tonko (D-NY) and Castor (D-FL).

For more information, see our overview of the IRA’s climate provisions, our breakdown of the IRA’s investments in disadvantaged communities, and our report on the benefits of electrification.

Supporters
U.S. Congress34
Sen. Martin Heinrich
Sen. Michael Bennet
Sen. Richard Blumenthal
Sen. Cory Booker
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
Sen. John Hickenlooper
Sen. Ben Ray Luján
Sen. Ed Markey
Sen. Chris Murphy
Sen. Jon Ossoff
Sen. Bernard Sanders
Sen. Brian Schatz
Sen. Tina Smith
Sen. Debbie Stabenow
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
Rep. Kathy Castor
Rep. Paul Tonko
Rep. Nanette Barragan
Rep. Earl Blumenauer
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici
Rep. Julia Brownley
Rep. Sean Casten
Organizations250
Evergreen Action
RMI
Sunrun
Rewiring America
Association for Energy Affordability, Inc.
BlocPower
Building Electrification Institute
Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund
City of Pittsburgh, PA
City of Ann Arbor, Michigan
CLASP
Earthjustice
Elevate
Fresh Energy
Fujitsu General America
Iowa Environmental Council
National Housing Trust
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sierra Club
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP)
Span
Swift Solar Inc.
Union of Concerned Scientists

Highlights

The High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act (HEEHRA) is a 10-year rebate program to support low- and moderate-income (LMI) households who choose to electrify. Specifically, HEEHRA:

  • Designates $4.275 billion in rebate funding to be distributed by State Energy Offices and $225 million to be distributed by Tribal Governments;
  • Establishes point-of-sale consumer rebates for “qualified electrification projects” (see chart), up to $14,000 per household;
  • Covers 100 percent of electrification project costs for low-income households and 50 percent of costs for moderate-income households;
  • Extends rebates to multifamily buildings in which 50 percent of residents are LMI; and
  • Incentivizes contractors to perform electrification projects in LMI communities.
List of HEEHRA rebates
Lower bills
Almost all households get cheaper energy bills

At least 85% of households in the United States — 103 million — could save $37.3 billion a year on energy bills if they were using modern, electrified furnaces and water heaters instead of their current machines.

Map of the US showing that most households in counties across the nation would save on their energy bills with modern, electric appliances. In shades of purple, shows each county savings from 0 to 100%, with 100% represented by the darker purple.
Large savings
Most households would save an average of $496 per year

The savings are biggest for the 64.9 million households in the United States across every county who are currently using electric resistance, fuel oil, or propane and would save $496 per year on average.

Table showing the large savings households currently using electric resistance, fuel oil, and propane would gain from electrification. Replacing 33.38M electric resistance furnaces, 5.69M fuel oil furnaces, and 5.75M propane furnaces would result in average savings of $300 per year, $407 per year, and $447 per year, respectively. Similarly, replacing 54.16M electric resistance water heaters, 3.4M fuel oil water heaters, and 4.31M propane water heaters would result in average savings of $282 per year, $174 per year, and $303 per year, respectively.
Everyone benefits
Meaningful savings for low- and moderate-income (LMI) households

Of the households that save, 44% are low- and moderate income. Each year, they would save an average of $377. Many would save up to $493 per year on average.

Reduce emissions
It’s essential to reaching zero emissions

Furnaces, water heaters, dryers, and stoves account for at least 95% of residential building emissions but are replaced just once every 10-25 years. Unless we choose modern, electrified replacements for these machines, we will continue to need dirty infrastructure to power our homes, never getting to zero emissions.

Graph illustrating how national residential emissions would change over time as a result of building a clean grid without residential electrification versus building a clean grid with residential electrification. The graph shows that just a clean grid would cut residential emissions about in half, but stall out there, while a clean grid with residential electrification would reduce residential emissions to zero by 2050.
Create jobs
Hundreds of thousands of new jobs will be created

Electrification would create 462,430 installation jobs in the United States. In addition, it would further generate 80,000 manufacturing jobs and 800,000 indirect and induced jobs.

Chart showing the types of jobs that electrification could create: installation jobs (including electricians, plumbers, and contractors), manufacturing jobs (including factory, assembly line, and supply chain workers), indirect jobs (including truck drivers, welders, mine engineers, and accountants), and induced jobs (including service, retail, food & beverage workers, teachers, and more).
Improve health
Cleaner indoor and outdoor air

Electrifying these appliances would address the 42% increased risk of children experiencing asthma symptoms associated with gas stove use. Such indoor pollution disproportionately affects low-income households with smaller homes. Furthermore, outdoor air pollution from residential buildings currently accounts for 15,500 premature deaths in the United States per year.

Chart listing the indoor pollutants emitted by gas stoves: Nitrogen Dioxide, Particulate Matter (2.5 microns), Carbon Monoxide, and Formaldehyde.

Media Coverage

  • Wall Street Journal
    Wall Street Journal

    Katy Stech Ferek

    Aug 17, 2022

    Makers of Heating, Cooling Systems Expect Climate Bill to Boost Sales

    "Anticipating an increase in sales, Mark Kuntz, chief executive of Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US Inc., which makes high-efficiency heat pumps, said the company plans to announce the location of a new 2,000-worker factory by the end of the year on expectations of higher sales. “We think it’s going to change the mind-set of the U.S. consumer,” he said of the bill, called the Inflation Reduction Act."

  • NPR
    NPR

    Laura Benshoff

    Aug 13, 2022

    3 ways the Inflation Reduction Act would pay you to help fight climate change

    "Money in the Inflation Reduction Act would make it cheaper for Americans to curb their own climate-warming emissions. . . . Down the road, the bill would also set aside more than $8 billion for two rebate programs, aimed at lower- and middle-income households. One would incentivize replacing old appliances with new energy efficient ones, as well as the home upgrades necessary to support them; and another to cut down on energy wasted at home."

  • Canary Media
    Canary Media

    Jeff St. John

    Aug 4, 2022

    Climate bill could spur ‘market transformation’ in home electrification

    "Based on today’s average prices for heat pumps, these rebates could be expected to cover the full cost of installation for low-income households, according to Lowell Ungar, head of the federal policy program at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Moderate-income households could add tax credits to rebates to cover about two-thirds of their total costs, he estimated in an email.

    "Utility-bill savings from such upgrades would vary depending on a number of factors. But electric appliances “have already leapfrogged their fossil-fuel competitors on efficiency and performance,” U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, the New Mexico Democrat who sponsored the HEEHRA legislation in the Senate, noted."

  • Yahoo! Finance
    Yahoo! Finance

    Akiko Fujita

    Aug 2, 2022

    Inflation Reduction Act would lead to $1,800 in savings for average household, analysis finds

    "A program dubbed the High Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act (HEERA) sets aside $4.5 billion in direct rebates for low- and moderate-income households that install new, efficient electric appliances. Under the proposed rebate framework, a low-income household would receive a rebate of up to $8,000 for a new heat pump, $840 for an electric stove or electric dryer, and $2,500 for updated electrical wiring, among other rebates. Matusiak said those incentives will enable 1 million households to go electric."

  • Politico
    Politico

    Matthew Choi

    Jul 1, 2021

    House Democrats' United Front

    "Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) unveiled an outline for a new bill Wednesday that would help consumers buy electric appliances and equipment to cut down on household emissions. The Zero-Emission Homes Act of 2021 would offer rebates to buy and install electric appliances at prices competitive with fossil fuel-based alternatives."

Press Releases

  • Senator Martin Heinrich
    Senator Martin Heinrich

    Aug 7, 2022

    Heinrich Passes Game-Changing Electrification Provisions In Historic Inflation Reduction Act

    "The clean energy and electrification investments that we secured in the Inflation Reduction Act represent by far the most significant steps that Congress has ever taken to spur the widespread deployment of highly-efficient, fully electric and climate pollution free technologies.

    "I'm pleased to lead the charge to establish a new rebate program that mirrors my Zero-Emission Homes Act to help families with the upfront costs of installing clean and efficient electric home appliances.

    "Because these electric technologies are more efficient and less expensive to operate, they will also help families across the country realize significant savings on their energy bills. This is particularly important at a time when so many Americans have been experiencing the pinch from inflation at the gas pump and in their gas and utility bills. We have moved mountains in the last year, and we are on the verge of getting something very deeply meaningful to the President’s desk."

  • House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
    House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

    July 30, 2021

    Castor, Tonko Introduce Legislation to Electrify Households, Create Jobs & Lower Energy Bills

    "Electrification of household appliances would help millions of families save money on their energy bills every month, while creating over a million new jobs in manufacturing, installing, and servicing these new electric appliances."

  • Sen. Martin Heinrich
    Sen. Martin Heinrich

    July 15, 2021

    Heinrich Leads 11 Senate Democrats in Introducing Zero-Emission Homes Act to Establish New Rebate Program For Home Electric Appliances, Equipment

    "Electrifying our homes and businesses is one of the surest climate actions that we can take right now. We can use already existing, proven technologies to dramatically reduce carbon pollution, create millions of good-paying jobs, and secure a more equitable future for our communities."

  • Rewiring America
    Rewiring America

    June 30, 2021

    New Report Shows Electrifying Homes Key U.S. Climate Goals, and Most Americans Will Benefit

    "The Zero-Emission Homes Act of 2021 would provide rebates for the purchase and installation of electric appliances and equipment in single-family homes and multifamily dwellings, with additional support for low- and moderate- income households, who spend a larger share of their income on energy than other households."

U.S. Senate

  • Sen. Martin Heinrich
    Sen. Martin Heinrich

    D-New Mexicosponsor

  • Sen. Michael Bennet
    Sen. Michael Bennet

    D-Coloradoco-sponsor

  • Sen. Richard Blumenthal
    Sen. Richard Blumenthal

    D-Connecticutco-sponsor

  • Sen. Cory Booker
    Sen. Cory Booker

    D-New Jerseyco-sponsor

  • Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
    Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

    D-New Yorkco-sponsor

  • Sen. John Hickenlooper
    Sen. John Hickenlooper

    D-Coloradoco-sponsor

  • Sen. Ben Ray Luján
    Sen. Ben Ray Luján

    D-New Mexicoco-sponsor

  • Sen. Ed Markey
    Sen. Ed Markey

    D-Massachusettsco-sponsor

  • Sen. Chris Murphy
    Sen. Chris Murphy

    D-Connecticutco-sponsor

U.S. House

  • Rep. Kathy Castor
    Rep. Kathy Castor

    D-FL-14sponsor

  • Rep. Paul Tonko
    Rep. Paul Tonko

    D-NY-20sponsor

  • Rep. Nanette Barragan
    Rep. Nanette Barragan

    D-CA-44co-sponsor

  • Rep. Earl Blumenauer
    Rep. Earl Blumenauer

    D-OR-03co-sponsor

  • Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester
    Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester

    D-DE-01co-sponsor

  • Rep. Suzanne Bonamici
    Rep. Suzanne Bonamici

    D-OR-01co-sponsor

  • Rep. Julia Brownley
    Rep. Julia Brownley

    D-CA-26co-sponsor

  • Rep. Sean Casten
    Rep. Sean Casten

    D-IL-06co-sponsor

  • Rep. Emanuel Cleaver
    Rep. Emanuel Cleaver

    D-MO-5co-sponsor

Quotes

  • Sen. Martin Heinrich
    Sen. Martin Heinrich

    D-New Mexico

    “Electrifying our homes and businesses is one of the surest climate actions that we can take right now. We can use already existing, proven technologies to dramatically reduce carbon pollution, create millions of good-paying jobs, and secure a more equitable future for our communities. The goal of ZEHA is to make the economic, environmental, and health benefits of electrification affordable and accessible to all Americans.”

  • Rep. Paul Tonko
    Rep. Paul Tonko

    D-New York

    "Decarbonizing our homes is one of the key challenges we will face in confronting the climate crisis. But building electrification also offers untapped opportunities to improve energy efficiency, spur innovation and provide homeowners with cleaner alternatives."

  • Rep. Kathy Castor
    Rep. Kathy Castor

    D-Florida

    "All Americans deserve to live in homes that are good for their health, their pocketbooks, and the environment. This bill will help millions of families switch to cleaner electric appliances and save money on their utility bills, while also putting Americans to work in every hometown across the country."

  • Sen. Richard Blumenthal
    Sen. Richard Blumenthal

    D-Connecticut

    "By incentivizing the purchase of clean electric appliances and shifting away from ones that pollute, the Zero Emissions Home Act will create jobs and put us on a smarter, sustainable path for the future.”

  • Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
    Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

    D-Rhode Island

    "This is something we can do right now to reduce our carbon footprint and get new, high-functioning appliances into homes.”

Organizations

  • Evergreen Action
    Evergreen Action

    Sam Ricketts, Co-Founder

    "The Zero-Emission Homes Act announced today by Senator Heinrich (NM) makes an essential investment in our nation’s clean building infrastructure. Clean buildings that are carbon-free, affordable, and climate-ready are essential infrastructure and are a matter of survival for millions of Americans."

  • RMI
    RMI

    Mark Kresowik, Federal Policy Manager

    “Senator Heinrich’s proposal recognizes that the buildings where we live and work, and the appliances we use, are critical infrastructure that our nation must invest in to avoid the worst impacts of climate disruption and create healthier, safer, and more affordable homes and businesses."

  • Sunrun
    Sunrun

    Lynn Jurich, CEO

    "The Zero-Emission Homes Act will turbocharge our efforts to decarbonize millions of homes across America – and will help create millions of good-paying jobs as we electrify everything to fight climate change. Sunrun commends Senator Heinrich for his pioneering and steadfast leadership on the clean energy transition."

  • Rewiring America
    Rewiring America

    Ari Matusiak, CEO

    "The climate part of the national infrastructure debate just got a lot more relevant to American families...The widespread job creation and the savings on utility bills that 85 percent of American households would immediately see are a potent political argument for this bill."