ACES Frequently Asked Questions

To learn more about these popular, efficient heating appliances, we encourage you to visit Alaska Heat Smart’s heat pump resource pages.

Yes, the ACES program is a residential heating program with the dual goals of lowering the cost of home heating and eliminating emissions from burning of combustion heating fuels. The program addresses heating in single family homes, duplexes, condos, apartments, multifamily buildings, and trailer homes that currently use fuels such as oil, gas, propane, or wood. However, the resident of each home must be the applicant. A property owner may not apply for all units in a multifamily building.

Yes, renters can apply for an ACES rebate for their dwelling based on their income. Renters will be responsible for covering the cost of the heat pump installation and they will receive the rebate. In the case of renters that are eligible for an $8,500 incentive, Southeast Conference (SEC) will provide the renter with contact information for one or more pre-approved contractors who are eligible to conduct the work and be paid directly by SEC, up to $8,500. Any additional project costs above $8,500 will be the responsibility of the renter. AHS will provide tenants and property owners with an agreement to sign detailing each party’s responsibilities, the rebate payment process (based on the tenant’s income eligibility), and consent for AHS staff and/or contractors to access the home to provide an initial heat pump assessment. Any and all work conducted through AHS or SEC staff or contractors will require additional pre-approval from the property owner.

Yes, with an exception. AHS hosts a Qualified Contractor List that is intended to serve as a resource for anyone installing a heat pump in their home. However, you are not required to use a contractor from this list for your ACES heat pump installation. We do strongly suggest that you confirm that whatever installer you choose has the necessary certifications and experience to install your heat pump successfully. A list of the qualifications we look for can be found on the Qualified Contractor List.

The exception to the policy for applicants to select their own contractors is for applicants receiving an $8,500 rebate who choose to use a contractor managed by our partners, Southeast Conference (SEC). In that case, SEC will be paying a contractor they already have an agreement in place with directly for the work done. Applicants will still have the opportunity to review a quote from the SEC-managed contractor and decide if they want to move ahead with the project. Alternatively, applicants receiving the $8,500 rebate level may choose follow the same path as applicants receiving the $4,000 and $6,000 rebates. In this case they would select their own contractor, pay installation costs of front, and receive their rebate payment after the installation is complete.

Please keep in mind that heat pumps require a dedicated electrical circuit to the outdoor unit. In many cases the heat pump installer does not perform the electrical work and the homeowner will have to contract with an electrician separately. 

DIY heat pump installations will not be eligible for rebates through ACES. Alaska Heat Smart hosts a Qualified Contractor List to assist homeowners in choosing heat pump installers and electricians. Contractors on this list will have specific certifications and existing experience installing heat pumps. You are not required to select a contractor from our list, however, we strongly recommend making sure that the contractor you choose has heat pump installation certifications and experience. 

Unfortunately, the answer to this question is no. Current program guidance provided to AHS staff is that applicants must be income verified and have an AHS home energy assessment before being approved for an ACES program rebate.

Yes. This is an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ‘Climate Pollution Reduction Grant’. The program seeks to maximize carbon elimination through the replacement of fossil fuel burning heating systems with electricity-powered air source heat pumps. We know that all grids are not 100% hydropower, but the efficiency of a heat pump, even when powered by 100% oil-generated electricity, still offers a reduction in the amount of power needed for home heating, and therefore carbon emissions.

Financial rebates will range from $4,000 to $8,500. The $8,500 rebates will reach those most in need: households with a gross income below 80% of the community’s area median income (AMI). You can look up your rebate eligibility on the table on the ACES Community and Income Eligibility. As currently written in our EPA work plan, which is subject to change, $6,000 will be available if your household income falls between 81% AMI and 150%. There is no income cap for incentives of $4,000.

Rebate determinations depend on overall annual household income. This may be ascertained from 1040 tax records, pay stubs, income-generating assets and accounts, income statements, or a combination of these.

It will also be necessary to understand your home’s demand for energy. Three years of fossil fuel purchase records and electric utility statements will assist us with our energy assessment of your home as well as verification that your home is presently reliant on heating fuels or wood products. If you don’t have such records, you should request them from your fuel vendor(s).

At this time, ACES applications are being accepted on a rolling basis. Depending on program capacity, demands on contractors, supply chain constraints, utility grid concerns, staff workloads, and numerous other factors we may change this structure in the future if we are unable to serve existing applicants in a timely manner.

After you have completed an income verification, received a home energy assessment, and received final approval from program staff, you have one year to complete your heat pump installation. If for some reason you are unable to complete your installation in this timeframe, you may reach out to ACES staff prior to the one-year deadline and request an extension. Extensions will be approved on a case-by-case basis. If you do not request an extension prior to the one-year deadline, but would still like to install a heat pump, you may re-apply to the program.

Unfortunately, we are not able to offer any advice about tax implications of participating in our grant programs. We encourage you to consult with a tax advisor or the IRS for assistance.

We are hopeful that stacking benefit programs will be allowable. Typically, different programs under management of one agency may not be stacked. The ACES Program is EPA funded. The Department of Energy is funding the Alaska Housing and Finance Corporation’s home electrification rebate (HER) program, which has not been launched yet. It is possible that these two programs may work together in allowing homes to fully transition to a clean heating system. The Alaska Carbon Reduction Fund can assist with lower income fuel switching projects, and various utility rebates may be available as well.

Per the previous answer, there may be other benefits available. Additionally, some regional credit unions currently offer low interest heat pump loans which provide a sound means to finance a small portion of a heat pump project. See the AHS financial assistance page for more details. Homeowners will be responsible for covering the cost of the heat pump installation and will receive the rebate as a reimbursement. However, for households in the highest rebate bracket ($8,500), applicants can elect to work with an ACES program-managed contractor, who will be paid directly by the program, removing much of the upfront financial burden from the applicant. Please contact aces@akheatsmart.org if you have additional questions or concerns.

Ensuring quality installation and the long term success of all installed heat pumps dictates that specific makes and models may or may not qualify for ACES rebates. All communities will be required to install only cold climate heat pumps (Daikin Aurora, Daikin Atmosphera, Mitsubishi ‘Hyper Heating’ M or P series, Fujitsu ‘LZAH’ or ‘RLX’ series, or other cold climate models). You can find a list of equipment specifications here.

It is rare that a heat pump will not save a homeowner money on home heating bills for the majority of the year. The condition of your home and the makeup of your local grid are large determinants of your potential savings. Full hydroelectric grids tend to offer the lowest electrical rates. Mixed hydro and diesel generating grids feature higher electrical rates and hence smaller annual savings for heating system conversions. We believe that between 15% and 75% savings are available across the region. Every applicant to the ACES program will have a home energy assessment from AHS which will, in part, help you understand the your potential costs and savings of appropriate home heating solutions.

The ACES Program targets fossil fuel and wood heated homes. The HEAR program will target both fossil fuel / wood heated homes as well as electric resistance heated homes. AFHC is developing an application portal that will help to steer applicants towards the right program, either ACES or HEAR, and will work to make your pathway to savings as easy as possible. 

A lack of contractors does present a very real challenge in many communities. AHS along with many organizations across the state are working to bring additional workforce growth and training opportunities to coastal Alaska. When this does not suffice, creative methods like Thermalize campaigns may provide the impetus for contractors to visit your community and attend to multiple projects over a focused period of time. We will continue to develop creative solutions for this issue.