Consumers Energy will pay up to $3,750 toward making your house cheaper to heat, and the only thing it checks is whether Consumers sends you a bill. There is no income test, no state application, and no waiting on a government approval.
It is the most overlooked money in mid-Michigan, and the reason is simple: it is a utility program rather than a federal one, so it never gets the publicity.
The eligibility test is your account number
The program agreement is blunt about it. Incentives are only for work at a home that receives service from Consumers Energy and has a natural gas or electric service account number. The account number goes on the form, and that is the check.
Either service qualifies you. If Consumers supplies your gas and a different company supplies your electric, you are still in.
The home has to be existing and occupied rather than new construction. Single-family homes are eligible, including condominiums.
Everything it covers
This is the full measure list from the program’s own agreement, not a summary:
Shell and insulation — air sealing at several performance levels, attic and roof insulation, above-grade wall insulation, kneewall insulation, basement wall insulation, crawlspace insulation, floor insulation, and rim joist insulation.
Ducts — duct sealing at two performance levels, and duct insulation.
Windows and doors — window and patio door replacement.
Heating and cooling — natural gas furnaces, natural gas furnace and boiler comprehensive tune-ups, Wi-Fi enabled thermostats, split system central air conditioning, and central AC comprehensive tune-ups.
For most Lansing-area houses the money is in the first group. Attic insulation and air sealing have the best ratio of cost to energy saved of anything on that list, which is why they are what a decent assessment almost always recommends first.
The order matters, and most people get it backwards
You cannot pick a rebate and then do the work. Rebate funds can only be reserved after a full diagnostic assessment has been carried out.
That assessment is not a hurdle put in your way. It is a blower door test to measure how much air is leaving the building, infrared imaging to find where, and a safety check on the combustion appliances. It produces the list of improvements the rebate then pays against.
Once it is done, you and the contractor sign a Homeowner Agreement. That signature reserves your rebate funds as of its date, and the agreement expires after six months. Signing early is worth real money.
Funding is limited and first come, first served
This is stated in the agreement and it is not a sales tactic. The program has a budget for the year and it is allocated in the order applications arrive. Availability can be confirmed directly with the program implementer, ICF, on 877-404-7937 before anybody commits to anything.
Practically: the people who move in autumn get the work done before winter and before the money runs down. The people who wait until they open a February gas bill are competing for what is left.
How you actually get paid
The incentive is paid after the work is finished and after a post-inspection and verification. Somebody other than your contractor checks the job before the money moves, which is the protection built into every programme like this.
It stacks
A Consumers Energy rebate and a state rebate can both apply to the same project, up to 100% of its cost. If your household also qualifies on income for the Michigan Home Energy Rebates programme, the two together can cover considerably more than either alone, and a Michigan Saves loan can cover the remainder.
Which is the real argument for starting with an assessment rather than with a programme. The assessment tells you which combination your house can reach.