Straight answers about the energy programs

Yes. There are several, and they work differently. The Michigan Home Energy Rebates program (MiHER) pays toward whole-home efficiency work and can cover the full cost for lower-income households. Consumers Energy pays rebates with no income test at all. The federal Weatherization Assistance Program does the work at no cost for households under 200% of the federal poverty level. And Michigan Saves lends at a fixed rate under 7% for whatever is left. Which one fits depends on your income, your utility and your house.

Start with your utility and your household. If Consumers Energy bills you, their Home Performance with ENERGY STAR rebate has no income test, so it is open to you today. If your household income is lower, MiHER may cover far more and the Weatherization Assistance Program may cover everything. We will walk through it with you — we do not ask what you earn, because the programs verify income themselves.

No. We never ask. For MiHER the state verifies income as part of its own application, and your contractor is not involved in that. We only ask about the house — its age, how it is heated, what it does in winter.

The published maximums are $20,000 per household for whole-home efficiency work under MiHER HOMES, $14,000 for electrification and appliances under HEAR, and up to $3,750 from Consumers Energy. Those are ceilings, not quotes. What any particular household receives depends on verified income and on the energy savings a home assessment actually models, so nobody can honestly tell you a figure before an assessment.

No. Under MiHER the rebate is paid to the contractor, and your bill is reduced by that amount. You never front the rebate and you never wait for it. For a lower-income household the approved work can be covered in full, which means the number you pay is zero.

That is what Michigan Saves is for. It is an unsecured loan from $1,000 to $50,000 at a fixed rate not exceeding 7% APR, over terms up to 180 months, and Consumers Energy buys the rate down further in its territory. The lender pays us directly when the work is signed off, and you repay them. Rebates and financing stack, up to 100% of the project cost.

Often, yes. A Consumers Energy rebate and a MiHER rebate can both apply to the same project, up to 100% of its cost, and a Michigan Saves loan can cover the remainder. What you cannot do is claim both MiHER HOMES and MiHER HEAR for the same measure.

It is a diagnostic survey of the whole house — a blower door test to measure how much air leaks out, infrared imaging to find where insulation is missing, combustion safety checks on the furnace and water heater, and measurements of every space. It produces an energy model that predicts how much a given set of improvements would save. Every one of these programs is built on it: the rebate amount comes from the model, not from an opinion about the house.

Somebody other than us, in every program. MiHER sends a program representative, Consumers Energy requires a post-inspection and verification before the rebate is paid, and the Weatherization Assistance Program uses its own quality control inspector. The inspection happens after the work and before the money, which is how these programs protect the homeowner.

Longer than a normal repair, and we will not pretend otherwise. Income verification takes a few weeks. The scope then has to be pre-approved before any work starts, and the program itself warns that high demand can stretch timelines. If something in your home is broken right now — no heat, no hot water — do not wait on a rebate program. Call 211 or your utility, and let us quote the repair separately.

Not under MiHER HOMES. Only one HOMES rebate is available per address for the life of the program, so the first scope is the only scope. That is the single biggest reason to assess the whole house properly before anything is decided, rather than picking off one room.

Possibly, but your landlord has to take part. MiHER covers rental and multifamily housing, and each unit of a duplex or townhome is treated as its own project with its own rebate, qualified on the income of the people living in that unit. If you rent, the useful first step is getting your landlord into the conversation.

Quite possibly more than to an owner-occupier. Each unit is a separate project with its own ceiling, qualified on its own occupants, so a small portfolio can be several funded projects rather than one. It is worth one conversation.

Yes. Mobile and manufactured homes are treated as single-family homes under MiHER and are eligible for rebates.

It does for one part. The HEAR rebates will not pay to replace a heat pump you already have — they are for new construction, for replacing a non-electric appliance, or for a first heat pump. Insulation and air sealing are unaffected, and the Consumers Energy rebates still apply.

Ingham, Eaton, Clinton and Shiawassee counties, which is the same area Capital Area Community Services covers for weatherization, and we travel further for larger jobs. The Consumers Energy rebates apply anywhere Consumers Energy provides your gas or electric service.