Assessments take a few hours, but contractors' calendars can fill up before a deadline. Book early.
A participating contractor checks your whole house and shows where it wastes energy. It's required for whole-home rebates of up to 75% of the project (up to $15,000), and it costs $100 at BGE and Pepco, or nothing for eligible lower-income households. Why it comes first →
Pick the company on your electric bill and what heats your home today. You'll see what your utility pays, the deadline, and the official page, copied straight from the utility's own site.
Your bill may show two companies: the utility that delivers your power, and a supplier you may have chosen to buy it from. Pick the utility (BGE, Pepco, Delmarva, Potomac Edison or SMECO). That's the one whose rebates you get, whatever your supplier. Pepco and BGE both say so on their rebate pages.
MBRACE checked these pages so you don't have to. He's the DMV's curious koala. He goes to the official source, writes down the date, and shows you where every number came from.
A home energy assessment (sometimes called an energy audit) is a visit from a trained participating contractor who checks the whole house, not just the furnace. It's the step most people skip, and skipping it can cost the most.
In Maryland, whole-home rebates of up to 75% of the project, up to $15,000 when you switch from gas, oil or propane, start with the assessment. Your rebate is based on the savings the contractor calculates from it. No assessment, no whole-home rebate.
Pepco describes it as a "comprehensive evaluation of your home systems (air sealing and insulation, HVAC, and more) to identify where energy is being wasted." You get a detailed report with recommended fixes and the rebate for each one.
General guidance, not a program rule: a house that leaks less heat needs less heating. Sealing and insulating first can mean a smaller heat pump that costs less to buy and to run, and keeps rooms more even. That's why BGE requires attic air sealing and insulation before heat pumps count toward its whole-home rebate.
BGE and Pepco each charge $100 for the assessment, which they call "a $400 value." Lower-income households may get it at no cost: Pepco offers a Moderate Income option, and BGE says eligible customers can get the audit "at no additional cost."
Sources, checked October 31, 2026: Pepco Home Performance · BGE Home Performance · BGE Home Performance rebates
BGE, Pepco and Delmarva's Home Performance with ENERGY STAR programs pay a share of a whole-home project: air sealing, insulation, and often a new heat pump. Here's the rule, in each utility's own words:
"Rebate amount based on modeled … savings up to $10,000 or 75% of total project cost; up to a maximum of $15,000 or 75% of job cost if your project includes switching a combustion-fuel furnace, boiler, or water heater to a qualifying electric heat pump."
In plain words:
Sources, checked October 31, 2026: BGE Home Performance rebates · Pepco Home Performance rebates · Delmarva Home Performance rebates
Maryland's EmPOWER Limited Income program, run by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), installs energy upgrades at no charge for eligible households. Check the income limit for your household size.
You're also automatically income-eligible if you currently take part in programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, TANF, HUD housing assistance, utility bill assistance through OHEP, and others on DHCD's full list. The program may provide insulation, hot water system improvements, furnace cleaning, tuning and safety repairs, and health and safety items. Ask DHCD what it can do for heating equipment in your home.
DHCD EmPOWER Limited Income program → · Phone 1-855-583-8976 (Maryland only)
Eight quick questions. We'll show you which answers matter and why. This helps you decide what to ask. It isn't an inspection: only a technician who sees your equipment can diagnose it.
Most lost rebates come from doing things out of order: buying first, then learning the program needed an assessment or a participating contractor.
In Maryland, this is the first real step. It shows where your house wastes energy, and it's required for the biggest rebates: up to 75% of the project, up to $15,000. BGE and Pepco charge $100, or nothing for eligible lower-income households. Why it matters →
Pick the company that delivers your power, not your supplier. Whole-home projects need a reservation by December 31, 2026, and BGE and Potomac Edison need HVAC installs done by then.
Use the eight questions above. Planning before something breaks gives you time to use rebates properly.
A tighter house needs a smaller system. BGE requires attic air sealing and insulation before heat pumps count toward its whole-home rebate.
Ask for a Manual J load calculation. It tells you what size system the house actually needs.
Maryland's rebates are paid through participating contractors. A non-participating installer can cost you the rebate. Get two or three quotes.
The six steps, the five contractor questions and your utility's deadline on one page. We'll also email you when Maryland's 2027 rebates are announced.
Yes. Rebates come from the utility that delivers your power, not the supplier. Pepco's page says "All Pepco residential electric customers are eligible, regardless of your electricity supplier," and BGE's says its customers are eligible "regardless of your electricity and/or natural gas supplier."
No. Utilities list two different offers. You get the one that matches what you're replacing: the switching (electrification) amount if you're moving off gas, oil or propane, and the efficiency amount if you're replacing electric equipment.
Efficiency levels set by each utility using the equipment's SEER2 (cooling) and HSPF2 (heating) ratings. Higher-rated equipment reaches Tier 2 and earns more. Your contractor can tell you which tier a model meets.
As of October 31, 2026, BGE and Pepco say they're waiting on a Public Service Commission decision about extending programs into 2027. Amounts and rules could change. We'll update this page when the decision is published.
No. The federal 25C credit doesn't cover heat pumps placed in service after December 31, 2025. Utility and state programs are what's left.
Because the honest answer depends on your house, your equipment and your energy prices. A guessed number can cost you money. We show the official rebate amounts and deadlines, with the date we checked them.
Not rechecked on Oct 31: the federal 25C end date (from IRS guidance, checked Oct 15, 2026). Amounts are subject to change and available while funding lasts, per the utilities. The utility's own page is always the final word.
Every change to a fact on this page is listed here with its date, what changed, and why.
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| Oct 31, 2026 | Made the home energy assessment step 1 on the road, and added a first-step box at the top. |
| Oct 31, 2026 | Explained utility vs. supplier at the utility picker and in the FAQ (Pepco and BGE Home Performance rebate pages). |
| Oct 31, 2026 | Added "Why the energy assessment comes first," from Pepco and BGE's Home Performance pages. |
| Oct 31, 2026 | Added "Whole-home rebates: how up to 75% works," checked against BGE, Pepco and Delmarva's Home Performance rebate pages. |
| Oct 31, 2026 | Page first published. All amounts, deadlines and income limits checked against the official pages listed in Sources. |