Need help paying for a heat pump?
Rebates lower the price, but they still assume you can pay the rest. If your heating system is unsafe or has failed and a new one is out of reach, these programs repair or replace equipment at low or no cost for income-qualified households. We are an independent information site — we don't fund, discount, or install equipment — so these are the doors to knock on first:
- Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). Free energy and health-and-safety repairs — an unsafe furnace is exactly the kind of problem it fixes — for households at or near 200% of the poverty line. Apply through your local community action agency: how to apply (energy.gov).
- LIHEAP. Heating-bill help plus, in most states, a crisis component for broken or dangerous heating equipment. Same local agency; find your state contact.
- USDA Section 504 Home Repair. For homeowners outside cities: 1% loans up to $40,000, and grants up to $10,000 for homeowners 62 and older to remove health and safety hazards. Program page and state offices (rd.usda.gov).
- Your utility and 211. Most electric and gas utilities run an income-qualified assistance fund — call the number on your bill and ask. Dialing 211 reaches a local specialist who knows which agencies currently have funds.
Safety first: if a technician has told you a heat exchanger is cracked, stop using the furnace and make sure you have a working carbon monoxide detector before anything else.