An Opportunity to Make Home Retrofits More Affordable

This briefing by RMI discusses how state energy offices in the United States can optimize the deployment of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds by enabling 'stacking'—the ability for households to combine multiple federal, state, and utility incentives for whole-home retrofits.

• State energy offices are central to the deployment of IRA funds, specifically as the primary recipients of $8.8 billion designated for national efficiency and electric appliance rebates.
• The process of 'stacking' involves using multiple incentives for a single home upgrade to lower upfront costs; for instance, a homeowner might combine a utility rebate, a home efficiency and appliance rebate, and the energy efficient home improvement tax credit to install an air source heat pump.
• Three primary barriers hinder the effective stacking of incentives: a lack of public guidance for residents and contractors, inconsistent program requirements (such as income eligibility and performance standards), and the burden of completing too many separate applications for a single retrofit.
• The IRA does not fully cover all costs associated with whole-home retrofits, leaving funding gaps in three key areas: health and safety repairs (e.g., toxic chemical removal and roof repair), the higher cost of cold climate heat pump technology, and electrical system upgrades.
• To fill funding gaps, states are encouraged to utilize specific funding sources, including the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the Revolving Loan Fund, the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant, and utility incentives.

APA

RMI (2023). An Opportunity to Make Home Retrofits More Affordable. https://rmi.org/resources/an-opportunity-to-make-home-retrofits-more-affordable/

Chicago

RMI. An Opportunity to Make Home Retrofits More Affordable. 2023. https://rmi.org/resources/an-opportunity-to-make-home-retrofits-more-affordable/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=An Opportunity to Make Home Retrofits More Affordable |date=6 December 2023 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/an-opportunity-to-make-home-retrofits-more-affordable/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2023opportunity, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{An Opportunity to Make Home Retrofits More Affordable}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/an-opportunity-to-make-home-retrofits-more-affordable/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }