Furnace and AC replacement grants in 2026: free HVAC help that actually exists

Updated June 2026 · The Grant Map tracks 18,817 heating and cooling programs across 2,203 US cities

A dead furnace in January and a dead air conditioner in a Phoenix July are the two home repairs that cannot wait, which is exactly why they are the repairs the assistance system handles best. There is more free money for heating and cooling than for any other category of home repair, but it is split across five different kinds of programs that move at five different speeds, and people in a no-heat emergency routinely apply to the slow one.

This guide sorts them by speed and by dollar amount. The numbers come from our directory, which as of June 12, 2026 covers 59,181 programs across 2,203 US cities. Of those, 18,817 touch heating or cooling in some form. Among the 17,493 of them that publish a specific dollar cap, the median cap is $8,000, which is not a coincidence: that is roughly what a full furnace or central AC replacement costs installed, and program designers know it. 2,520 programs mention furnaces by name, 836 mention LIHEAP, and 7,311 mention weatherization. The help is real. The trick is matching your situation to the right track.

Track 1: LIHEAP crisis assistance, the no-heat emergency path

LIHEAP (the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) is famous for helping with heating bills, but most states also run a crisis component, and in many of them that crisis money can repair or outright replace a broken furnace. This is the fastest government help that exists for a no-heat household: federal rules require states to intervene in a heating crisis within 48 hours, and within 18 hours when the crisis is life-threatening.

The catch is that LIHEAP is federal money run by 50 different state offices, so the rules genuinely vary by state. Some states only pay the utility bill or the fuel delivery. Some repair a furnace but will not replace one. Some replace furnaces every winter as a routine matter, and some southern states flip the program around and use crisis funds for cooling during heat emergencies. Income limits also vary, generally around 150 percent of the federal poverty level or 60 percent of state median income. Our directory lists 836 LIHEAP entries and delivery agencies, and our LIHEAP, weatherization, and utility rebates guide explains how the three systems divide the work.

Two practical points people miss. First, you apply through your local community action agency or the county human services office, not a federal website. Second, the crisis track is something you have to ask for by name. If you call and say "I want to apply for energy assistance," you get the bill-help queue. If you say "I have no heat and I need crisis assistance," you get the fast track. Renters qualify for LIHEAP, and households where the heat is included in rent can sometimes qualify too.

Track 2: Weatherization, the furnace replacement hiding inside a free energy program

The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) is best known for free insulation and air sealing, but heating system work is built into it. When the program's energy auditor inspects your home and finds a furnace that is unsafe, broken, or wildly inefficient, repair or replacement of that furnace becomes part of the free work order. In cold states this is one of the most common ways low income households get a new furnace without paying anything. The same audit can add a heat pump or cooling measures in hot climates. Our directory lists 7,311 weatherization programs and local delivery agencies, and our energy programs page shows what serves your area.

Eligibility is income-based (roughly 200 percent of the federal poverty level in most states, and being on SSI or SNAP often qualifies you automatically), homeowners and renters both qualify, and the service is genuinely free, no lien, no payback. The honest downside is speed: weatherization is the deep, thorough track, not the fast one. Waitlists in busy states run months, sometimes longer, and the program prioritizes seniors, households with young children, and people with disabilities. That is exactly why the right move is to apply before the emergency: a household that gets on the list in June is positioned for a furnace decision before the cold arrives. If the furnace dies while you wait, the LIHEAP crisis track above exists for precisely that gap, and being on the weatherization list does not hurt your crisis application. The two stack.

One more stacking note for rural homeowners age 62 and older: the USDA Section 504 program pays a grant of up to $10,000 for health and safety repairs (a dead furnace qualifies) for very low income owners in USDA-eligible areas, plus a separate loan of up to $40,000 at 1 percent interest for very low income owners of any age. The grant part is a true grant. The loan part is a loan, and we will keep saying which is which.

Track 3: City emergency furnace and AC funds, the layer people skip

Cities and counties turn federal block grant money and local budgets into emergency repair programs, and a failed heating or cooling system is the textbook case they exist for. These programs sit between LIHEAP's speed and weatherization's depth: decisions in days or weeks for emergencies, real dollar amounts, and they are run by an office in your own city hall. A few live examples from our directory, with the actual caps:

• Columbus, Ohio runs a Critical Home Repair Program with city-funded grants up to $20,000 that explicitly cover furnaces and hot water tanks for low and moderate income homeowners, and veterans qualify at up to 120 percent of area median income.
• Jacksonville, Florida pays up to $12,000 through its Emergency Repair Program for immediate threats to life and safety, and HVAC replacement is first on its list of eligible repairs, for owner-occupants at or below 80 percent of the Duval County median income.
• Maricopa County, Arizona (listed on our Phoenix page) runs an Emergency Home Repair Program up to $10,000 with an explicit emphasis on non-functioning air conditioning and heating during extreme weather, prioritizing seniors and disabled residents in heat season. It serves county homeowners outside the Phoenix, Glendale, and Mesa city limits, each of which runs its own programs, which is a good example of why you check your exact city.
• Oakland, California offers an Emergency Home Repair Grant up to $10,000 for owner-occupants at or below 50 percent of area median income, covering non-functioning heating systems alongside roof leaks and hazardous electrical.
• Chicago folds HVAC into its Home Repair Program at up to $30,000 per home for income-eligible owner-occupants, roughly 175 homes per funding cycle, which is also a preview of the honest catch: city programs are budgeted, and when the cycle fills, you wait for the next one.
• Boston runs a Senior Home Repair Loan, and we label it that way on purpose: up to $12,000 at 0 percent interest, deferred, aimed primarily at replacing failed heating systems for owner-occupants age 62 and older. No payment is due while you stay in the home, but it is a loan with a lien, not a grant.

Every sizable city has some version of this. The names differ (emergency repair, critical repair, minor home repair, healthy homes), the income line is usually 80 percent of area median income, and almost all require that you own the home and live in it. Look up your city to see yours, or read our full home improvement grants guide for how the whole four-layer system fits together.

Track 4: Utility rebates and free replacement programs

Your electric or gas utility is the sleeper in this list. Nearly every regulated utility runs two relevant things. The first is rebates on efficient equipment: heat pumps, central AC, smart thermostats, furnaces above a certain efficiency rating. These are not income-gated, they are fast (often an instant discount through a participating contractor or a check within weeks), and they stack on top of everything else on this page. The second is income-qualified free programs, where the utility funds its own weatherization-style service, sometimes including heating system repair or replacement, on top of the federal program, often with a shorter line.

The dollar amounts vary by utility and by state, and some state-run electrification rebates now reach further than people expect: income-qualified Fresno homeowners, for example, can get up to $8,000 toward an electric heat pump through California's state-administered Affordable Heat Pump Program. Check your utility's website for "rebates" and "income-qualified programs," and check our HVAC programs page for what we track in your area. One warning that belongs here rather than in the scam section: utility rebates are claimed through paperwork your contractor often files. Get the rebate amount in writing on the quote, because a rebate the contractor pockets through an inflated price is not a rebate.

Track 5: The 25C federal tax credit, and why 2025 was its last year

The federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (the 25C credit) paid back 30 percent of the cost of a qualifying heat pump, up to $2,000 per year, with no income limit, inside a larger annual structure: up to $1,200 per year for other efficiency improvements like insulation, efficient AC, and furnaces that meet the spec, for a combined ceiling of $3,200 in a single tax year. Here is the part most pages have not caught up with: federal legislation passed in July 2025 ended the credit for equipment placed in service after December 31, 2025. Many program entries in our directory still describe the credit as running through 2032, because that was the original schedule before Congress cut it short. If your heat pump or furnace was installed and running during 2025, you can still claim the credit on IRS Form 5695 when you file your 2025 return.

Two honest caveats for anyone still claiming it. First, this is a tax credit, not a check at the register: you paid for the equipment up front and get the benefit at tax time. Second, it is nonrefundable, meaning it can only reduce tax you actually owe, so a household with little or no federal tax liability gets little or nothing from it, which is exactly the household every other track on this page is for. For an installation happening in 2026, do not budget around 25C: confirm the current law with the IRS or your tax preparer, and treat utility rebates and the grant tracks above as the plan.

The loans, named as loans

Search results for "furnace grants" are full of loan products wearing grant costumes, so here is the plain list. The FHA 203(k) rehab mortgage and FHA Title I home improvement loans are loans. You repay every dollar with interest. They are legitimate, federally insured, and useful for people above grant income limits, and they are not grants, no matter what an ad says. The same goes for most "state energy financing" programs and for anything a contractor offers at the kitchen table. City programs structured as deferred or forgivable loans (like Boston's above, or the many city programs that forgive the balance after you stay 5 to 15 years) live in between: you may never pay a dollar, but there is a lien on your home and terms you should read before signing. A true grant has no lien and no payback. Ask which one you are being offered, and get the answer in writing.

The honest timeline: which track moves at which speed

This is the part most pages will not tell you, and it is the part that determines what you should do today.

• No heat in winter: LIHEAP crisis and city emergency funds are built for this, and they move in days. Many states also enforce winter utility shutoff moratoriums while you apply. This is the only genuinely fast lane in the whole system.
• No AC in a dangerous heat wave: a newer fast lane, and a patchier one. Cooling crisis help exists and is growing (Arizona's county program above prioritizes exactly this), but fewer states treat no-AC as an emergency than no-heat. If you are medically vulnerable, say so in the application; it changes your priority.
• Old system, still running: weatherization and city rehab programs, with waitlists measured in months. This is the high-dollar, no-payback track, and it rewards applying early.
• Summer is application season for winter. Program years commonly reset in July or October, funding is first come, first served, and the no-heat crush hits every agency in November. A weatherization or city-program application filed in June or July is sitting near the front of the line when the cold comes. Applying for furnace help in January means competing with everyone else's January.

The documents are the same everywhere, so gather them once: proof of income for the household (30 to 60 days of pay stubs or award letters), the most recent tax return, the deed or mortgage statement, a photo ID, a utility bill, and a couple of phone photos of the dead unit. You do not need a contractor's estimate first; these programs inspect and scope the work themselves, and most assign their own approved contractor.

How to spot an HVAC grant scam in five seconds

• Real programs never charge an application fee. Anyone asking for a fee, a deposit, or a card number to "process your grant" is a thief.
• "Free furnace" door-knockers are selling something. The common version signs you up for financing dressed as a government program, or claims your utility rebate while quoting you an inflated price. Government offices do not canvass neighborhoods, and the real free programs above never start at your doorstep.
• Check where the application lives. Legitimate applications sit on .gov sites, your utility's official site, or a community action agency's page, and they are free to file.
• No one can guarantee approval. Including us. Funding runs out, income lines are real, and anyone promising a sure thing is lying to you.

Common questions

Can I really get a furnace replaced completely free?

Yes, if your income qualifies. The three genuinely free paths are LIHEAP crisis funds (in states whose crisis component covers replacement), the Weatherization Assistance Program (when its audit finds the furnace unsafe or failed), and city emergency repair grants like the Columbus, Jacksonville, and Oakland programs above. Free means free: no lien, no payback, no fee to apply. The income lines are usually 80 percent of area median income for city programs and around 200 percent of the poverty level for weatherization, which is higher than most people assume.

Is air conditioning covered, or only heat?

Increasingly both, but unevenly. Cold-state programs were built around furnaces; hot-state and hot-county programs now treat failed cooling as the same class of emergency, and some LIHEAP offices use crisis funds for cooling during declared heat events. Heat pumps blur the line in your favor, since one unit does both jobs and qualifies under heating, cooling, and electrification programs at once. Check your city's actual program list rather than assuming.

I rent. Is any of this for me?

More than you would guess. LIHEAP serves renters directly, including many whose heat is included in rent. Weatherization serves renters with the landlord's signoff, and the furnace it replaces belongs to the building, but the lower bills and working heat belong to you. City repair grants are the owner-occupant track and generally exclude rentals. If your landlord will not fix the heat, that is a code enforcement call, not a grant application.

Is the heat pump tax credit cash I can use to pay the contractor?

No, and for most 2026 installations it is no longer available at all: federal law ended the 25C credit for equipment placed in service after December 31, 2025. Where it still applies (a 2025 installation you have not yet claimed), it arrives when you file your taxes, it requires that you owe federal tax for it to offset, and you front the cost in the meantime. Utility rebates are the up-front discount. Households with low or no tax liability should lean on the grant tracks instead.

Do I have to pay any of this back?

True grants and weatherization, no. LIHEAP crisis help, no. Deferred and forgivable city loans, usually no, provided you stay in the home for the stated period, but a lien sits on the title until the term runs out. FHA 203(k), Title I, and the USDA 504 loan portion are real loans you repay in full (the 504 grant portion, up to $10,000 for qualifying seniors, is a true grant). Every program office will tell you which structure it uses if you ask directly. Ask directly.

Program counts and dollar figures reflect our directory data as of June 12, 2026. Program rules, income limits, and funding cycles change throughout the year, so always confirm current terms on the official program page before applying.