Oregon's New Heat Pump Program Has Officially Launched. Here's Who Qualifies

If you're an Oregon resident who wants to live more comfortably in your Beaver State home (or rental), the Department of Energy (ODOE)'s latest Heat Pump Purchase Program officially spun up in June 2025. Heat pumps are an ideal choice for those looking to stave off the cold without substantially increasing their carbon footprint. Among the many different options to heat your home, these devices utilize electricity to transfer heat from one location to another, allowing them to act as both an air conditioner and heater, despite not generating any new heat of their own. The most popular modern air-to-air heat pumps are so energy-efficient that they could reduce your electricity use by upwards of 50 percent compared to traditional furnaces. This first round of funding from the ODOE will offer up to $2,000 each for 6,000 eligible homes, and the only absolute requirement on behalf of consumers is that you hire an approved contractor to do the installation.

Funded as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, these 6,000 incentives will be divided up between various types of homes: 1,000 to homeowners, 3,000 to renters, and 2,000 to new construction. There are environmental rating requirements for the types of heat pumps installed, and the heat pump in question may have been purchased prior to the June 17 start date — it just has to be installed after that point to be eligible for an ODOE application. While this Oregon incentive can be stacked with other federal incentives for up to $4,000, it cannot be combined with other Oregon-based programs that utilize federal funding, like the Home Efficiency Rebate Program (HOMES).

If you miss your chance to secure an eligible contractor for Oregon's Heat Pump Purchase Program in this current wave, there's still hope on the horizon. A second round of funding is set to roll out in 2027, which will also provide 6,000 incentives of up to $2,000. In fact, this is not the only program that the state of Oregon has rolled out to help reduce your energy costs at home with more efficient heat pumps, which means it's likely not the last. Legislators passed Senate Bill 1536 in 2022 following the previous year's Northwest heat dome, which resulted in over 600 deaths between the U.S. and Canada, including around 100 Oregonians. This bill funded a Community Heat Pump Deployment Program for homeowners, as well as a Rental Home Heat Pump Program.

Heat Pumps are an incredibly versatile HVAC system to install, covering both heating and cooling with fewer fossil fuel emissions. However, there are still questions you should consider about the downsides of using a heat pump and whether one is right for your home. While it is more costly to install than other options, these incentives from Oregon should help mitigate that concern for you and the contractors you hire. But that doesn't change the fact that air-source heat pumps, in particular, tend to have a shorter lifespan than options like gas furnaces, while being noisier in general. Still, Oregon residents should absolutely give their local incentive programs a look to see if heat pumps might be their best choice.