Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy - American Reinvestment and Recovery Act

Virginia Energy Geothermal Heat Pump Rebate Program

Updated on December 8, 2011

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: PROGRAM CLOSURE
on DECEMBER 31, 2011

DMME will close the Geothermal Heat Pump Rebate Program to new applicants on December 31, 2011 in order to allow time to close out currently-approved claims before the funding expires in April 2012. Because of the amount of time it is taking residents to have these systems installed, and the pending winter weather conditions that will factor into installation times, no new applications for geothermal heat pump rebates will be accepted after December 31, 2011.

NEW: Geothermal Heat Pump Rebate Program Opened June 20, 2011

Summary: Because of unclaimed and unreserved funds remaining from our Energy Efficiency Rebate Program, funding is available for homeowners to reserve funds for geothermal heat pump systems under our new Geothermal Heat Pump Rebate Program.

Rebates can be redeemed for 20% of the documented costs of qualifying geothermal heat pumps, up to $2,000 per residential property address.
Geothermal heat pump equipment purchased and installed on or after March 26, 2010 will be eligible for the rebate if it meets all other eligibility requirements.
This rebate is available to Virginia homeowners only. Homeowners must purchase their energy efficiency products and systems from a Virginia retailer or vendor, or a contractor with a license to do business in Virginia.
Applicants will have 60 days to complete their project once their reservation is approved. Up to 30-day extensions may be available if needed by contacting DMME staff and documenting the need for the extension.
If you received a rebate for a geothermal heat pump system under the previous Energy Efficiency Rebate Program, you cannot apply for a rebate for the same system under this new program.

Click here to reserve, check status or modify, or redeem a rebate: https://epm.virginiainteractive.org/HERebate

Tutorial: Learn how to use the online application and redeem a rebate:
Online Application Tutorial -
Online Application Tutorial -

Geothermal Heat Pump Measures and Equipment Requirements: : Measurements and Requirements

Terms and conditions: Geothermal General Terms and Conditions

Ask a question: Homeenergyrebate@dmme.virginia.gov

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions: Geothermal Heat Pump Frequently Asked Questions

Signature Form: Signature Form -
This form serves as a checklist for cost documentation, acceptance of terms and conditions by you and your contractor, and contractor information. You must sign and date page 2 of this form. If a contractor has been used to install items on your project list, the contractor also must sign and date the form on page 3. If you installed equipment yourself, please put “self-installed” on page 3 and submit the form with your other paperwork.

NEW - Manufacturer’s Certification Statement: This document can be obtained from your geothermal heat pump contractor or the manufacturer’s website, and provides proof that the installed unit meets Energy Star ratings and standards for geothermal heat pumps. Acceptable MCS documents include a Certification of Geothermal Property Compliance or an AHRI Certificate of Rating. Include the MCS document with your other paperwork to mail to us.

Bar-Coded Summary Page: This is a form that you will print at the end of the redemption process when you go into the on-line system to redeem your rebate. This form contains a unique bar code (your project ID number) that facilitates the processing of your rebate. The form also serves as a checklist for items you need to submit for cost documentation, depending on the energy efficiency item you installed; provides a summary of prices paid for your items and the rebate amount you should receive, based on the prices entered by you in the system; and provides the mailing address at the top of the form for the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy where your claim package is to be sent. Our mailing address for this program is: Home Efficiency Rebates, c/o DMME, 1100 Bank Street, Washington Building, 8th floor, Richmond, VA 23219.

Things to Do to Hasten the Review Process
Following these tips will help alleviate time-consuming reviews of extraneous paperwork and cut down on the follow-up emails we will have to send to applicants that have not included all the documents necessary to complete the review process and approve the claim for payment. In our previous energy efficiency rebate program, well over 50% of the claims received were missing documents needed to complete the approval process. Please pay close attention to the items required to be submitted with your claim to help alleviate the need to contact you multiple times to request missing paperwork. These items are listed on your bar-coded summary page.

DO send in your bar-coded summary page, copy of invoice/receipt, a Manufacturer’s Certification Statement showing the unit meets Energy Star standards, and Signature Forms (page 2 completed and signed by you, and page 3 completed and signed by your contractor). If the equipment is self installed, indicate that on page 3 of the Signature Form under contractor information.
Highlight the cost of item(s) on your invoice with a light colored marker, or circle the cost(s), especially if sending multiple receipts showing non-eligible items bought at the same time.
DO NOT send additional documents such as copies of equipment warranties, local permits, or proof of payment such as canceled checks or credit card statements. These documents are NOT required and only serve to slow down the review process.

Once You Redeem Your Rebate
Once we receive your rebate paperwork, it is reviewed for completeness. If you are missing any documentation, we will contact you via email and ask you to provide that information. Otherwise, when your redemption request has been processed, you will receive an email advising that your rebate claim has been approved for payment. The status of your application will then change from “payment pending” to “closed,” when you check its status by logging into your user account at https://epm.virginiainteractive.org/HERebate. You should receive your rebate check about 2-3 weeks after you receive that email.

NOTE: Please check your email’s junk mail and spam mailboxes occasionally, since some systems filter out emails sent from our staff and you will be unaware that we are trying to contact you.

Waiting List -- What does that mean?
The good news for applicants who are on the waiting list is that many if not most of you have a good chance of being approved for a rebate reservation. The bad news is that you will have to wait to learn whether and when your reservation will be approved. If you are near the top of the waiting list, you will learn relatively quickly whether your reservation will be approved. If you are near the bottom of the waiting list, you might have to wait two or three months, or longer.

Applications will be placed on the waiting list in the order in which they were received. You can determine your ranking on the waiting list by subtracting the current first wait-listed application project ID number from your project number. The first wait-listed project number will be provided on this webpage once applicants begin to be put on this list.

Here is how requests for rebate reservations on the waiting list can be approved. Even though all available funds have been reserved, applicants often redeem a lower amount of funds than their reservation allows. Other applicants with approved reservations are expected to redeem no rebate amount at all. Each of these events makes additional funds available and allows us to approve requests on the wait list.

Please do not call or send an email to ask about your place on the waiting list or to ask us to predict whether or when there will be enough funds to approve your reservation request. The Division of Energy receives a high volume of calls and emails for assistance to complete work on and redeem approved reservations. The more we can focus on this work, the faster more funds become available for applicants on the wait list. Distracting us from this work will only increase your wait time

The Geothermal Heat Pump Rebate Program is administered by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Virginian residents also might qualify for the federal Energy Efficiency Improvement Tax Credit Program, which provides a 30% tax credit, with no upper limit through 2016 on existing homes for geothermal heat pumps. Other more restrictive specifications apply in on some items installed in 2011. More information on the federal tax credits is available at www.energystar.gov.

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