Short answerDTE Energy offers residential rebates for qualifying high-efficiency furnaces, central air conditioners, heat pumps, smart thermostats and, in some years, tune-ups and duct sealing. Equipment must meet that year's efficiency threshold, applications are filed after installation with the invoice and model numbers, and amounts change annually. Check dte.com for the current list before choosing equipment.
Who the program is for
If your gas or electric bill comes from DTE Energy, and in the 20 miles around Ypsilanti that is nearly everyone from Ann Arbor to Livonia and Belleville to Northville, you are eligible for DTE's residential energy efficiency rebates. The program is funded through a small charge on every bill under Michigan's energy waste reduction law, which means you are already paying into it whether you claim anything or not.
The program covers more than HVAC, but the HVAC measures are where the larger dollar amounts have been. What follows is the shape of the program as it has run in recent years. Specific amounts and thresholds reset each program year and funds for some measures run out before year end, so treat this as a map and dte.com as the source of truth.
The HVAC measures DTE has rebated
- High-efficiency gas furnaces. A rebate for condensing furnaces at or above a stated AFUE, typically 95% or 96%, often with an additional amount if the furnace has an ECM (electronically commutated) blower motor. An 80% furnace never qualifies.
- Central air conditioners. A rebate tied to SEER2 and EER2 tiers. Entry-level 14.3 SEER2 units have usually fallen below the line; two-stage 16 SEER2 and above have qualified.
- Air-source heat pumps. Larger rebates than for AC, with tiers for standard and cold-climate models, and in some years extra for a dual-fuel configuration with a gas furnace. This is where DTE has put the most money recently, in line with the state's electrification push.
- Heat pump water heaters. A separate rebate on the electric side.
- Smart thermostats. A modest rebate, sometimes delivered as a discount through DTE's online marketplace rather than a mail-in application, and sometimes tied to enrollment in a demand-response program that lets DTE nudge your thermostat a couple of degrees on peak summer afternoons.
- Furnace and AC tune-ups. In some program years DTE has rebated a portion of a professional tune-up performed by a participating contractor.
- Duct sealing and insulation. Rebates through the home performance side of the program, sometimes requiring a blower door or duct leakage test.
- Home energy assessments. Free or low-cost audits that can unlock the larger whole-home rebates.
How qualification works
DTE sets a threshold for each measure. For a furnace that is an AFUE number; for an AC or heat pump it is SEER2, EER2 and HSPF2; for a thermostat it is a list of approved models. The equipment either meets the threshold or it does not, and the AHRI certificate for a matched system is what proves it. A furnace advertised as "high efficiency" at 92% AFUE may fall short of a 95% threshold. We look up the current threshold for every piece of equipment we quote so that nobody buys a system expecting a rebate it does not earn.
Some measures require a participating contractor, which means the installing company is registered with DTE's program. Others only require the equipment and the paperwork. The program documents say which.
How to apply
- Keep the itemized invoice showing the equipment model numbers, the installation date and the address.
- Get the AHRI certificate number for a matched AC or heat pump system, which your contractor provides.
- Submit through DTE's online rebate portal, or by mail, usually within a window of 60 to 90 days after installation.
- For some measures the contractor submits on your behalf and the rebate is instant on the invoice.
- Wait. Mailed rebates have taken anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
Keep copies of everything. If a rebate is denied, the usual reasons are a model number that does not match the qualified products list, a missing AHRI number, or an application filed after the window closed, and all three are fixable only if you still have the paperwork. If you are selling the house within a year or two, the rebate paperwork and the permit also serve as proof to the buyer's inspector that the equipment is what the listing says it is.
We fill out the contractor section of the application for every qualifying install and give you the model numbers and certificate. We do not subtract the rebate from your quote, because the rebate is DTE's check to you, not a discount from us, and a program that runs out of funds in October does not change the price of a furnace installed in November.
The mistakes we see
- Buying equipment first and checking the threshold second. The most common one. A 95% furnace in a year the cutoff moved to 96% earns nothing.
- Missing the application deadline. The window after installation is finite.
- Assuming last year's amount. A rebate that was one amount in 2024 may be lower, higher or gone in 2026.
- Skipping the permit. DTE has required proof of a pulled permit for some measures, and the Washtenaw County and Wayne County building departments require one anyway. HVAC permits in Washtenaw County covers it.
- Mismatched systems. A new condenser on an old coil has no AHRI rating and cannot qualify.
- Confusing DTE's marketplace discounts with the rebate program. The online store sells discounted thermostats and sometimes smart devices; the rebate program covers installed equipment. They can overlap but are not the same.
Stacking DTE with other programs
A DTE rebate can usually be combined with the federal 25C tax credit on the same equipment, since they come from different sources. For income-qualified households, Michigan's HEAR rebates through EGLE may apply to heat pumps as well, with their own rules about combining. Michigan HVAC rebates and tax credits lays out how the four programs fit together. If your gas comes from Consumers Energy instead, in the Chelsea and Dexter area, see Consumers Energy rebates.
What this means when you are choosing equipment
The rebate rarely makes a decision on its own, but it tilts a close one. A homeowner in Ypsilanti Township weighing an 80% furnace against a 96% unit should know that the 96% choice brings a DTE rebate, the federal credit and roughly 15 percent lower gas use through 6,000-plus heating degree days, and that the premium shrinks accordingly. A homeowner in Canton replacing a 15-year-old AC should know that the step from 14.3 to 16 SEER2 two-stage is what crosses the rebate line and also what fixes the clammy afternoons. New furnace cost and new AC cost put market pricing next to those choices, and our furnace installation and AC installation estimates are free, with the rebate-qualifying tier clearly marked.