Residential Energy Efficiency/Demand Side Management Programs
As of 9/1/2025, Inter-County Energy offers the following revised Demand-Side Management Programs including Rebates, and Incentives to assist our members in saving energy while living comfortable in the process. Contact the Member Services Department for further details on the changes. Incentives are available to those members that meet certain requirements when weatherizing their home, building a new home, or changing out their old resistance type of heating. It is recommended that you check with Inter-County Energy member services personnel before purchasing any equipment to insure they qualify. Inter-County Energy does not in any way constitute a warranty expressed or implied or guarantee any products or specific energy savings.
HVAC and Insulation Contractors
We have included a list of licensed Heating/Air Conditioning Contractors certified by the State of Kentucky. Phone numbers are provided if available. Inter-County in no way guarantees the quality of workmanship of these contractors. This list is only provided as a source of information for the public. *DENOTES CONTRACTORS INSTALLING GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS.
Inter-County recommends that members secure references prior to selecting a contractor. If any consumer has questions about the quality of workmanship of any of these contractors, contact the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, Division of HVAC at 1-502-573-0395.
Insulation Contractor List
You will also find a local insulation contractor. We encourage our members to at the minimum get at least two estimates before your insulation project begins. This list includes contractors that provide an insulation service for all types of insulation. If you have any questions or comments, please contact our Member Services Department at 859-236-4561.
Energy Audit Program: This service provides the member with an energy analysis of their home, while offering recommendations and tips for improving the efficiency of the home. This is a FREE service provided to Inter-County Energy members.
Demand Side Management Program list for 2025 Revised 9/1/2025
Touchstone New Construction Program: Touchstone New Construction Program (Heat Pump and Geothermal) The Touchstone Energy Home standards are designed to provide homeowners superior comfort and energy savings. Following these guidelines and working closely with an Inter-County energy advisor will help you achieve the most out of your new home. Home will meet 2009 IECC code requirements. Please see an energy advisor for more details. The program process is as follows:
1. Contact Inter-County Energy’s Member Services Department.
2. A pre-drywall inspection (Complete thermal bypass checklist including slab) must be performed.
3. A final inspection and testing of the amount of outside air infiltration is determined.
4. Note: Efficiency rating of heat pumps will be required to be 15.2 SEER and 7.8 HSPF.
5. Other requirements: Attic insulation will require R-44. NO gas appliances except for dual-fuel HVAC.
The house must be completed before a blower door test can be performed to verify that the house meets the standard. Additional savings may be accomplished by participating in our Demand Load Control program. The maximum amount of the incentive is $750 and will depend on what method is used, Prescriptive or Performance. The home is to be total electric with the exception of fireplaces with gas logs.
Heat Pump Retrofit for Stick-Built and Manufactured Homes: Replacement of resistance heat is required such as baseboard, ceiling cable, electric furnace, or an ETS/Electric Thermal Storage to be eligible for an incentive. If you are replacing your existing resistance heat source while meeting the specifications for Geothermal (meeting ARI-325 standards), Air-Source Heat Pump or a Mini-Split Heat Pump, it will make you eligible for an incentive. There are currently different levels of incentives available based on the SEER and HSPF of the new heating/cooling system. Ductwork is encouraged to be sealed to less than 10%. Geothermal systems must have closed loop systems. New Manufactured homes are eligible and have no minimum zone requirement.
AHRI Rating Incentives
| Central Ducted Systems | |
| DOE Federal Minimum standard heat pumps | $750 |
| Split System (New Standard) =15.2SEER2/ 7.8HSPF2 | $1,000 |
| MINI-SPLIT HEAT PUMP rebates listed below include one outdoor unit to qualify. Max of three head units allowed. | |
| Heat Pump Mini-Split-1 indoor head unit | $500 |
| Heat Pump Mini-Split-2 indoor head units | $1,000 |
| Heat Pump Mini-Split-3 indoor head units | $1,500 |
High-Efficiency Heat Pump - New
A few requirements for this program area as follows.
1. Must be ducted and the primary source of heat for the home.
2. Must meet the SEER(2) and HSPF(2) specs of the current EPA Energy Star Standard.
Energy Star ASHP Level - $500 Up to 2 HEHP incentives per calendar year, per premise/location. Max of 6 rebates lifetime per premise/location.
Energy Star ccASHP or Geothermal Heat Pump Level - $1,000 Up to 2 HEHP incentives per calendar year, per premise/location. Max of 6 rebates lifetime per premise/location.
Energy Star Heat Pump Water Heaters - $250 Two Energy Star certified heat pump water heaters per calendar year, per premise/location. Max of 4 rebates per premise/location. Heat pump water heaters in new manufactured housing are not eligible for the incentive.
Heat pump top heat pump program and can be stackable with our Touchstone Energy Home Program
Button Up Weatherization Program
An incentive is available to residences that currently have or are in the process of installing electric heat as the primary heating source and are improving and upgrading attic insulation levels. To qualify, the residence must be a minimum of 2 years old and have a heat gain/heat loss analysis performed prior to improvements being made. A heat loss reduction will be determined by Inter-County Energy personnel. The typical Air Sealing portion of the Button Up incentive could include caulking, improved window, and door seals, etc. The HVAC duct sealing portion of this program can be utilized to air seal HVAC duct systems located in un-heated spaces. Air sealing ducts with traditional mastic sealers is an effective way to lower energy costs. For homes that have two or more separately ducted heat systems, each system will qualify independently for the incentive. Check out videos on You Tube on installing insulation and the use of infrared cameras.
Incentives: The incentive for the Button-Up Program will pay a total payment of $100 per thousand btuh reduced to the retail member up to the maximum rebate incentive of $1,875. The HVAC duct sealing portion of the Button-Up program will pay a $500 incentive to residential members (or their contractor) that meets the eligibility requirements for duct sealing listed above. To receive this incentive for the Weatherization portion, an Inter-County Energy representative must make a visit to see the area prior to work being performed. To receive the incentive for the HVAC Duct Seal portion, a visit by an energy advisor is required to perform a “pre” and “post” blower door test to measure actual BTUs reduced. This will determine the incentive amount.
Water Heaters: Replacing your water heater?
ENERGY STAR® certified heat pump water heaters (also known as hybrid water heaters) are one of the highest efficiency ways to produce hot water. This means they can help you save big on your energy bill. If it’s time to replace your existing water heater, consider installing an ENERGY STAR ® certified heat pump water heater and we’ll provide a $250 rebate. Find more information about ENERGY STAR ® certified heat pump water heaters here.
CARES Program (Community Assistance Resources for Energy Savings Inter-County Energy’s Community Assistance Resources for Energy Savings (“CARES”) Program provides an incentive to enhance the weatherization and energy-efficiency services provided to members by the Kentucky Community Action Agencies (CAA) network. Co-ops provide an incentive to the CAA implementing the project on behalf of the member. This program is available to members who qualify for weatherization and energy-efficiency services through their local CAA in all service territories of participating cooperatives. The maximum incentive possible per household is $3,000.
Demand Load Control/Simple Saver Program will come to an End October 1, 2025: The SimpleSaver device(s) voluntarily installed near your air-conditioning unit(s) and/or near your water heater have come to the end of its service life. Beginning October 1, 2025, you will no longer receive the annual credit for the device(s). Please call our partner, Utility Partners of America (UPA) at 1-800-305-5493 to schedule a time for the technician to come out and remove the outdated devices near your water heater(s) and/or air conditioning unit(s). They’ll take care of everything with one visit to your home. Again, thank you for being an Inter-County Energy member and a SimpleSaver program participant. We hope you have enjoyed receiving the bill credit as a SimpleSaver participant and the satisfaction of helping your co-op keep energy costs low.
Bring Your Own Thermostat (BYOT): Any “Smart” thermostat purchased after March 2, 2019 is eligible to participate and will receive a $10 sign-on bonus and a $100 incentive which will applied to the account. If you are already participating in the Simple Saver Switch Program with an a/c switch, you will not be permitted to participate in both. A list of the eligible thermostat brands that qualify for the program/incentive are available by contacting Inter-County. Sign-Up for the Thermostat Program
Loan Program: Available to qualifying Inter-County Energy members to be used for installing geothermal and air-to-air heat pump equipment in their homes. Loans are available up to a maximum of $10,000.00 for a maximum term of 5 years. For more information on the loan process and current rate, please contact Morgan Janssen at 859-936-7821.
PrePay or Pay As You Go Metering: With the Prepay Service Program (“Prepay”), residential members may purchase electricity before they use it. Prepay residential members avoid paying deposits, late fees, collection fees and/or reconnect fees. Prepay provides members the chance to become more aware of energy usage and better manage energy consumption.
Levelized Billing Program: Inter-County Energy offers a Levelized Billing Program for residential members that will ease the burden of high bills and allow you to pay an average bill each month. Levelized billing is based on a rolling average number of kilowatthours used in the past 12 months. This means that the payment amount will be only slightly different each month. Members’ accounts can be set up on levelized billing at any time the account has a zero balance.
On-Line Bill Pay: Downloading our SmartHub app will give you access to our On-Line Bill Pay system. This access will allow you to pay your bill on-line and check your daily usage for more convenience. It will also allow you to manage your usage by seeing exactly what you use during the warm and cold temperatures.
It is recommended that you check with Inter-County Energy Member Services personnel before purchasing any equipment to insure they qualify for any rebates/incentives. Inter-County Energy does not in any way constitute a warranty expressed or implied or guarantee any products or specific energy savings. Please check with one of our energy advisors to see how you can qualify and further understand each program.
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