Bay Area homeowners can get $1,500 to $15,000 to replace a wood stove or fireplace with an electric heat pump

Homeowners in San Jose and the rest of the Bay Area can apply for a grant of $1,500 to $15,000 to get rid of a wood-burning stove or fireplace and put in an electric heat pump, the Bay Area Air District said Thursday, Nov. 12.  The air district is the regional agency that regulates air pollution across the Bay Area.

The program is called Clean HEET, short for Clean Heating Efficiently with Electric Technology. Grants are handed out first come, first served, and the deadline to apply is 5 p.m. on March 10, 2027, the district says. Applications, rules and contact information are on the district’s Clean HEET website.

How much you can get

The amount depends on what you have now and what you replace it with, according to the district’s program page:

• Wood stove or wood-burning fireplace insert made in 2014 or earlier:  up to $15,000 to install a heat pump.  Made from 2015 to 2019:  up to $10,000.
• Pellet stove or pellet insert made in 2014 or earlier:  up to $15,000.
• Open-hearth or free-standing fireplace (any age):  up to $12,000.
• A second device:  up to $3,000 more.
• Low-income households that qualify:  up to $10,000 more.
• Removal only, without a heat pump:  $1,500 to take out an open fireplace or a wood stove or insert made in 1988 or earlier, plus $1,500 for a second device.

A heat pump is an electric system that moves heat rather than making it by burning fuel.  It pulls heat from outdoor air into the house in winter and runs in reverse to cool the house in summer, the district explains.  Electric or gas fireplaces, furnaces, air conditioners and portable heaters do not qualify.

The limits

The district’s program guidelines set these limits:

• No more than the project costs. The grant cannot be more than what the work actually costs after discounts, rebates, tax credits and other incentives are subtracted.
• You pay first. The grant is a reimbursement. The district sends a check within 30 days after it verifies the finished work and your receipts.
• One heat pump per stove, in the same home. The heat pump must heat the same living space the stove did. It cannot go in a detached ADU, the other half of a duplex or another separate unit. Extra money is offered for one second device.
• You must really burn wood. The home must burn at least a tenth of a cord of wood a year, about a 3-by-4-foot pile of logs or six 2-cubic-foot boxes of firewood.
• Only project costs count. The heat pump, its installation, removing the old stove or sealing the fireplace, needed repairs and permit fees are covered. Unrelated remodeling and any work done by the homeowner are not.
• The low-income bonus has no income chart. You qualify for the extra $10,000 by being enrolled in CalFresh (SNAP), CalWORKs, Supplemental Security Income, WIC, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, free or reduced-price school lunch, Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance or tribal Head Start.
• Some are left out. Stoves the district has paid to replace before, and homes owned by district employees, are not eligible.

Can the money run out?

Yes. Applications are approved in the order they come in, and if more people apply than the money covers, the rest go on a waitlist, the guidelines say. Money that frees up later goes first to homes in neighborhoods hit hardest by air pollution, such as West Oakland, East Oakland, Richmond-San Pablo and Bayview Hunters Point, and in disadvantaged and low-income areas the state has mapped. The extra low-income money is also limited and may not reach everyone who qualifies.

The district has not said how much money is in this round. The program is paid for by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant, matched with district money. EPA records show a $2,120,345 grant to the district to replace wood stoves and fireplaces with electric heat pumps.

Is the grant taxable?

Yes. The grant counts as taxable income, according to the guidelines. Homeowners must turn in an IRS W-9 form with their reimbursement request, and the district will report the grant to California’s tax agency, the Franchise Tax Board, as taxable income for the year the project is finished. A tax adviser can say how much that adds to your bill.

Rules to know before you call a contractor

• Get approval first.  You must have the district’s approval and a written Notice to Proceed before you place a deposit, buy equipment or start work.  Projects that start early do not qualify, and the program does not pay back work already done.
• Your stove must be in use.  It must be indoors, working, made before 2020 and currently used to heat the home.  Cooking appliances do not count.
• Use a licensed contractor.  The work needs a California-licensed contractor (you can look up a license on the state contractors board site), a building permit and an inspection, and must be finished within four months of approval.
• The old stove gets destroyed.  A licensed dismantler or recycler must permanently scrap it, and a fireplace that held an insert must be permanently disabled.
• Owners only.  The applicant must be the legal homeowner and fill out an IRS W-9 tax form.

Why the district is paying

“Wood smoke contains fine particles that can impact the health of everyone exposed, from the family inside the home to neighbors throughout the community,” said Philip Fine, the district’s executive officer.  The money comes from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant aimed at cutting fine-particle pollution, matched by the district.

Burning wood is already illegal on winter Spare the Air days.  In October 2025 the district lowered the pollution level that triggers those no-burn alerts, from a forecast of 35 to 25 micrograms of fine particles per cubic meter of air, and estimated that would mean 19 to 41 alerts a year instead of the historic average of about 15.  The ban covers fireplaces, wood and pellet stoves and outdoor fire pits.  Homes whose only heat is a registered EPA-certified or pellet device can get an exemption; open fireplaces cannot.  There was no alert Friday, Nov. 13, the district’s site showed.

To apply or ask questions, go to the district’s Clean HEET page, email woodsmokegrants@baaqmd.gov or call 415-749-5195.  You can check whether burning is allowed today at sparetheair.org.

Source: Bay Area Air District news release, Nov. 12, 2026, Clean HEET program page, eligibility summary, program guidelines, November 2026, EPA Targeted Airshed Grant recipients list and Oct. 1, 2025 wood-burning rule release, checked Nov. 13, 2026.