Multifamily HVAC Rebates — Austin Energy & CPS Energy

Austin Energy and CPS Energy both run multifamily efficiency programs that will pay for a substantial share of HVAC work at a qualifying property — and most properties either never enroll or enroll too late to capture the full amount. The programs are not hard to qualify for. They are hard to administer, which is a different problem, and it is the one we solve.

CG Service Pros is a participating contractor in the Austin Energy and CPS Energy multifamily rebate programs, and we have completed more than 4,500 multifamily units through them. Austin Energy named us 2024 Contractor of the Year. We administer the entire process in-house: property qualification, program enrollment, the qualification workbook, unit counts and floor plan takeoffs, pre-approval, scheduling, installation, inspection coordination, and post-installation documentation.

Qualifying measures typically include HVAC replacement and high-performance tune-ups, duct system improvements and sealing, smart and connected thermostats, attic insulation, air sealing and weatherization, LED lighting, solar screens and window measures, and water-saving fixtures. Austin Energy also offers ECAD compliance incentives and passive building measures. Programs, tiers, and amounts change by program year, so the qualification step exists to tell you what your specific property is actually eligible for right now.

For many properties the economics land at or near no net cost. The incentive covers the measure, the property gets new equipment and lower operating expense, and the improvement flows directly to net operating income and asset value. Where incentives do not cover everything, the remaining spend is usually a fraction of the unsubsidized cost — and it is spend the property was going to make eventually anyway, just at full price on the utility's schedule instead of yours.

The single most common and most expensive mistake is sequencing. Both programs require enrollment and pre-approval before work begins. Replace equipment first and the money is gone — not delayed, gone. We have been called by properties that spent six figures on HVAC three months before asking about rebates, and there is no mechanism to recover it retroactively. If a replacement is anywhere in your next 18 months, the qualification conversation should happen now, even if the work does not.

The documentation burden is the reason most properties never finish what they start. These programs require unit-level detail, rent rolls or floor plan counts, equipment specifications and serial numbers, pre- and post-installation verification, and inspection coordination on the utility's timeline. Onsite teams do not have the hours and regional managers do not have the program knowledge. We handle all of it, and you receive the completed documentation package for your files and your ownership reporting.

Start with a qualification review. It costs you nothing, it tells you which measures your property is eligible for and what the incentives are worth this program year, and it is the only way to find out whether work you were already planning to fund can be paid for by someone else.