Woodstove Change Out and Repairs

The Woodstove Change Out and Repairs incentives are available to help cover the costs of replacing old inefficient wood stoves with advanced EPA certified wood and pellet stoves, as well as making related repairs required to ensure the wood stove systems installed meet Vermont’s relevant Fire & Building Safety Codes. Funding is provided from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) via the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund (CEDF) at the Department of Public Service.

Incentives up to $10,000 ($6,000 for stoves and $4,000 for repairs) are available for:

• New cordwood or pellet stove that is EPA certified with particulate emissions at or below 2.0 g/hr and an Actual Measured Efficiency of at least 73% and/or
• Repairs of stoves or hearths, or ventilation systems (i.e., the chimney), that are necessary for the new stove to meet Vermont’s current Fire & Building Safety Codes. Installations of new catalysts qualify as a stove repair.
  • To be eligible for the new stove incentive the customer must take out of service an existing in-use wood stove that was never EPA certified or is 20 or more years old and in need of repair.

Incentives are based on income eligibility:

Income Level	Incentive Level
Low income (<80% AMI)	80% of Installation Cost up to $6,000 for stove only and up to $10,000 with repairs
Moderate income (81% - <120% AMI)	60% of installation cost up to $6,000 for stove only and up to $10,000 with repairs

To qualify for the change-out and/or the repair incentive, Vermont residents must complete an income verification process with Opportunities Credit Union to determine eligibility at the time of initial application.

Area	Income Level (% of median income)	INCOME THRESHOLD BY HOUSEHOLD SIZE
		One Person	Two Person	Three Person	Four Person	Five Person	Six Person	Seven Person	Eight Person
Addison	80%	52,450	59,950	67,450	74,900	80,900	86,900	92,900	98,900
	120%	78,720	89,880	101,160	112,320	121,320	130,320	139,320	148,320
Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle	80%	60,100	68,650	77,250	85,800	92,700	99,550	106,400	113,300
	120%	90,200	103,200	116,000	128,800	139,200	149,600	167,640	186,520
All other VT counties	80%	51,950	59,400	66,800	74,250	80,200	86,100	92,050	98,000
	120%	78,000	89,000	100,200	111,400	120,200	129,200	138,000	147,000

Income is defined as the total annual gross income of all family and non-family members age 18 years and older living within the household. Opportunities Credit Union will determine annual household income for all members of the household. For each household member, the credit union will collect the person’s name, all sources of income (including both earned and unearned income), total annual income, and required supporting documentation. Acceptable forms of income documentation are:

• The most recent Social Security benefits statement (if Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance, or Supplemental Security Income was received).
• First two pages of the most recent federal tax return (if income tax return was filed).
• Unemployment Benefits Statement from the past 12 months (if unemployment benefits were received).
• Current paystubs with year-to-date wages listed.
• The most recent IRS Schedule C and the following information for each source of self-employment income: type of business, time period, gross income, expenses, depreciation, and net income.
• If the household member received another type of income, a document or documents that confirm the income.

Types of income include, but are not limited to: wages, salary, tips, bonuses or commissions payments, public assistance, social security/SSI, child support, regular gifts, unemployment, income earned on assets (savings, IRA, etc.) and some types of financial aid.

Incentives will be applied to the cost of your change out and/or repairs when you work with a Participating Stove Retailer/Installer. View the list of participating stove retailers/installers.

Commercial systems are not eligible.

Applications

Please access the incentive through the below forms:

Participating Stove Retailers/ Installers

In order to offer this income-eligible incentive to residential customers, stove retailers must submit the SSREIP Woodstove Change out and Repairs Participation Agreement

View the list of participating stove retailers/installers

Eligibility

Eligibility in the program is specified within the SSREIP Woodstove Change out and Repairs Participation Agreement

The SSREIP Terms and Conditions apply to all projects, including those incentives accessed through the Efficiency Vermont rebate process.