Instant Heat Pump Rebates from ComEd – Only at Able!

A Brief Summary

This is a fairly long blog post, and we wouldn’t want to be accused of burying the lede, so here is the bare bones of the announcement.

Contractors can now receive instant, point-of-sale rebates from ComEd on AHRI-listed Bosch heat pump systems. When you purchase a qualifying system, the full value of the electrical rebate from ComEd will be applied during checkout, reducing the cost of the system on the spot.

And when we say full value, that means

$400 – 16+ SEER Systems
$500 – 18+ SEER Systems

So, instead of:

You buy a qualifying system
You install a qualifying system
You sell the system at a discount anticipating the rebate
You fill out all of the forms
You submit the forms
You wait
You’re finally reimbursed from Step 3

It’s just:

You buy a qualifying system at Able
The cost of the system is reduced by the full value of the rebate from ComEd

That’s right, when you purchase any Bosch heat pump system (condenser + coil or air handler) at Able, ComEd will give you an instantaneous rebate applied directly to the cost of the system while you check out. This means that you can price Bosch systems lower without any extra work on your part. Able is beyond thrilled to be working directly with ComEd to make life easier for contractors and more comfortable for their clients. Keep reading to get a better idea of all of the benefits that this new system confers.

An Underutilized Tool

High-efficiency HVAC systems are an excellent value in the long term, but the upfront cost can be prohibitive for many homeowners. Many shops offer financing as a way to soften the blow, but this is conditional on the customer’s credit and may end up costing more in the long run. There is another way to defray the cost of a state-of-the-art system: utility rebates.

Many contractors have a love-hate relationship with rebates. They love to sell high-end systems but hate to deal with the red tape of claiming the rebate. Frequently, the rebate becomes the homeowner’s problem since they’re the one getting the money back, but if they don’t know the right hoops through which to jump, it ends up going unclaimed. These are major rebates, hundreds of dollars, being left of the table due to any number of things but especially confusion.

Improving the System

This past year, we sat down to look at the rebates available in Chicago, made a list of which equipment from Able qualified, and considered whether there was a better way to do all of this. Fortunately, we’re not the only ones who saw potential for improvement. ComEd, Chicago’s sole electric utility provider, agreed that there were a lot of rebates going unclaimed and even more potential rebates being lost to a low-efficiency sale. So, we sat down and brainstormed ways to streamline the process, starting with identifying the benefits.

There are three major benefits to a utility rebate:

Reduced system cost – Good for the homeowner
Easier to sell – Good for the contractor and distributor
Reduces energy use – Good for the utility and the planet

So, a utility rebate provides value to literally everyone involved with the process, but frequently the work was all being put onto the contractor and homeowners. Gathering all the data, filling out the forms, following up with the utility, it’s a lot with which to keep up, especially for smaller outfits without an administrative team.

Meanwhile, at Able, all we were really doing is letting people know that the rebates existed. We were losing a ton of potential high-efficiency sales because all we could do was advertise.

But what if the entire rebate process could be handled at the counter when a contractor is purchasing the qualifying equipment? I’m talking instant cash back. That would take a good concept and supercharge it

Instant discount – Good for contractor and homeowner
More rebates utilized – Good for Utility
Easier to sell high-efficiency equipment – Good for everyone

ComEd + Able = Savings, Instantly

For this streamlined system to work, all we needed was a partner utility who saw the same potential for growth that we did. And ComEd is that partner.

Now, when you make a qualifying heat pump purchase at any Able location, you will be able to claim the full value of the rebate from ComEd when you check out.

No more adding an asterisk next to the prices on all your flyers, now you can quote with the rebate in mind since you’re guaranteed to get it from ComEd when you check out! No more carrying around folders full of rebate paperwork, no more confused homeowners, no more angry calls that the check still hasn’t come in the mail.