By Jay Fox
New York State has long championed climate action and high-performance building through innovative programs administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). In September alone, NYSERDA had four major announcements. This included naming the Round Six winners of the Buildings of Excellence (BOE) Competition. They also began Round Seven of the BOE Competition. BOE is one of NYSERDA’s most well-known programs and consists of a technical assistance Early Design Support program and a Demonstration program for projects that are further along. A full list of winners and details about Round Seven can be found below. Round Seven applications are being accepted until January 20, 2027. Additionally, NYSERDA launched two new programs via New Efficient Homes New York: Enhanced Design Support and the Heat Pump Incentive. Applications to these two programs are currently being accepted through December 14, 2029.
New Efficient Homes New York holistically supports project owners and design teams so they can incorporate energy-efficient systems in new residential buildings. The program is designed to upskill designers, builders, developers, and contractors so they can build enough market capacity to deliver new high-performance homes across the State at scale.
Enhanced Design Support is available to builders, developers, and design entities for single-family and small-home projects, as well as architecture and engineering firms for multifamily projects. Technical assistance funding is available for early-stage clean, resilient, and high-performance design of residential projects of all scales across a range of topic areas, including:
High-performance design and research
Energy modeling
Resilience and survivability
Health, comfort, and other co-benefits
Embodied carbon and healthy materials
Cost reduction and business readiness training and professional development
Third-party certification preparation
Integrated project delivery methodology
Knowledge sharing and market expansion efforts
Single-family and small-homes projects may be eligible for up to $5,000 per dwelling unit, with per project funding up to $75,000. Low- and mid-scale multifamily projects (below 50,000 gross square feet) may receive up to $1.50 per square foot. Large-scale multifamily projects may receive up to $1.30 per square foot, up to $250,000 per project. To learn more about the program and how to apply, visit NYSERDA’s site here.
The Heat Pump Incentive is available to owner and developer teams during the construction phase and supports the adoption of cold climate air source heat pumps (ccASHP) and ground source heat pumps (GSHP) across the State. The program supports residential new construction, adaptive reuse, or substantial renovations under 50,000 square feet, including both single- and multifamily buildings.
The ccASHP incentive is available only to projects that fully electrify space conditioning, while the GSHP projects must be all-electric. Incentives are paid on a per-dwelling basis and structured to support early adoption. Those who participate in the first year of the program may receive $6,000 per unit for ccASHP and $15,000 per unit for GSHP. In year two, the incentive is reduced to $5,000 and $12,000, respectively. In year three, the incentive is further reduced to $4,000 and $9,000, respectively. Throughout all three years, projects built in disadvantaged communities will receive a $1,000 per dwelling unit add-on.
To learn more about the program and how to apply, see NYSERDA’s page here.
