Windows
PSEG Long Island Window Rebates: How They Work and Which Windows Qualify
October 14, 2026 · 5 min read · AP Siding & Windows
PSEG Long Island does pay a rebate on replacement windows: $4 per square foot of window at the standard rate and $8 per square foot for income-qualified households, for windows with a U-factor of 0.20 to 0.32. On a typical 10-window project of about 120 square feet of glass, that is roughly $480 to $960 back.
Here is the part most contractor websites leave out. Under the program's current eligible-measures list, windows are only permitted as part of a whole-house project that also installs a cold-climate air-source heat pump, plus insulation and air sealing. If you are replacing windows and nothing else, there is no PSEG rebate. If you are replacing windows as part of a larger efficiency upgrade, it is real money, and it stacks with heat pump rebates of up to $4,000.
This guide walks through how the program works, who qualifies, and when it is worth the paperwork.
The program: Home Performance with ENERGY STAR
The rebate lives inside PSEG Long Island's Home Performance program (PSEG writes it as HPwES). It is a whole-house program, not a product rebate. The sequence is:
- Free home energy assessment. PSEG offers a no-cost whole-house assessment to any customer, regardless of heating fuel. An auditor runs a blower-door test, checks insulation levels and looks at the heating and cooling systems. You get a report that lists which upgrades qualify for which rebates.
- A participating contractor scopes the work. Rebates are paid on work done by contractors enrolled in the program.
- Measures are installed in a package. Insulation and air sealing are the base. A whole-house cold-climate heat pump is what unlocks the window rebate. Windows that meet the U-factor requirement ride along.
- The contractor submits the rebate. It is paid after installation, on verified square footage.
Who is eligible
Eligibility turns mostly on how you heat your home.
| Your home | Standard rebate ($4/sq ft on windows) | Income-qualified rebate ($8/sq ft) |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family, heated with oil, propane or electric | Yes | Yes, if income-qualified |
| Single-family, natural gas heat, central AC serving at least half the home | No | Yes, if income-qualified |
| Natural gas heat, doing a combined Home Comfort + Home Performance project | Yes | Yes, if income-qualified |
Income-qualified rebates follow NYSERDA's EmPower+ income limits, which scale with household size and are verified by Energy Finance Solutions. PSEG publishes an income determination tool on its site, and the thresholds are higher than most people assume.
Most of the oil-heated capes and splits across central Suffolk, from Huntington Station to Patchogue, qualify at the standard rate. Many gas-heated homes do not, unless the household qualifies by income or the project is structured as a combined one.
Which windows qualify
The program requires a U-factor between 0.20 and 0.32. That is the whole-window number on the NFRC label, not the glass-only number some brochures quote. For reference, a basic double-pane vinyl window without Low-E often tests at 0.35 to 0.45 and does not qualify. A double-pane with Low-E and argon fill typically lands at 0.27 to 0.30 and does. Triple-pane units run 0.20 to 0.25.
The rebate is paid per square foot of window, so it favors large windows and bay or bow units over a row of small basement windows.
What the math looks like
Take an oil-heated 1965 split-level in Brentwood with 12 windows totaling 140 square feet, an attic with four inches of old insulation, and a 20-year-old oil furnace.
- Windows, 140 sq ft at $4: $560
- Attic insulation and air sealing rebate: varies by R-value added
- Cold-climate heat pump: up to $4,000, per PSEG's 2026 offer for qualifying systems installed by a participating contractor
The window rebate alone would not justify the program. The heat pump rebate does, and once you are in it, the window rebate is found money on windows you were going to replace anyway.
Now take a gas-heated colonial in Smithtown with central air and no interest in a heat pump. There is no PSEG window rebate for that project at the standard rate. The honest advice is to buy the windows on their merits and skip the paperwork.
What this program is not
It is not a tax credit. The federal 25C window credit ended December 31, 2025, and PSEG's rebate is a separate utility program that was never tied to it. See our 2026 window tax credit guide for what happened there.
It is also not instant. Rebates come after installation and verification, and the assessment has to come before the work, not after. Homeowners who replace windows first and ask about the rebate later are usually out of luck.
Is it worth it?
If your house is oil- or electric-heated, the furnace or boiler is near the end of its life, and you have been putting off both the windows and the insulation, yes. The program is designed for exactly that house, and the combined rebates can run into the thousands.
If you just want new windows, no. Buy good windows, make sure the U-factor is 0.30 or better for Long Island winters, and do not let a rebate you may not qualify for drive the decision.
Start with the assessment
The free PSEG assessment costs nothing and tells you what your house qualifies for before anyone sells you anything. If windows end up on the list, we measure, quote and install them, and we handle the exterior side of the job so the new windows are flashed to the sheathing and not just caulked over. Call (631) 972-0873 or request an estimate.