Energy Smart Eastside
UPDATED: 12/14/2023
Project Name: Energy Smart Eastside
Project Leader(s): Energy Smart Eastside is a formal partnership between the Washington cities of Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island, and Redmond.
Partner(s): Nonprofit partners include: Spark Northwest (helped with program inception), Hopelink, King County Housing Authority, Imagine Housing. Gensco is the program’s HVAC distributor partner.
Stage of Completion: In-progress
Construction Type: Existing buildings
Building Type:
Single-family (including 2-5 plexes and condos)
Affordable housing multi-family
Total Number of Units Targeted Annually:
150 low-income households
300 middle-income households through $1500 incentive
500 all incomes through $500 incentive
Total Number of Units Completed:
100% cost coverage: 105 homes with heat pumps (83 of those affordable housing units - based on projects completed and/or scheduled to be completed in January/February 2024)
Program rebate installs: 45 homes
Tenant Structure:
Single-family housing that’s owner-occupied
Affordable multi-family housing that’s renter-occupied
Target Audience:
All member-city residents in single family housing
Affordable housing providers in our member cities
Program-specific offerings increase based on qualified income. In all scenarios we provide guidance on how to stack incentives with local utility rebates and IRA incentives to maximize savings.
$500 Rebate through Mitsubishi (all residents)
$1500 Rebate through Mitsubishi when switching from fossil fuel heat source (<150% AMI)
100% cost coverage (<80% AMI)
Full/Partial Electrification: Partial
Existing Heating Fuel Type:
In single family homes, predominantly gas furnaces.
In multi-family homes, predominantly electric resistance heating.
End Uses Electrified: Space heating and cooling
Specific electric appliances installed: Air source heat pump
Total Project Funding: $3.7M
Amount or % of Project Cost Covered per unit:
$500 instant rebate - all residents
$1500 instant rebate when switching from fossil-fuel heat source - <150% AMI
100% install costs covered - <80% AMI
Source of Funding:
$2.1M from city funds
$590,000 from Washington State University Community Energy Efficiency Program Grant
$1M from Washington State Department of Commerce Building Electrification Grant
Organization mission: Energy Smart Eastside catalyzes the equitable transition to healthy, energy efficient, all-electric homes. We foster resilient communities, collectively leading the way towards our shared goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Additional Measures implemented:
Through partnership with King County Housing Authority, affordable housing units also receive weatherization and remediation services.
Workforce Development/Green Jobs Component:
Workforce development will be rolled out in 2024 and is a component of the Washington State Department of Commerce grant application.
The program partners with a local distributor Gensco, and the Mitsubishi Diamond Dealer network to offer incentives to area residents.
The partnership provides a mechanism for HVAC dealer education that benefits city residents by helping dealers apply all available rebates to reduce costs, and by encouraging system designs that do not rely on fossil-fuel back up systems.
The partnership also provides an excellent source of leads to the local contractor community which has been important as demand has softened due to high interest rates.
Next Steps:
Implement a pilot peer-coaching service to provide 1:1 assistance to residents who are exploring installation of a heat pump.
Implement a study to evaluate expansion of incentives to market rate multi-family housing buildings
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