Mobile Home Initiative: What to Expect as an MHI Participant

In our last blog post, we described our Mobile Home Initiative (MHI) – available to low-income homeowners in single-wide mobile homes in designated Maine towns. This blog will outline the steps to paying as little as $2,000 for a new high-efficiency heat pump system.

Step One
Confirm that your household is eligible. To qualify, a homeowner or household member must be a verified recipient of MaineCare or HEAP or SNAP or TANF, or household income must be 80% or less of the median income for the county in which the home is located. For the program’s designated towns list, click here.

Step Two
Once Efficiency Maine has verified your income status, your next step is to fill out an online questionnaire that asks basic screening questions about you and your home.

Step Three
Once you have submitted your questionnaire, Efficiency Maine will reach out to set up an in-home assessment to verify that a ducted whole-home heat pump will adequately heat your home.

Step Four
If your home qualifies, you will select a participating installer in your area. It is essential that you work with a participating contractor to maintain eligibility. These contractors specialize in ducted heat pump system installations and have agreed to additional customer service offerings, such as a complimentary 5-year labor warranty and timely responses to service calls.

Step Five
After you’ve selected an installer, they will schedule a visit to review project specifications, provide a quote, and schedule your installation.

Step Six (Optional)
If needed, sign up for an Efficiency Maine loan for MHI participants to cover your portion of the project cost at a 0% Annual Percentage Rate (APR) (details can be found here). If you do not need a loan, you will pay $2,000 directly to your installer.

Step Seven
Once your installation is completed, you can now begin to enjoy your new heat pump system! If you secured a loan, the payment plan will start 60 days after the heat pump system has been installed.

Step Eight (Optional)
If you’re interested, you can have your existing fuel tank removed by a participating fuel tank removal contractor and receive an additional $400 rebate from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. You can review the rebate claim form here.

Step Nine
Efficiency Maine will schedule a quality assurance (QA) visit to make sure you’re satisfied. This is a mandatory step to confirm that everything is working correctly.

Once these steps are complete, you should be ready to enjoy the benefits of your new high-efficiency heat pump system. With a little routine maintenance, you can reduce your heating costs and look forward to increased comfort in the summer.

To learn more about this program, visit the Mobile Home Initiative webpage for more information and additional details. Be sure to check out our last blog post titled “What is Efficiency Maine’s Mobile Home Initiative” for an overview of the program.

To subscribe to Efficiency Maine’s blog and receive the latest program updates, click here.