How we source the numbers.
And how we stay independent.

Primary data sources

Live rebate lookups (the ZIP + income + household-size API call on the rebate finder and every state hub) hit the Rewiring America Incentive API. Rewiring America aggregates federal, state, and utility programs and refreshes their database daily. We cache their response for 60 minutes per ZIP tuple to keep response times tight.

Federal program detail — the 25C repeal timing, HEEHRA allocation math, Inflation Reduction Act section citations — is pulled from published DOE guidance and the OBBBA bill text itself, cross-referenced with IRS Form 5695 instructions for tax-year cutoffs.

State HEEHRA rollout status is tracked from each state energy office's public announcements. Our HEEHRA by state hub lists the 50 program administrators by name (NYSERDA, CEC, GEFA, EMNRD, HSEO, etc.) with the authoritative agency URL.

Utility program specifics — rebate amounts, eligible equipment, contractor certification requirements — are pulled directly from the utility's rebate portal plus the DSIRE database. Where amounts are tiered or promotional, we flag the 2026 number with a "verify on utility site" note and link the source.

Equipment specifications — SEER2, HSPF2, cold-climate performance at 5°F / -15°F — come from the AHRI Directory for paid certifications and NEEP's Cold Climate ASHP list for the Northeast-recognized spec. We link the specific directory entry on every equipment recommendation.

Update cadence

Live (seconds–minutes): the rebate finder API response per ZIP. Cache TTL 60 minutes.

Daily: the Rewiring America Incentive database refresh that backs our live API. Newly-launched state programs appear within ~24 hours of going public.

Weekly: our state HEEHRA status map. If a state energy office posts an announcement or opens an application portal, we update the status tile within a week and log the change in the HEEHRA tracker.

Monthly: utility program deep-dive pages. Rebate dollar amounts, eligibility language, and application steps are re-verified against the utility's rebate portal on a 30-day cycle.

Quarterly: equipment spec references (AHRI/NEEP listings), sample-scenario case-study math, and the residential ZIP-per-state reference table used by the calculator.

As-needed: federal policy changes. When the OBBBA killed 25C for heat pumps in July 2025, every affected page was updated within 48 hours — the 25C post-mortem was published the same week.

Editorial independence policy

ElectrifyAtlas earns revenue by routing qualified homeowner leads to vetted local HVAC installers. Installers pay per-lead fees — they do not pay to influence editorial content.

Concretely, this means: no installer ever reviews or approves a blog post, state-page copy, FAQ answer, or rebate recommendation before publication. No installer pays for preferential placement. The three installers a homeowner receives quotes from are selected by ZIP coverage + certification level + program eligibility — not by bid amount.

When utility programs or state rebate portals change in ways that hurt installer margins (for example, dropping a utility's contractor commission), we still report it. When a state HEEHRA program launches with a contractor certification requirement that narrows the installer pool, we still publish the names of certified installers even if our partners aren't on the list.

We accept no sponsored content, no affiliate links in editorial copy, and no paid placements from equipment manufacturers. The only commercial relationship on the site is the installer lead routing, which is transparently labeled and optional — every tool on the site works without submitting contact info.

Corrections policy

If a rebate dollar amount, eligibility detail, launch date, or technical spec on any page is wrong, email [email protected] with the page URL and the specific claim you're flagging. Include the primary source (state energy office URL, utility tariff filing, AHRI directory entry) that establishes the correct value.

Verified corrections are applied within 48 hours. A timestamped correction note is appended at the bottom of the affected page. Material corrections to published posts (not just typo fixes) are logged in the post's frontmatter datestamp so search engines see the update.

We do not silently revise posts. Every substantive change is timestamped.

What we don't do

We don't invent rebate amounts. If we can't find a verified 2026 dollar amount on a primary source, we write "(verify on utility site)" and link the source. We would rather be incomplete than wrong.

We don't run AI-generated listicles. Every journal post and technical guide is researched against primary sources, structured by an editor, and datestamped. The posts that were expanded in April 2026 are marked as revisions in the publication log.

We don't guarantee rebate approval. State and utility programs have eligibility requirements that can change mid-year. Our math shows the maximum stackable amount under current rules, not a promise. Actual approval depends on your specific ZIP, income documentation, equipment spec, and contractor certification.

We don't route leads to non-certified installers in states that require certification. If HEEHRA or a state program mandates contractor certification (most do), only certified installers enter the routing pool for that state.