GRU doesn't write a heat pump check. Here's what it does instead, and the order to use it in.
Homeowners who move to Gainesville from a co-op or investor-owned territory ask where the heat pump rebate is. GRU built its programs differently, and used in the right order they can be worth more.
Two utilities, two philosophies
A homeowner on Clay Electric, which serves most of rural Alachua County and pockets inside the city, gets a straightforward offer: install a qualifying high-efficiency heat pump and the co-op pays a rebate, plus a free energy survey and access to low-interest loans that can include duct repair. A homeowner on Duke Energy Florida, in the few Duke-served pockets, gets a free home energy check and an HVAC replacement rebate that can run to four figures.
A homeowner on Gainesville Regional Utilities gets none of that in that shape. GRU’s residential programs are built around measurement, gas, and income-qualified repair. Understanding the difference saves a lot of frustration at quote time, and used in order the GRU programs can be worth more than a flat equipment check.
What GRU offers, side by side
| Program | What it is | Who it fits | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy and Water Survey | A walkthrough audit of the house and its bills | Anyone on a GRU account wondering where the money goes | Free |
| Residential duct test | A measured test of how much conditioned air leaks from the ducts, pre-test alone or pre and post repair | Houses from the 1970s to 1990s with original duct | A modest fee, published by GRU |
| Natural gas conversion rebate | Rebates for switching electric or oil heat and water heating to GRU gas; a bonus for three gas appliances; capped per location | Homes where GRU gas reaches the lot | Equipment cost less the rebate |
| LEEPplus | Free duct repair and efficiency upgrades for income-qualified, owner-occupied homes ten or more years old | Qualifying owners | Free, but paused to new applicants since May 2026 |
Step one: the survey
Start with the free walkthrough. It won’t measure anything precisely, but it will tell you whether your bill is an HVAC problem, a water heating problem, an insulation problem or a behavior problem, and it puts a GRU document in your file that later programs reference. For a Northwest Gainesville ranch with a 1980s system, the survey usually points at the ducts and the attic insulation before it points at the equipment.
Step two: the duct test, if the house is older than about 1995
This is the program most Gainesville homeowners skip because it isn’t free, and it’s the one that changes the most. A duct test gives you a percentage: how much of the air the system moves is leaking into the attic or crawlspace instead of reaching the rooms. On the 1970s and 1980s houses that make up more than a third of the city’s housing, that number is often large enough that sealing the ducts beats replacing the equipment on a dollar-per-dollar basis. Test before you buy a system, not after.
Step three: the gas question
Where GRU natural gas already reaches the lot, the conversion rebate is the largest program on the list. It applies to a furnace replacing electric or oil heat and to a gas water heater, with an additional bonus when three gas appliances are installed, up to a per-location cap. For a Gainesville house, the practical shape is a heat pump for cooling paired with a gas furnace for the seventeen or so freeze nights a year, or a dual-fuel system that does both. The rebate is paid by GRU on application; whether any step runs through the installer is a point we confirm. [[CONFIRM WITH JERRY]] Not every lot has gas, and running a new line is a separate GRU conversation.
Step four: LEEPplus, when it reopens
GRU’s income-qualified program has covered duct repair and sealing, insulation and other efficiency work at no cost for owner-occupied homes ten years or older. It was paused to new applicants in May 2026. If you qualify on income, get on whatever list GRU maintains and watch for the reopening; it is the most generous program on this page for the households it serves.
Where the programs stack
A homeowner with a 1979 house in the Suburban Heights area on GRU electric, with gas at the street, could reasonably do all of this in one year: free survey, paid duct test, duct sealing based on the test, then a new heat pump backed up by a gas furnace, collecting the conversion rebate. That sequence addresses the leaks first, sizes the new equipment to a tighter duct system, and uses the one GRU rebate that applies to heating equipment.
What is not on the list
A federal tax credit. Both the 25C credit for high-efficiency equipment and the 25D credit for geothermal lapsed once 2025 ended; a 2026 install earns neither. Any quote that still counts on one is out of date. Ask instead about current utility programs and any manufacturer promotions at the time of your install.
How we fit in
Cook’s installs and services across GRU, Clay and Duke territory from its Flagler County base two counties east of GRU’s grid. We put the right program on the quote based on which meter is on your wall, fill in the equipment details the paperwork needs, and hand you the GRU or co-op forms with the numbers filled in. Enrollment status for any contractor-side step is something to ask us directly. [[CONFIRM WITH JERRY]] A monthly payment plan on a new system is a separate matter from any utility program and is explained at the estimate.
GRU program questions
Is the GRU duct test really not free?
Correct. GRU charges a modest fee for a pre-test and a somewhat higher fee for a pre-and-post pair; the amounts are published on the utility’s site. The free item is the Energy and Water Survey, which is a walkthrough rather than a measured test.
I'm inside the city but my bill says Clay Electric. Which programs apply to me?
Clay’s. The co-op serves pockets within and around the city, and its Energy Smart program, a heat pump rebate, a free energy survey and loans, applies to its members regardless of city limits. GRU’s programs apply only to GRU accounts.
Does GRU offer anything for a straight heat pump replacement?
As of this writing, no flat rebate for a high-efficiency heat pump on an electric account. The leverage is on the duct side and the gas side. If that changes, the GRU site will show it before any contractor does.
Can a renter use any of these?
The Energy and Water Survey can be requested by the account holder, which is often the tenant. The duct test and the gas rebates require the owner’s involvement, since they change the building. LEEPplus was limited to owner-occupied homes.
Sort the programs before the quote
Tell us which utility bills you and we'll put the right program on the paperwork.