Customers of NW Natural in Washington may be eligible for cash incentives for qualifying natural gas equipment upgrades at multifamily properties. Upgrading to high-performance equipment reduces operating expenses, raises tenant satisfaction and improves building marketability.
Energy Trust provides cash incentives for a wide range of natural gas equipment, including HVAC equipment, water heaters, appliances, insulation and more. Explore available incentives for multifamily properties.
See available cash incentives for natural gas equipment. Download the Washington Multifamily Incentive Application to review equipment specifications and requirements before purchasing equipment.
| Equipment | Incentive |
|---|---|
| Condensing Gas Furnace | $8.25 per kBtu/h input capacity |
| Advanced Rooftop Controls (ARC) – Full Retrofit | $300 per ton |
| Gas-fired High Efficiency Condensing HVAC Boiler | $6.50 per kBtu/h input |
| Steam Trap | $350 per each replaced or repaired steam trap |
| Thermostatic Radiator Valves | $200 each |
| Smart Thermostat (self-installed) | $100 per unit |
| Smart Thermostat (contractor-installed) | $230 per unit |
| Equipment | Incentive |
|---|---|
| Commercial Condensing Gas Tank Water Heater | $3.50 per kBtu/h input |
| Condensing Gas Tankless Water Heater (under 200 kBtu/h) | $140 each |
| Commercial Condensing Gas Tankless Water Heater/Hot Water Supply Boiler (at least 200 kBtu/h) | $1.40 per kBtu/h |
| Domestic Hot Water Recirculation Pump Control | $180 - $1,400 per system |
| Commercial Swimming Pool Heater | $0.90-$5 per sq ft of pool surface area served by heater |
| Commercial Pool Cover | $6 per sq ft of pool surface area |
| ENERGY STAR® Commercial Laundry Washer, Common Areas | $100 each |
| Ozone Laundry System at Assisted Living Properties | $5,000-$30,000 per system |
| Two-stage Gas Valves on Clothes Dryers | $200 per valve |
| Equipment | Incentive |
|---|---|
| Gas-fired Automatic Conveyor Broiler | $2,500-$3,500 each |
| Gas Steam Cooker | $1,000 each |
| Commercial Vent Hood with Demand Controlled Ventilation | $1,500 per controlled motor hp |
| Gas Griddle (single-sided) | $1,000 each |
| High Efficiency Gas Fryer | $1,500-$2,000 each |
| Equipment | Incentive |
|---|---|
| Attic/Ceiling Insulation | $0.25 per sq ft |
| Wall Insulation | $0.50 per sq ft |
| Floor Insulation | $1.90 per sq ft |
| Pipe Insulation | $10 per linear ft |
| Windows and Sliding Glass Doors at Stacked Structures | $4-$12 per sq ft |
Incentives are subject to funding availability and may change.
| Equipment | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Condensing Gas Furnace | • Input capacity must be less than 225 kBtu/h. • Must have at least 91% Thermal Efficiency (TE) rating. If furnace does not have a TE rating, instead use Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) • Must be part of a centralized heating system serving multiple units or regularly occupied multifamily common space. Offices are not considered common areas • If furnace is rated in both TE and AFUE, TE shall be used to determine qualification • Gas must be provided by NW Natural |
| Advanced Rooftop Control (ARC) (full retrofit) | • Property must have at least 500 annual operating hours • Existing system must have a nominal cooling capacity of at least 5 tons • Existing system must have a single speed supply fan or motor • Existing systems equipped with a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) or a CO2 sensor for Demand Control Ventilation (DCV) do not qualify • Existing systems with economizers do not qualify • Installed equipment must have a controller with digital, integrated economizer with either differential dry-bulb or differential enthalpy with fixed dry-bulb high-limit shutoff • Installed equipment must have a controller with DCV with proportional control based on CO2 sensor reading • Installed equipment controls must be on BPA qualifying product list |
| Gas-fired High Efficiency Condensing HVAC Boiler | • Must have at least 94% efficiency, either Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) or Thermal Efficiency (TE) • Must not be a backup, redundant or lagging boiler • Must be used for HVAC purposes: boilers used for domestic hot water (DHW), pool heating and 'heat adders' that serve water-source heat pump systems do not qualify • Must have at least 5-to-1 turndown ratio • Boiler must be served by NW Natural |
| Steam Trap | • Must replace or repair a failed, open existing steam trap • All steam traps in the system must be tested for failure status prior to replacement or repair. • Steam traps must be installed on a gas-fired steam boiler system served by NW Natural • For trap repairs, invoices for steam trap repair parts are required |
| Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs) | • Must replace manual, non-thermostatic valves at dwelling unit radiators • Must be installed in a gas central hydronic or central steam systems served by NW Natural |
| Smart Thermostat | • Thermostat must be included in Energy Trust’s list of qualifying models • Space heating must be provided by gas furnace |
| Equipment | Requirements | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Condensing Gas Tank Water Heater | • Gas-condensing, storage-type water heater with integral tank volume at least 10 gallons • Must have minimum 94% Thermal Efficiency (TE) or recovery efficiency • Water heater input capacity must be greater than 75 kBtu/h per water heater • Additional storage-only tanks may be present • Property must have a shared central domestic hot water system • Property must have water heating fuel provided by NW Natural • Projects where existing water heater is functional, and not at the end of its useful life, do not qualify |
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| Condensing Gas Tankless Water Heater (under 200 kBtu/h) | • Gas-condensing domestic hot water (DHW) must not be used for space heating and must serve stacked structures with a central water heating system • Water heater Uniform Energy Factor (UEF) must be at least 0.94 • Water heater input capacity must be less than 200 kBtu/h per water heater • Additional hot water storage tanks cannot be added • Approved models must be found here: www.ahridirectory.org |
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| Commercial Condensing Gas Tankless Water Heater/Boiler (at least 200 kBtu/h) | • Gas-condensing domestic hot water (DHW) must serve a central water heating system and must not be used for space heating • Must have at least 94% Thermal Efficiency (TE). • Water heater input capacity must be at least 200 kBtu/h per water heater • Integral tank volume must be less than 10 gallons • Approved models must be found here: www.ahridirectory.org • Property must have water heating fuel provided by NW Natural |
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| Domestic Hot Water (DHW) Recirculation Pump Controls | • Pump control types must be temperature, combined timer and temperature or learning controls • DHW recirculation system must meet applicable codes and regulations • Property must have domestic central water heating • Both retrofitted controls or integral controls qualify • Property must have water heating fuel provided by NW Natural |
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| Commercial Swimming Pool Heater | • Must have 400 kBtu/h capacity, or less per heater, not to exceed a total of 1,000 kBtu/h for all heaters combined • Must be at least 94% Thermal Efficiency for condensing heaters, must be at least 84% efficiency for non-condensing heaters • Must be a replacement, gas-fired pool heater. Heater must not have a continuously burning pilot light • Property must receive gas from NW Natural • Covered and not covered pools both qualify. Eligible pool covers include solid track, bubble type, or foam type with storage reels • Pool must meet minimum area requirements as listed in the table below:
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| Commercial Pool Cover | • Pool must be heated. Pool must not have had a pre-existing cover within six months of pool cover installation • Covers installed at residential pools do not qualify • Cover must be specifically designed for swimming pools, cover entire pool surface area and utilize a storage reel • Liquid evaporation suppressants, solar disks and mesh covers do not qualify • Pool heating fuel must be provided by NW Natural |
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| ENERGY STAR® Commercial Laundry Washer, Common Areas | • Clothes washers must be Energy Star rated, front-loading machines • Must be installed in common areas only • Must have gas water heating or gas dryer, gas service provided by NW Natural • Leased equipment must be new • A signed lease agreement and documentation that identifies washer quantity, model number(s), and retail cost of clothes washer are required |
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| Ozone Laundry System at Assisted Living Properties | • Must be installed at an assisted living property • Each ozone laundry system must be new and installed on either new or existing programmable commercial washing machine(s) • Each ozone generator may serve one or more washers • All existing/new washers at a facility must be reprogrammed and connected to work with the new ozone laundry system. Partial conversions do not qualify • Water heating for clothes washing must be provided by gas-fired boilers or gas water heaters with gas service provided by NW Natural • The ozone laundry system(s) must transfer ozone into the water with either the venturi injection or bubble diffusion process |
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| Two-stage Gas Valves on Clothes Dryers | • Valves must be installed on commercial gas-fired dryers. Dryers must have 200 or fewer pounds of dry clothes capacity or 65 or fewer cubic feet of dryer drum volume • Valves can be installed on new or existing gas-fired dryers |
| Equipment | Requirements | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gas-fired Automatic Conveyor Broiler | • Broiler must have an automatic conveyor with catalyst • Input rate must be below 80 kBtu/h or dual stage or modulating gas valve with a capability of throttling the input rate below 80 kBtu/h • Qualifying broilers may be gas or hybrid gas/electric |
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| Gas Steam Cooker | • Gas steam cooker must be active on the ENERGY STAR product list (version 1.2) • Gas steam cookers must hold at least three pans and may be either boilerless or steam generator type • Site must receive gas service from NW Natural • Gas Steam Cooker Efficiency Requirements:
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| Commercial Vent Hood with Demand Controlled Ventilation | • Motor speeds must be controlled by a programmable controller, with scheduling, occupancy sensing, and heat sensing capabilities • Variable speed control must be installed on both the make-up air unit motor and the hood exhaust motor. Both motors must be functional • Make-up air must be tempered • Total controlled motor horsepower must be at least 1.0 hp and cannot exceed total existing horsepower of make-up air unit and exhaust fan motor • Must be installed in gas-heated spaces |
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| Gas Griddle – Single-sided | • Must be active on ENERGY STAR certified product list (version 1.2) | ||||||||||||||||||
| High Efficiency Gas Fryer | • Gas fryer must be on the Qualified Product List and must be active on ENERGY STAR certified product list (version 3.0) • Standard vat must have at least 54% efficiency and idle energy rate must be at most 8,000 BTU per hour • Large vat must have at least 56% efficiency and idle energy rate must be at most 10,000 BTU per hour • Site must receive gas service from a participating utility |
| Equipment | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Attic/Ceiling Insulation | • Eligible only for stacked structures with five or more units • Existing R-value must be R-11 or less • Installed R-value must be at least R-49 efficiency rating or fill cavity • Flat roof insulation installations do not qualify • Must be installed in gas-heated spaces • All insulation must be installed in areas of the building envelope that separate conditioned space and unconditioned space. Insulation installed between conditioned spaces does not qualify |
| Wall Insulation | • Eligible only for stacked structures with five or more units • Existing R-value must be R-6 or less • Installed R-value must be at least R-11 efficiency rating or fill cavity • Must be installed in gas-heated spaces • All insulation must be installed in areas of the building envelope that separate conditioned space and unconditioned space. Insulation installed between conditioned spaces does not qualify |
| Floor Insulation | • Eligible only for stacked structures with five or more units • Existing R-value must be R-11 or less • Installed R-value must be at least R-30 efficiency rating or fill cavity • Must be installed in gas-heated spaces • All insulation must be installed in areas of the building envelope that separate conditioned space and unconditioned space. Insulation installed between conditioned spaces does not qualify |
| Pipe Insulation | • 1.5” diameter pipe or less requires 1.5” minimum insulation thickness • Pipe greater than 1.5” in diameter requires 2” minimum insulation thickness • Indoor pipe insulation projects must include All Service Jacketing (ASJ) and outdoor pipe insulation projects must include PVC or aluminum jacketing • Batt insulation does not qualify for incentive • Piping must be part of a system using natural gas |
| Windows and Sliding Glass Doors at Stacked Structures | • Site must have five or more units and be gas-heated. Eligible spaces include residential units and heated common area spaces within the property that are accessible 24/7 • Must replace single-pane, double-pane, or add storm window • To qualify for storm windows incentive, glass must be low-e with emissivity 0.22 or lower and solar transmittance greater than 0.55 • Storm windows must be permanently installed and in the same opening type as existing prime windows. • Exterior storm windows must be oriented with the low-e coating facing interior of site • Storm window frames must not make direct contact with metal-framed prime windows • Proof of U-value and window size is required. A manufacturer’s invoice showing the window size and U-value and/or an NFRC sticker that shows the U-factor is acceptable documentation |
1Projects must be installed in accordance with the specifications outlined in the Energy Trust Home Retrofit Specifications Manual available for download.
To qualify, you must:
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Note: A post-installation verification may apply.
Whether you’re just starting out or ready to apply, here are the next steps to get you started.
Review the steps to upgrade
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Download the Washington Existing Multifamily Incentive Application
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