HVAC Rebates in Glenview, Illinois: The Complete 2026 Guide

If you're replacing heating or cooling equipment in Glenview, there is money available — but not from where most homeowners expect, and not for every kind of equipment. This guide lists what Nicor Gas and ComEd actually pay in 2026, explains the one common upgrade that neither utility rebates at all, and covers the deadline that quietly costs people the money after they've already earned it.

1. Everything at a glance

2. Nicor Gas rebates

Nicor Gas is the natural gas utility for Glenview and most of the North Shore. Its residential program rebates gas-burning equipment only — anything that runs on electricity is outside its scope.

Furnace rebate

$150 for a furnace rated 95% AFUE or higher, and $225 at 97% AFUE or higher.

The threshold matters more than the dollar amount suggests. A 90–94% AFUE furnace earns nothing. It costs substantially more than a standard 80% unit, and in Glenview it triggers a permit because condensing furnaces require new venting — so you take on the cost and the paperwork and collect no rebate. If you're crossing into condensing territory at all, go to 95% at minimum. Our furnace replacement cost guide walks through that decision in full.

Smart thermostat rebate

$25 standalone, or bundled with a furnace for a better total: $275 with a ≥97% furnace, $200 with a ≥95% furnace.

The thermostat must be ENERGY STAR certified with Wi-Fi and geo-fencing. Limited to one per household or account.

Boiler rebate

$350 for a residential boiler at ≥95% AFUE under 300 MBTUH. A combination boiler — space heating plus integrated domestic hot water — earns $500, the largest single residential rebate Nicor offers.

Relevant in older North Shore housing stock, where hydronic and radiator heating is more common than the regional average.

Water heater rebate

$150 for either a tankless unit at UEF ≥0.95 or a storage tank unit at UEF ≥0.86. Both must be ENERGY STAR certified.

Easy to overlook: if your water heater shares a flue with a furnace you're replacing, the venting has to be reworked anyway. Doing both at once can mean two rebates and one labor visit.

3. ComEd rebates

ComEd is the electric utility. Its Home Heating and Cooling program rebates electric heating and cooling — and the amounts are considerably larger than Nicor's, because the programs are designed to encourage electrification.

Heat pump discounts

• Air source and centrally ducted mini-split: up to $2,000
• Ductless and mixed-use mini-split: up to $1,000
• Geothermal (ground source): up to $6,000 per home
• Geothermal indoor replacement unit: up to $1,200 per unit

Thermostat bundles

Bundled totals reach up to $2,075 with an air source heat pump and up to $1,075 with a ductless mini-split — roughly $75 above the heat pump amount alone.

4. The gap: nobody rebates a plain air conditioner

This is the finding that surprises people, and it's worth being blunt about.

Replacing a conventional central air conditioner with another conventional central air conditioner earns no rebate in Glenview. Not from Nicor, not from ComEd.

The logic, once you see it, is consistent:

• Nicor is a gas utility. An air conditioner burns no gas, so it falls outside the program entirely.
• ComEd is an electric utility, and an AC does use electricity — but ComEd's residential program funds efficiency and electrification, and a like-for-like AC swap delivers neither. It rebates heat pumps instead.

So a homeowner budgeting an AC replacement and penciling in "minus a rebate" is budgeting wrong.

If you're working through an AC failure right now, our AC troubleshooting and cost guide covers what repairs run and when replacement wins.

5. Two programs, two completely different processes

Beyond covering different equipment, the two utilities hand you the money in fundamentally different ways. Mixing them up is how people lose it.

Practical consequence: with Nicor you can hire whoever you like and sort the paperwork afterward. With ComEd, the contractor choice is the rebate. Decide that first.

6. The federal tax credit is gone

The federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, Section 25C, covered qualifying property "placed in service on or after Jan. 1, 2023, and before December 31, 2025." Gas furnaces qualified for up to $600.

It is not available for equipment placed in service in 2026.

This trips up a lot of people, because plenty of contractor brochures, cost calculators, and older articles still reference it as though it were current. If a quote includes an expected federal credit on 2026 equipment, that figure is wrong, and the quote should be re-run without it.

Utility rebates are entirely separate and unaffected — Nicor and ComEd programs continue. This is general information rather than tax advice; confirm your own situation with a tax professional.

7. If money is tight: IHWAP

If a furnace fails and replacement isn't financially feasible, Illinois runs a program most homeowners have never heard of.

The Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program (IHWAP) helps income-eligible residents make their homes more energy efficient. Coverage includes HVAC repair or replacement, insulation, air sealing, water heater work, and health and safety measures — capped at $20,000 per eligible home for energy-related work.

Who qualifies

Households at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. For a household of four, that's roughly $66,000 in annual income. There's also categorical eligibility — households already receiving LIHEAP, cash assistance, or HUD or USDA housing assistance generally qualify on that basis.

How to apply

Applications go through your local Community Action Agency, online or in person. The statewide Help Illinois Families line is 1-833-711-0374.

Worth knowing about even if it doesn't apply to you — it very often applies to an older relative or neighbor, and people don't ask because they assume nothing exists.

8. How to actually claim

For a Nicor rebate

1. Confirm the equipment qualifies before install. Get the model number and its AFUE or UEF rating in writing on the quote. "High efficiency" is marketing; a number is a spec.
2. Install between January 1 and December 31 of the program year.
3. Keep the itemized invoice showing model number, efficiency rating, and installation date.
4. File within 90 days of installation through Nicor's online rebate portal.
5. Ask whether your contractor files for you. Some do. Most don't unless asked.

For a ComEd discount

1. Find a ComEd-trained contractor first, before collecting quotes.
2. Confirm the discount appears on the quote as a line item.
3. Verify the equipment is program-eligible — not every heat pump qualifies.
4. The contractor handles the paperwork; your price is already reduced.

9. Five mistakes that cost people the rebate

1. Missing the 90-day Nicor window. The most common failure by far. The furnace goes in during a January cold snap, the paperwork goes in a drawer, and by spring the window has closed. File it the same week.
2. Hiring a non-trade-ally contractor for a heat pump. Costs up to $2,000 and is generally unrecoverable afterward.
3. Buying a 90–94% AFUE furnace. Higher cost than standard, triggers the venting change and the permit, earns nothing. The rebate starts at 95%.
4. Budgeting the expired federal credit. A $600 line item that no longer exists.
5. Assuming an AC replacement earns something. It doesn't — unless you switch to a heat pump.

10. Frequently asked questions

Yes. Nicor Gas offers $150 for a gas furnace rated 95% AFUE or higher, and $225 at 97% AFUE or higher. Bundling an ENERGY STAR smart thermostat raises those to $200 and $275 respectively. Equipment must be installed during the program year and the application filed within 90 days of installation.

Generally no. Replacing a conventional central air conditioner with another conventional AC earns no rebate from Nicor Gas or ComEd. Nicor rebates gas equipment only, and ComEd's residential program funds heat pumps rather than like-for-like AC replacement. Switching to an air source heat pump instead qualifies for a ComEd discount of up to $2,000.

Up to $2,000 for an air source or centrally ducted mini-split heat pump, up to $1,000 for a ductless or mixed-use mini-split, up to $6,000 for a geothermal system, and up to $1,200 for a geothermal indoor replacement unit. Bundling a smart thermostat adds roughly $75. Discounts are applied at the point of sale through ComEd-trained contractors.

No. The Section 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit applied to qualifying property placed in service before December 31, 2025, with gas furnaces eligible for up to $600. It is not available for equipment placed in service in 2026. Utility rebates from Nicor and ComEd are separate programs and remain available.

You must apply within 90 days of installation, and the equipment must be installed within the current program year. Missing the 90-day window is the single most common reason homeowners lose a rebate they had already qualified for.

Yes, when the project includes equipment covered by each. The programs are independent and cover different equipment types — Nicor for gas-burning equipment, ComEd for electric. A project combining a high-efficiency gas furnace with an electric heat pump, for example, could draw from both. Confirm specifics with each utility, since program terms can restrict stacking.

Yes. ComEd discounts are delivered at point of sale through ComEd-trained trade allies and certified service providers, not as a mail-in application. If you hire a contractor outside the program, there is generally no way to claim the discount afterward. Confirm trade ally status before signing anything.

Yes, from both utilities. Nicor Gas offers $25 for a standalone ENERGY STAR smart thermostat with Wi-Fi and geo-fencing, limited to one per household, or a larger bundled amount when installed with a qualifying furnace. ComEd includes roughly $75 of additional value when a thermostat is bundled with a qualifying heat pump.

Yes. Nicor Gas offers $350 for a residential boiler at 95% AFUE or higher under 300 MBTUH, and $500 for a combination boiler that provides both space heating and integrated domestic hot water. The combination boiler amount is the largest single residential rebate in Nicor's program.

The Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program (IHWAP) may help. It serves households at or below 200% of the federal poverty level — roughly $66,000 for a household of four — and covers HVAC repair or replacement along with insulation and air sealing, capped at $20,000 per home. Households already receiving LIHEAP, cash assistance, or HUD or USDA housing assistance generally qualify categorically. Apply through your local Community Action Agency or call Help Illinois Families at 1-833-711-0374.

No. The Nicor furnace rebate begins at 95% AFUE. A furnace in the 90–94% range costs considerably more than a standard 80% model and, because condensing furnaces require new venting, triggers a permit requirement in Glenview — while earning no rebate. If you are moving into condensing equipment, 95% is the practical minimum.

Natural gas service in Glenview and most of the North Shore is provided by Nicor Gas, and electric service by ComEd. Because each utility runs its own efficiency program covering only its own fuel, which rebate applies to your project depends on whether the equipment burns gas or runs on electricity.