Every LADWP rebate a Santa Monica homeowner can get in 2026 — heat pumps, solar, battery storage, water heaters, and EV chargers — explained plainly, with real installed costs and payback.
Updated August 2026 · Independent guide. We don't sell your info. Numbers below are LADWP's own published rebate figures.
Santa Monica is a coastal city with a dense mix of apartments, condos, and single-family bungalows. This page covers every LADWP rebate available to Santa Monica homeowners in one place.
In 2026, a Santa Monica homeowner in LADWP territory can claim $2,500 per ton on a heat pump (typically $7,500–$10,000+ for a 3–4 ton system), $5,400 for a home battery, and $2,500 for a heat pump water heater. LADWP does not currently rebate rooftop solar, insulation, or windows directly, and the federal solar tax credit expired at the end of 2025 — so those are savings-only decisions now, not rebate ones.
Santa Monica sits in LADWP (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power) territory for electricity. Unlike investor-owned utilities such as SCE or PG&E, LADWP runs its own rebate programs directly — and its heat pump rebate is genuinely strong, but solar and building-envelope work currently carry no utility rebate here.
3–4 ton systems typically qualify for $7,500–$10,000+. Installed cost usually runs $13,000–$22,000, with roughly $800/year in heating savings and an ~18-year simple payback on the unrebated portion.
Source: LADWP residential heat pump rebate
A 6 kW system typically costs $15,000–$18,000 and saves about $1,200/year, paying back in roughly 13 years — on savings alone, since LADWP does not currently offer a solar installation rebate.
Source: LADWP program listing; no residential solar rebate currently offered
Against a typical installed cost around $12,000. Keeps essential circuits running during an outage, on top of the electricity-bill savings.
Source: LADWP battery storage rebate
No dedicated LADWP rebate currently offered for insulation. Still worth doing first — it shrinks the heat pump you need and cuts bills year-round.
Source: LADWP program listing
Replaces a gas or electric tank with a unit that uses a fraction of the energy.
Source: LADWP water heater rebate
No dedicated LADWP rebate currently offered for windows or doors.
Source: LADWP program listing
Toward a Level 2 home charger installation.
Source: LADWP EV charger rebate
A straightforward rebate on a qualifying smart thermostat.
Source: LADWP smart thermostat rebate
Heat pump installers in Santa Monica
Browse the full installer directory → for more Santa Monica options.
Solar installers in Santa Monica
Browse the full installer directory → for more Santa Monica options.
A typical Santa Monica household replacing a gas furnace keeps $7,500–$10,000+ on the heat pump alone, plus $5,400 on a battery and $2,500 on a water heater if you do those too — a non-solar stack that can clear $18,000. Solar itself is a savings play here, not a rebate play: no utility rebate, and the federal 30% solar tax credit expired December 31, 2025.
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Start your assessment →Southern California's grid is generally reliable, but wildfire-related public safety power shutoffs and heat-driven demand spikes are real considerations. A 13.5 kWh home battery, with LADWP's $5,400 rebate against a roughly $12,000 installed cost, keeps essential circuits — fridge, lights, internet, medical equipment — running when the grid drops. Solar's role here is mostly to recharge that battery through the day; on its own, at $0 utility rebate and a ~13-year payback, it's a savings decision rather than a fast-payback one.
These are LADWP's own residential programs. Here's what each one covers and how you claim it.
Paid per ton of installed heat pump capacity. Most single-family homes need a 3–4 ton system, which puts the rebate at $7,500–$10,000 before any additional incentives. Installed cost typically runs $13,000–$22,000, so the rebate is a real offset but not the whole project.
Covers a portion of a home battery system (typically sized around 13.5 kWh) against a roughly $12,000 installed cost. Provides backup power during outages in addition to the rebate itself.
A heat pump water heater uses a fraction of the energy of a standard electric tank, and can replace a gas, electric, or oil unit.
$1,000 toward a Level 2 home EV charger installation, and $75 for a qualifying smart thermostat.
The federal 30% solar investment tax credit (ITC) expired December 31, 2025. The federal HEAR (Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates) program for single-family homes closed in February 2026. Neither is available to new applicants as of this writing — any site or contractor still advertising them is out of date.
LADWP (electricity & water)
Strong, year-round sun
Southern California gets significantly more sun than BC or the Northeast — solar production is reliably good here, even without a utility rebate.
Santa Monica is coastal and dense — a majority of residents live in apartments or condos rather than detached homes, with single-family bungalows concentrated in the North of Montana and Sunset Park neighborhoods.
Generally reliable
Occasional wildfire-related public safety power shutoffs and heat-driven demand spikes are the main reliability risk — a real argument for battery backup.
Quote to installation: typically several weeks for a heat pump swap, longer for solar with interconnection
Permits: city building permit, plus LADWP interconnection approval for solar or battery systems
Rebate payout: filed by your contractor after installation and inspection; timelines vary by program
Most of the dollar figures on this page assume you own a home outright and control the whole property. That's not everyone in Santa Monica — Santa Monica has one of the highest renter shares in the LA metro, so the renter and condo guidance below applies to most households here. Here's what changes if you rent or live in a condo:
The LADWP heat pump, solar, and battery rebates go to whoever owns and installs the equipment — typically your landlord, not you. We don't have a confirmed LADWP or state program specifically for renter-initiated upgrades to point you to right now, so the honest advice is: if you want these upgrades, the ask has to go to your landlord or property manager, and you can point them to this page and LADWP's own rebate portal.
In-unit upgrades you control yourself — a heat pump water heater, an in-unit heat pump, a smart thermostat — may qualify for the LADWP rebates above with your HOA's approval, particularly for anything touching shared walls, exterior units, or common electrical systems. Get that approval in writing before applying. We don't have confirmed details on a separate LADWP multi-unit or whole-building rebate stream, so if your building is considering a group retrofit, contact LADWP directly to ask what applies to multi-family or condo properties specifically.
For an entire apartment or condo building, decisions typically run through the HOA or property owner rather than individual unit owners, and LADWP may handle multi-family properties differently than single-family rebate applications. We don't have verified specifics on Santa Monica-area multi-family LADWP terms to state here confidently — if this applies to you, the most reliable next step is calling LADWP's customer programs line directly rather than relying on the single-family figures on this page.
LADWP pays $2,500 per ton installed, and residential systems typically run 3–4 tons — so the rebate alone is usually $7,500–$10,000, and can run higher depending on your exact system and any additional LADWP incentives layered on top. Installed cost typically runs $13,000–$22,000, so the rebate covers a meaningful share, not the whole project.
No — LADWP does not currently offer a utility rebate for residential solar installation. A typical 6 kW system in LADWP territory costs roughly $15,000–$18,000 and saves around $1,200 a year, paying back in about 13 years on electricity savings alone, with no rebate offsetting the upfront cost. The federal solar investment tax credit (ITC) that used to help here expired December 31, 2025, so this is now a savings-only decision, not a rebate one.
LADWP offers a $5,400 rebate on a home battery (typical size 13.5 kWh), against a typical installed cost around $12,000. That's a meaningful offset, and a battery also keeps essentials running during an outage — a real consideration in a region with periodic wildfire-related power shutoffs.
The federal HEAR program for single-family homes closed in February 2026, and the separate federal solar ITC expired December 31, 2025. Neither is available to new applicants now. What's left is the LADWP rebate stack described on this page — that's the real, current number to plan around.
The LADWP rebates on this page are structured for whoever owns and controls the equipment being replaced — typically the property owner. Renters generally can't claim the heat pump, solar, or battery rebates directly since those upgrades belong to the building. See the renters & condo section below for what actually applies to you.
We don't have a vetted local installer directory built out for Santa Monica yet, unlike some of the cities we cover in BC and Ontario. The honest answer right now is to browse our general installer directory and get multiple quotes — we'll build out Santa Monica-specific installer data as we verify more local contractors.
Browse our general installer directory → and get quotes from at least two or three contractors.
LADWP customer programs & rebates → — verify you're in LADWP territory before assuming these figures apply.
Back to the LA Metro guide → for context on all six cities we cover in this region.
A few guides that go further into topics on this page, for when you want more than the summary.
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