Rebates
Duke Energy HVAC rebates in Winter Springs, Florida
Duke Energy publishes up to $1,000 for replacing electric strip heat with a qualifying heat pump, $500 for replacing a heat pump and $300 for replacing an air conditioner, with townhomes capped at $600. Every one of them requires a free Home Energy Check completed within the previous 24 months and before installation.
The order matters
Duke Energy requires a free Home Energy Check completed within the previous 24 months, before the equipment is installed. Replace first and apply afterwards and the claim is denied. For an emergency replacement Duke allows the Check within 12 months after installation instead — the only route back once a compressor has already failed.
- Home Energy Check first. Free, from Duke.
- Then the recommendation it produces.
- Then the permitted install by a licensed contractor of your choosing.
- Then the application, through Duke’s Florida portal.
Duke Energy Florida Home Energy Improvement prerequisites. Rebate questions 800.254.8535.
The amounts
What Duke Energy publishes
| If you are replacing | With | Duke publishes | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric strip heat | Heat pump | $1,000 | 16.8 SEER & 9.0 HSPF, or 16 SEER2 & 7.5 HSPF2 |
| Electric strip heat | Heat pump | $600 | 16.0 SEER & 9.0 HSPF, or 15.2 SEER2 & 7.5 HSPF2 |
| An existing heat pump | Heat pump | $500 | 16 SEER & 9.0 HSPF, or 15.2 SEER2 & 7.5 HSPF2 |
| An existing AC system | AC | $300 | 16 SEER or 15.2 SEER2 |
| Townhome / multifamily HVAC | — | up to $600 | The cap applies whatever the tier above |
| Duct test and repair | — | up to $450 | Instant rebate, certified Trade Ally |
| Attic insulation | — | up to $800 | Instant rebate |
How firm are these numbers
Duke’s Florida programme page states incentive levels effective 7 May 2025, and the Florida portal confirms the programme and the Home Energy Check prerequisite apply to Duke Energy Florida. The multifamily figure comes from a search summary rather than the page itself. Amounts change; every figure here was checked in September 2026.
Why this city
Winter Springs is a strip-heat city, street by street
The top tier fits this city. Duke’s largest published HVAC rebate is for replacing electric strip heat with a heat pump, and straight-cool plus electric resistance strip heat was the standard build in Winter Springs’ 1970s and 80s housing — 51.2% of the city’s 13,297 improved residential parcels.
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the two nearest first-order stations put Central Florida at 3,452 to 3,694 annual cooling degree days against 468 to 525 heating degree days — about seven units of cooling for every one of heating.
Winter Springs is fourth of seven Seminole County cities on that share; Altamonte Springs, Longwood and Casselberry are higher. What this city has that they do not is granularity — 224 named subdivisions, most built in one push, so the strip-heat streets can be named: Winter Springs Unit 4, Wildwood, Wedgewood Tennis Villas, Oak Forest Unit 6, Tuscawilla Units 14A and 14B, all with a 1970–89 share above 86%.
How to check yours in thirty seconds: if the thermostat has an “emergency heat” or “aux heat” setting that is the only heat, and the panel has a large double-pole breaker feeding the indoor air handler as well as the condenser’s own breaker, you are almost certainly on electric strip heat.
| City | Parcels | Median year built | Built 1970–89 | Built before 1970 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altamonte Springs | 13,253 | 1981 | 72.4% | 8.2% |
| Longwood | 4,962 | 1979 | 66.5% | 13.5% |
| Casselberry | 8,563 | 1977 | 57.1% | 19.9% |
| Winter Springs | 13,297 | 1988 | 51.2% | 2.6% |
| Lake Mary | 5,343 | 1996 | 26.9% | 6.3% |
| Oviedo | 12,263 | 1995 | 25.0% | 1.7% |
| Sanford | 17,391 | 1995 | 24.8% | 22.6% |
Source: Seminole County Property Appraiser CAMA extract, files dated 5 September 2026. Improved residential parcels (single-family, townhome and condominium; DOR codes 01xx and 04xx) in tax districts W1 and W2.
Order of operations
How to actually get the money
Electric service inside the city limits is Duke Energy Florida — not FPL, not OUC. Water and sewer are billed by the City of Winter Springs itself, which is a common source of confusion; the rebate is Duke’s, not the City’s.
- Book the free Home Energy Check before anything else.
- Get quotes with SEER2 and HSPF2 named — the tiers are gated on the matched-system rating.
- Confirm the current amount with Duke: 800.254.8535 for rebate questions, 877.364.9003 for application support, Monday to Friday 8–5.
- Use a licensed, insured contractor of your choosing — Duke requires it, and so does the City permit desk.
- Apply through the Florida portal after the work is complete and inspected.
Townhome owner? Duke classes townhomes as multifamily, which caps the HVAC rebate at up to $600. Why that matters for 643 Winter Springs parcels.
Rebates
On strip heat and thinking about replacing?
Book the Home Energy Check first. It is free, it takes one visit, and skipping it is the most expensive mistake in this whole process.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from
Every figure above is either a primary-source document or a named third-party cost guide, and all of it was checked in September 2026. Fee schedules, rebate amounts and market prices change without notice — if you are about to spend money on one of these numbers, open the source and check it.
- Duke Energy Florida, Home Energy Improvement HVAC replacement
- Duke Energy Florida, Home Energy Improvement prerequisites
- Duke Energy, Home Energy Improvement programme overview
- Duke Energy Florida rebate application portal
- NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 climate normals, annual cooling and heating degree days, Orlando International and Orlando Executive
- Seminole County Property Appraiser