What DTE’s Home Energy Efficiency Program covers

DTE serves most of southeast Michigan. If your gas or electric service comes from DTE, you are in the program zone.

For 2026, the two rebate categories most relevant to spray foam work are:

A home that gets closed-cell foam in the attic deck and rim joist area — common in the older two-story brick homes throughout Livonia, Westland, and east Dearborn — can claim both in a single project — up to $1,000 combined from DTE, depending on what the blower door documentation supports. Verify current amounts directly with DTE before scheduling; utility rebate programs change year to year.

What about the federal 25C tax credit?

The federal 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit ended December 31, 2025, and no federal tax credit applies to insulation work performed in 2026. Projects completed on or before that date could claim it on a 2025 return, but for new work the DTE rebate is the money on the table — there is no federal side to stack.

Here is a real Wayne County example with actual numbers. A 1,500 square foot ranch in Taylor with an unconditioned attic and drafty rim joists gets 4 inches of open-cell foam across the attic deck and 2 inches of closed-cell on the rim joists. In this market, that project quotes somewhere between $4,800 and $6,200 depending on access and prep. With the air sealing and attic insulation rebates both documented, DTE can return up to $1,000 of that — the only incentive stacking available now that the federal credit has ended.

Homes that were leaking badly enough to qualify for that air sealing rebate tend to see $600 to $900 per year in combined heating and cooling savings after the work. You will not recover the full cost overnight. But it is not a losing proposition either, especially when a lot of Downriver homes are burning through that in a couple of bad winters.

Keep your itemized invoice anyway. A complete paper trail speeds up the DTE rebate package, and if a future federal credit returns, documentation is what makes past work claimable.

FAQ

My Macomb County home was built in the 1970s. Does that hurt my eligibility?

No. DTE’s program is open to existing homes regardless of age. Homes from that era were built under different codes with almost no intentional air sealing, so they often show the largest measurable improvement from spray foam work. That actually helps your rebate documentation — the blower door delta is usually significant enough that there is no ambiguity about whether the work moved the needle.

Can I still claim the federal 25C credit with my DTE rebate?

No. The federal 25C credit ended December 31, 2025, so insulation work performed in 2026 cannot claim it. The DTE rebate stands on its own: DTE processes it and sends a check, typically 6 to 10 weeks after submission. Work completed in 2025 or earlier may still belong on a 2025 federal return (Form 5695) — ask your tax preparer.

My contractor is not on DTE’s partner directory. Can I still get the rebate?

Yes. The rebate does not require you to use a DTE-listed contractor — it requires the work to meet program specs and the documentation package to be complete. Any contractor who understands the requirements can submit the package. The practical difference is that contractors who have done it before tend to submit cleaner packages that do not bounce back for corrections, which speeds up your check.

Does spray foam in a crawl space qualify?

It can, under the air sealing category. But the rebate is calculated on verified ACH50 improvement across the whole house envelope, not the crawl space alone. Your pre-inspection assessment will tell you how much your crawl space is contributing to your total air leakage. In older Downriver homes with unencapsulated dirt crawl spaces, it is usually a meaningful contributor — and treating it typically does move the whole-house number enough to satisfy the program threshold.