AEP Ohio and Columbia Gas of Ohio run residential rebate programs that change year to year; verify current offers before relying on them in payback math. The federal Section 25C insulation credit terminated December 31, 2025 (OBBBA, Public Law 119-21) and does not apply in 2026.
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Columbus utility rebate programs are the realistic post-Section-25C path for partial cost recovery on spray foam projects. Three programs to check at the time of the project. (1) AEP Ohio residential rebates. AEP Ohio serves Greater Columbus electric customers. The rebate menu changes year to year; in recent years it has included $50-$300 rebates for attic insulation upgrades, $100-$500 for whole-home weatherization packages, and occasional bonus payments for combined HVAC + insulation projects. Eligibility typically requires pre-install inspection and post-install verification by a program-aligned contractor. (2) Columbia Gas of Ohio residential rebates. Columbia Gas serves most of Greater Columbus for natural gas. Recent program features have included weatherization rebates and HVAC tune-up incentives through the company's WarmChoice and residential efficiency offerings. (3) PACE-style assessments. Ohio has limited PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) availability compared to states like California; check with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission or Franklin County for current options. The federal Section 25C credit landscape. The OBBBA terminated Section 25C for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. There is no 2026 federal credit for spray foam insulation as of this writing. Reinstatement is plausible but not certain; Columbus homeowners should not plan around assumed federal credit recovery in 2026. State and county programs. Ohio currently has no large state-level residential insulation credit; this changes occasionally with legislative cycles. Franklin, Delaware, Licking, Fairfield, and Union counties do not run their own insulation rebate programs but may offer small incentives through energy-efficiency block grants. The practical Columbus 2026 rebate math. A typical $7,500 attic foam project might collect $200-$500 in utility rebates (AEP Ohio + Columbia Gas combined), reducing net cost to $7,000-$7,300. The dominant economic case for foam remains the utility-bill savings over 4-8 years, helped by the long Zone 5A heating season; rebates are a small bonus. Asking your installer to handle rebate paperwork as part of the project scope is standard; most Columbus installers have a rebate-coordination admin who manages the submissions. Verify any specific rebate offer before relying on it; the program landscape changes quarterly in some cases.