Xcel's Aurora F-3 Project: what it covers and who qualifies

If your home sits inside one specific Aurora boundary and you have natural gas service from Xcel Energy, the Aurora F-3 Project pays 100% of the cost of qualifying upgrades, up to a cap on each measure. The caps run to $15,000 for a cold-climate heat pump, $3,500 for a heat pump water heater, and $7,350 across attic insulation, wall insulation, and air sealing.

Everyone outside that boundary gets Xcel's standard statewide heat pump rebates instead, which are a fraction of these amounts. So the first question isn't what the program pays. It's whether your address is inside the line.

Key takeaways

• The Aurora F-3 Project is an Xcel non-pipeline alternative, meaning Xcel is paying homeowners to reduce gas demand instead of building more gas pipe.

• Eligibility is by physical address inside a defined boundary in west Aurora, plus active residential Xcel natural gas service. Gas-only and gas-plus-electric customers both qualify.

• Rebates cover 100% of project cost up to a cap per measure, and the caps are far above Xcel's standard statewide rebates.

• Invoices have to be dated on or after June 22, 2026, and the work has to be done by a contractor in Xcel's trade partner network, who files the application.

• Funding is limited and first come, first served. Xcel tells customers to verify the program is still active and funded before starting a project.

• Two rules cost people money: total rebates from all sources can't exceed your actual equipment and labor cost, and heat pump rebates require certified full removal of the gas equipment they replace.

What is the Aurora F-3 Project?

It's a rebate program tied to one gas feeder area in west Aurora, and the reason it exists is worth understanding, because it explains why the amounts are so much larger than normal.

Natural gas demand in the Aurora F-3 area is growing toward the capacity of the existing system. The conventional fix is new pipe: bigger mains, more capacity, decades of cost recovery from every ratepayer. The alternative, which regulators now require utilities to evaluate, is to pay the homes in that area to need less gas on the coldest days of the year. Xcel labels this a non-pipeline alternative, or NPA.

The economics are why the rebates look unusual. Zero Homes CEO Grant Gunnison put it plainly when Xcel selected us to run its Neighborhood Retrofit Program in Denver and Aurora: "Utilities across the country are realizing that the cheapest pipe might be the one you don't have to build." When avoided infrastructure is the benchmark, paying for a homeowner's heat pump and insulation is cheap.

Practically, that means the Aurora F-3 Project isn't a discount program. It's Xcel buying a reduction in winter gas demand, and your upgrade is the thing being bought.

Is my home in the Aurora F-3 Project area?

Eligibility is determined by your property's physical location inside the official boundary, not by a city or a neighborhood name. The boundary is a fully enclosed loop, and every address inside it is eligible. It covers the Lowry area, the neighborhoods around the Community College of Aurora, and the blocks south and east of the Anschutz Medical Campus.

Xcel describes the boundary as follows:

• East Montview Blvd. between Quebec Street and Lansing Street

• Lansing Street between East Montview Blvd. and East Colfax Ave.

• East Colfax Ave. between Lansing Street and North Sable Blvd.

• North Sable Blvd. between East Colfax and East Ellsworth

• A short section running from North Sable to East 13th Ave. to Chambers Rd. to East 6th Ave. to North Sable

• East Ellsworth Ave. from North Sable to I-225

• I-225 from East Ellsworth to East Mississippi Ave.

• East Mississippi Ave. from I-225 to South Dayton Street

• South Dayton Street from East Mississippi to East Alameda Ave.

• East Alameda Ave. from South Dayton Street to Monaco Street Parkway

• Monaco Street Pkwy. from East Alameda to East 8th Ave.

• East 8th Ave. from Monaco Street Pkwy. to North Quebec Street

If you're near an edge, check the official Aurora F-3 project area map rather than guessing from the street list. Xcel notes the boundary is subject to change.

Two exclusions sit alongside the boundary. New construction isn't eligible, and neither is previously unconditioned space, so finishing a basement or a garage and heating it for the first time doesn't qualify.

What does the Aurora F-3 Project pay for?

Every line below pays 100% of project cost up to the stated cap, and the cap is a ceiling rather than a payment. Heating and cooling equipment:

Insulation and air sealing, which are the measures most homeowners skip and shouldn't:

Read the equipment rows carefully. The rebate is written against a cold-climate specification, not against any heat pump. A unit has to hold a COP of at least 1.75 at 5°F, meaning it still delivers 1.75 units of heat for every unit of electricity at 5 degrees, and it has to retain at least 70% of its 47°F heating capacity down at 5°F. Those two lines are the reason a qualifying system keeps up in an Aurora January. They also disqualify a lot of equipment a contractor might otherwise quote.

Which rules actually cost people money?

Four, and they're all in the fine print of Xcel's rebate summary rather than on the program page.

Total rebates from every source can't exceed your actual cost. Xcel's terms say rebates applied for from all parties incentivizing a project should not exceed the actual equipment and labor cost, and names state programs, local government, and nonprofits as examples. Because Aurora F-3 already pays 100% up to the cap, the Colorado state heat pump incentive doesn't simply stack on top to produce a check. It gets absorbed. Plan the project around the cap, not around a stack.

Heat pump rebates require certified removal of the gas equipment they replace. You and your contractor must certify full removal of any existing natural gas equipment where the rebated equipment now provides heat for the same space or purpose. This rules out the common Colorado hedge of keeping the furnace as a backup on the coldest nights, at least for the rebated measure. If a dual-fuel setup is what you actually want, that's a legitimate project, and a different one. It's the single most consequential rule in the program, and it deserves a conversation before you sign anything.

One rebate per 12 months for equipment doing the same job, and no duplicate rebates for the same improvement under other Xcel programs. If your address also falls inside another Xcel initiative, you get one of them for a given measure, not both.

Invoices must be dated on or after June 22, 2026. Work done before that date doesn't qualify, however close it was.

On top of those: the work has to be done by a contractor in Xcel's trade partner network, the contractor files the application, and processing typically runs six to eight weeks. Approved rebates come as a check, or your contractor applies them directly to your invoice.

What we see running Xcel neighborhood programs

Xcel selected Zero Homes in April 2026 to run its Neighborhood Residential Retrofit Program, a $10 million effort covering roughly 2,200 homes across one income-qualified Denver neighborhood and one market-rate area in Aurora. That's a different program from Aurora F-3, with its own boundary and its own terms, but it's the same underlying idea and the same paperwork machinery.

What we've learned is that these projects rarely fail on the money. They fail on documentation. The equipment has to be on the AHRI or energystar.gov listing to be eligible, the 5°F performance numbers have to come off the certified rating rather than the brochure, and the removal certification has to be handled at install rather than remembered afterward. A project quoted against the wrong rating line is a project whose rebate shrinks after the work is done.

The other pattern: homeowners in these areas almost always want the equipment and almost never ask about the shell. In a 1950s and 1960s housing stock like the Lowry-area blocks inside the F-3 boundary, an empty wall cavity and an R-11 attic are common, and they're exactly what the program pays to fix at 100% of cost. Skipping the insulation and air sealing to get straight to the heat pump leaves the free money on the table and gives the new system a harder job.

What the Aurora F-3 Project won't do

It won't leave you with a furnace as backup. For the rebated heat pump measures, the gas equipment goes. If a dual-fuel setup is what you want for peace of mind, that's a legitimate choice, and it's a different project with different rebates.

100% of cost up to a cap is not the same as free. A $19,000 ducted cold-climate heat pump project in a house that needs three zones is $15,000 covered and $4,000 yours. The caps are generous, not infinite.

The funding can run out. Xcel says plainly that funding is limited and offered first come, first served, and it tells customers to verify the program is still active and funded before completing a project. Treat the program as a window, not a fixture.

A heat pump alone won't fix a leaky house. If your shell is the problem, the equipment will run harder and your comfort will still be uneven. That's an argument for using the insulation and air sealing lines, not for skipping the heat pump.

Frequently asked questions

Who qualifies for Aurora F-3 Project rebates?

Homeowners with an active residential natural gas account from Xcel Energy at a property inside the Aurora F-3 project boundary. Gas-only customers and customers with both gas and electric service from Xcel both qualify. New construction and previously unconditioned space are excluded.

How much does the Aurora F-3 Project pay?

It pays 100% of project cost up to a cap per measure: $15,000 for a cold-climate or ground source heat pump, $3,500 for a heat pump water heater, $3,000 for a 95%+ AFUE gas furnace replacing a non-condensing one, and $7,350 combined across attic insulation, wall insulation, and air sealing.

When do I have to install to qualify?

Your invoice has to be dated on or after June 22, 2026. There's no published end date, but funding is limited and first come, first served, so the practical deadline is whenever the pool is exhausted. Xcel asks customers to verify the program is still funded before completing a project.

Can I combine Aurora F-3 rebates with the Colorado state heat pump incentive?

Not to exceed your actual cost. Xcel's terms cap total rebates from all parties at the real equipment and labor cost of the project. Since Aurora F-3 already covers 100% up to its caps, the state incentive typically gets absorbed rather than added on top. Our guide to Denver-area heat pump rebate programs covers how the other Colorado layers work.

Do I have to remove my furnace?

For the heat pump measures, yes. You and your contractor must certify full removal of any existing gas equipment that the rebated heat pump now heats the same space with. Keeping the furnace as a cold-weather backup disqualifies that measure.

Sources

• Xcel Energy, Aurora F-3 Project

• Xcel Energy, Aurora F-3 Residential Rebate Summary, effective June 22, 2026

• Zero Homes selected by Xcel Energy to lead a neighborhood retrofit program in Denver and Aurora

See what your Aurora address actually qualifies for. We check the boundary, design the system for your house from a scan you run on your phone, and file the Aurora F-3 application for you. See the full Aurora F-3 Project rebates and eligibility page.