HVAC Heat Pump Upskilling Grant

The HVAC Heat Pump Upskilling Grant is one of two funding opportunities administered by the Colorado Energy Office under the Training for Residential Energy Contractors Grant Program. The broader TREC program is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and is intended to strengthen Colorado's residential HVAC workforce in support of beneficial electrification. The Upskilling Grant specifically focuses on the existing HVAC workforce rather than new workforce entrants. Its stated objective is to enable existing workers to receive Energy Skilled Recognized heat pump certifications, supporting the development of skills and qualifications related to heat pump technology. Funding under the HVAC Heat Pump Upskilling Grant is available to support training activities for existing workers. Awardees may use grant funds to subsidize the costs of training and support services for contractors, purchase training equipment, and cover other costs associated with training activities. The published funding overview states that awards under the TREC grant programs range from $50,000 to $350,000 per awardee per grant program. No matching contribution is required. The source does not provide a total funding pool, a specified number of Upskilling Grant awards, a period of performance, indirect cost limitations, or additional spending restrictions for a future round. Eligible applicants for the HVAC Heat Pump Upskilling Grant include community colleges, trade or technical schools, private training organizations, nonprofit organizations, organized labor or industry associations, certifying agencies, employers, and manufacturers. This eligibility list is broader than the one applicable to the separate New Entrant Training Grant because certifying agencies, employers, and manufacturers are expressly eligible for the Upskilling Grant. The program is directed toward Colorado's HVAC workforce. The Colorado Energy Office also states that applicants serving rural and rural resort regions are especially encouraged to apply in order to ensure statewide access to resources and training. This statement is an encouragement rather than an eligibility restriction to rural regions. The Colorado Energy Office is not currently accepting applications for the HVAC Heat Pump Upskilling Grant. Future funding rounds are to be determined. The agency makes application materials, a question-and-answer document, and an informational webinar from the previous application round available for reference, while expressly warning that any future application rounds are subject to changes. Accordingly, the source does not establish a current application opening date, closing date, pre-application deadline, required pre-application step, submission portal, or current application components. Previous-round materials should therefore not be treated as confirmed submission requirements for a future funding round. The supplied program page does not state current evaluation criteria, scoring weights, application questions, required uploads, award notification dates, or a grant performance period for a future Upskilling Grant round. The Colorado Energy Office does provide contextual resources intended to strengthen heat pump workforce development, including a Heat Pump Training Toolkit developed with input from the TREC Workforce Advisory Group and a list of Heat Pump Training Programs in Colorado. The Workforce Advisory Group consists of representatives from industry, training providers, and nonprofit organizations and provides insights and feedback regarding the needs, challenges, and opportunities involved in training and recruiting new and current HVAC technicians. As of August 28, 2026, the opportunity is not accepting applications and no next funding round has been scheduled. The statement that future funding rounds are to be determined indicates possible future funding but does not establish an annual, biennial, quarterly, or other recurring schedule, so no recurrence interval or calculated next-cycle date can be established from the supplied information. Applicants interested in future opportunities may sign up for TREC grant updates or broader Colorado Energy Office updates. The program page provides ceo_climateworkforce@state.co.us as an email contact associated with the heat pump training resources and requests that inaccuracies or omissions in those resources be directed to that address. No individual grant contact or telephone number is identified in the supplied source.

Align the proposed project with upskilling existing HVAC workers in heat pump technology and the stated eligible training activities. Applicants serving rural and rural resort regions are especially encouraged to apply.