John and Christine Callahan were a little skeptical when they first heard that state incentives for a heat pump could cut down the heating bill for their single-wide trailer in Waterville. 

But their neighbor had signed up for the new rebate from the quasi-state agency Efficiency Maine, and the Callahans’ natural gas heating bill had been unpredictable.

Maybe an electric heat pump would make their Social Security payments stretch further, they thought, especially since they needed those monthly checks to cover medical expenses for their chronic illnesses.

So in 2024 they agreed to the terms of Efficiency Maine’s Manufactured (Mobile) Home Initiative. They removed their gas furnace. And they committed to a $2,500 loan from Efficiency Maine’s “Green Bank” that they would pay off in $50 monthly increments over 50 months to cover the installation of an electric heat pump, which would both heat and cool their home.

The heat pump became their only heat source late that summer — that is, if the equipment had worked. It did not, and they were cold when winter set in. Then their contractor sued them.

By all indications, the Callahans’ experience was rare. But it provides some insights for other homeowners looking to install heat pumps, which are an energy-efficient alternative to furnaces and air conditioners. And it provides a window into how Efficiency Maine’s mobile home initiative has changed course with time. 

The initiative to offer rebates to low-income residents living in mobile homes launched as a pilot in 2022. It earned a permanent place on Efficiency Maine’s menu of heat pump rebates in 2024. So far the mobile home rebate program has had at least 127 participants, according to Efficiency Maine. The agency plans to add 1,000 more heat pumps into mobile homes over the next seven years.

The mobile home initiative is a small part of Efficiency Maine’s broader rebate offerings, which play a key role in Maine’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The quasi-state agency has facilitated and subsidized the installation of more than 143,000 electric heat pumps since 2019. The Mills administration aims to install a total of 275,000 heat pumps by 2027.

‘We were freezing’

The Callahans realized something was wrong with their new heat pump system when there was a late-summer cold snap in 2024, and the Daikin heat pump started turning off as soon as they turned it on. At first they went to their contractor, BRF Services, owned by Ralph Howe, for help. Two technicians came to fix their system, but the problem persisted.

As the Callahans grew distrustful of BRF Services’ ability to fix the heat pump, they refused to pay Howe and confirm his rebate, later prompting him to sue them in small claims court. Instead they turned to Efficiency Maine for assistance. An official with Efficiency Maine initially told Christine Callahan that the issue was between her and the contractor, according to an email from that August. 

Behind the scenes, however, Efficiency Maine Executive Director Michael Stoddard said his agency was working with BRF Services to try to find a resolution between Howe and the Callahans. It tried several times to schedule Howe to return to make repairs, but the Callahans were unwilling to continue working with him, Stoddard said.

Because the Callahans had been required to remove their furnace, they were left with no heat when their heat pump malfunctioned. Autumn set in, and the Callahans resorted to turning on their stove to heat their home, Christine Callahan said. She and her husband lived in their winter jackets and bundled in blankets. They also used electric space heaters sent by Efficiency Maine.

Still, “we were freezing,” Christine Callahan said. “The pipes froze from the inside. That’s how cold it was.”

The breakdown between the Callahans and Howe prompted rare intervention on Efficiency Maine’s part. The agency arranged for a second contractor to examine the Callahans’ heat pump. The new contractor ultimately determined it had suffered a fatal circuit board malfunction from a factory defect, Stoddard said. The problem had not been the result of the first contractor’s workmanship, the second contractor told Efficiency Maine. 

The Callahans’ next-door neighbor also had the same model of heat pump installed by BRF Services and experienced the same glitch, Efficiency Maine confirmed.

In response, Efficiency Maine removed the Callahans’ heat pump model from its list of rebate-eligible heat pumps, though the agency only heard of the two instances in Waterville where it malfunctioned.

“Luckily, there were several other models that worked very well, so we just limited eligibility to those other models,” Stoddard said.

Efficiency Maine then paid for the second contractor to install a new heat pump system for the Callahans in late December 2024. It was one of the only times the agency has done so, Stoddard said. 

The second heat pump wasn’t perfect: Around New Year’s, it started shutting off after only a few hours of use, Christine Callahan said. The system’s air filter was clogged – which doesn’t usually happen so quickly — but it was replaced, Stoddard said.

Efficiency Maine also made changes to restrict which houses are eligible for the mobile home rebate program based on their type of heating system, though the new requirements were not  instituted as a direct result of the Callahan’s experience, Stoddard said.

Today, homeowners looking to put heat pumps in their mobile homes that are heated with wood or natural gas — as the Callahan’s home was — do not qualify for the incentives. They have to be heating with propane or kerosene to qualify for rebates. Homeowners are still required to remove their old heating system.

Efficiency Maine made changes because the cost savings for replacing a wood- or gas-fired furnace with an electric heat pump system aren’t as significant as for other fuels, Stoddard said, and the program prioritizes both energy efficiency and savings.

“To ensure the maximum cost-savings to the consumer, the program now restricts eligibility to only those homes that were heating with propane or kerosene prior to the heat pump installation,” Stoddard said in an email.

‘We will follow up’

Howe and his attorney, Brian Condon, sued the Callahans for $2,400 in small claims court on March 5, 2025, over an unpaid bill, according to Condon. Court records show that the contractor said he invoiced the couple for an electric water heater. But the Callahans said they never purchased a water heater nor had one installed in their mobile home. 

Based on court records and other financial statements provided by the Callahans, it’s unclear how much of the project qualified for a rebate from Efficiency Maine.

As Christine Callahan planned their defense against Howe’s lawsuit, she said she grew more frustrated. 

“I don’t want to see [Howe] do this to somebody else,” she said.

The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed on May 30, records show. 

“After hearing their complaints [in mediation] we realized it wasn’t a simple matter of them refusing to pay, so we dismissed without prejudice which means we can bring the case again,” Condon wrote in an email.

Howe referred questions to his attorney. 

The fallout between the Callahans and their contractor demonstrates the value of getting multiple quotes from the more than 800 rebate-eligible contractors on Efficiency Maine’s “registered vendor list.” Efficiency Maine recommends getting at least three quotes for heat pump work before settling on one specific vendor. The Callahans picked the first and only contractor they spoke with.

Contractors have to be listed on Efficiency Maine’s website to qualify for rebates, but the agency does not endorse them, Stoddard said. 

Stoddard said most vendor-customer disputes can be settled with better communication. If problems persist, the threat of removing a contractor from the vendor list or temporarily suspending them from Efficiency Maine programs is typically enough to regain compliance.

“If they were to be removed from the list that would be damaging to their business, so we’ve generally had very good responsiveness,” Stoddard said.

The agency can’t monitor every interaction between customer and contractor, but it can step in when needed.

“If it comes to our attention that there’s something that needs to be looked at, then we will follow up,” Stoddard said.

This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor, a nonprofit civic news organization. To get regular coverage from The Monitor, sign up for a free Monitor newsletter here.