Help with your heating and cooling bills may be available where you live.
Federal and state programs — including LIHEAP — help millions of U.S. households with home energy costs every year. Tell us where to send it and we'll email you a starting point for your state: what these programs typically cover, who they are meant for, and the official places to apply.
See what energy assistance may be available where you live
3 quick questions · about a minute · free
No application fee. We never ask for a Social Security number.
Programs that help with heating, cooling and past-due energy bills
Income limits, and the benefits that can make a household automatically eligible
Direct links to your state's own official application — always free to apply
Run locally, funded federally
LIHEAP operates through every state and the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and participating tribes — each with its own rules and dates.
Help with heating · cooling · past-due bills
How this page works
Not a government agency
HearthLine is an independent information service. We are not affiliated with HHS, your state, or any utility company.
Email only — nothing sensitive
We never ask for a Social Security number, bank details or income documents on this page.
Official sources, linked
Every program we describe is a real one, and we point you to the .gov page that actually runs it.
Free to read, free to apply
Applying for energy assistance through your state never costs money. If anyone asks you for a fee, that's a red flag.
The basics
What is energy assistance?
“Energy assistance” is the umbrella term for programs that help households cover the cost of keeping a home heated, cooled and powered.
The largest is LIHEAP — the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program — funded federally and run by each state, territory and participating tribe. The money is federal, but the rules, application, opening dates and amounts are all local.
They may help with a regular heating or cooling bill, with a shut-off emergency, or with work on the home itself — insulation, sealing drafts, repairing an unsafe furnace — so the next bill is smaller.
Assistance is usually paid straight to your utility as a credit, not to you. Funding is limited each year, so programs can close or run out before the season ends.
Who these programs are built for
Rentersand homeowners — you generally qualify either way, as long as you're responsible for the energy cost
Workinghouseholds are included. There is no requirement to be unemployed or on other benefits
Seniorsand households with young children or a disability are prioritized by many states
What it covers
The kinds of help these programs offer
Not every state offers every component, and some are seasonal. This is what to look for when you check what's available near you.
Most common
Heating bill help
A payment made toward your winter heating costs — gas, electric, propane, oil, wood or kerosene — usually credited straight to your account with the utility or fuel dealer.
Seasonal
Cooling bill help
In hotter states, help with summer electric bills. Some states also provide fans or air conditioning units where extreme heat is a genuine health risk.
Emergency
Energy crisis assistance
A faster track for households facing a shut-off notice, a service already disconnected, or a fuel tank close to empty. Federal rules require crisis help to be available through at least March 15 each year.
Long term
Weatherization
Free improvements that lower what you use in the first place — attic and wall insulation, sealing drafts around doors and windows, and repairing inefficient heating or cooling equipment.
Safety
Minor energy repairs
Some states use energy assistance funds to repair or replace a furnace or water heater that has failed or become unsafe, rather than simply paying the bill it generated.
Free
Referral and advice
Community action agencies and the national energy assistance hotline can point you toward utility payment plans, budget billing and shut-off protection rules in your state.
Weatherization is the one people forget
Weatherization is also delivered through a separate U.S. Department of Energy program, and households receiving certain benefits may qualify for it automatically.
Every state sets its own rules, so treat this as a map rather than a checklist. The factors below are the ones that come up almost everywhere.
01
Household income
The main test. Federal rules require states to set their limit no higher than the greater of 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or 60% of the State Median Income — and no lower than 110% of the poverty guidelines.
02
Household size
Income limits rise with the number of people living in the home, so a figure that is over the line for one person can be comfortably under it for a family of four.
03
Benefits you already receive
Many states treat a household as automatically income-eligible if someone in it receives SNAP, SSI, TANF or certain means-tested veterans' benefits. Some require only one member to qualify; others require all.
04
Responsibility for the bill
You generally need to show you actually pay for home energy — an account in your name, a recent bill, or rent that demonstrably includes the cost of heat.
05
Where you live
Your state, territory or tribal program sets the income limits, the opening and closing dates, the benefit amount and the application itself. Some run first-come, first-served until funds are gone.
06
Type of housing
Renters and homeowners both qualify in most states. Many exclude licensed medical facilities, treatment facilities, publicly operated community residences, and dwellings without a permanent address.
How it works
Four steps, and the first one takes a minute
HearthLine helps you get oriented. Your state runs the actual program and makes the actual decision.
01
Tell us the basics
A few quick questions — the kind of help you're after, your state, how many people live with you. No documents, no Social Security number, nothing sensitive.
02
Get your starting point by email
We send a summary for your state: the programs that exist there, the kinds of help each one covers, and the official page that runs it.
03
Check the details and gather documents
You review the real eligibility rules on the official site and pull together the paperwork before you start, so the application goes in complete the first time.
04
Apply directly with your state
You apply through your state, territory or tribal program — never through us, and never for a fee. They review it and they decide.
Check your options
See what energy assistance may be available in your state
Answer four short questions and we'll email you a starting point built around your answers — the programs to look at first, and the official links to apply.
Takes about a minute
No Social Security number or bank details
Official .gov links, always free to apply
Or just leave an email
or
3 questions · about a minute · free
We never ask for a Social Security number, income documents or bank details.
Questions
Straight answers, including the unwelcome ones
If something here is not clear, the official pages below are free and will always be more current than any summary of them.
National Energy Assistance Referral
1-866-674-6327
A free federal referral line that points you to the energy assistance office for your area.
It is help — usually a credit paid straight to your utility or fuel supplier — with the cost of heating, cooling and powering your home, funded federally through LIHEAP and delivered by your state, territory or tribe.
Official places to start — free, and no email needed
Energy assistance funding is set each year and some states run first-come, first-served. If you think this winter or summer is going to be tight, it is worth finding out early where you stand.
About a minute
No Social Security number
Official .gov links
Free to apply
3 questions · about a minute · free
We ask for your email at the end, never a Social Security number.
