Michigan HVAC leads

How Michigan homes are heated

Michigan is a gas furnace state. In table B25117 (ACS 5-year 2020-2024), 2,317,982 of 2,984,190 owner-occupied homes heat mainly with utility gas, a 77.7% share that only three states exceed. Propane is second at 10.5%, ahead of electricity at 7.1%, one of the four lowest electric shares in the country.

Across all 4,076,369 occupied homes, renters included, utility gas heats 74.9% (table B25040 (2020-2024 ACS)). For an HVAC buyer, that mix means most replacements are furnace and boiler jobs, with propane equipment a sizable second line. The table describes how homes are heated; it says nothing about how often any group asks for service.

Michigan HVAC contractor licensing

Michigan licenses mechanical contractors at the state level through the Bureau of Construction Codes in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). LARA’s mechanical licensing page (checked October 8, 2026) says licensed mechanical contractors can perform installations, alterations and servicing and secure permits. The license is issued by work classification, and the ones closest to residential HVAC are:

• Hydronic heating and cooling and process piping, for boiler and hot water systems.
• HVAC equipment and ductwork, for furnaces, air handlers and air distribution.
• Refrigeration, plus limited or unlimited refrigeration and air conditioning service.
• Limited or unlimited heating service.
• Fuel gas piping, LP distribution piping, and solid fuel and vented decorative gas appliances.

Applicants need at least three years of experience in each classification they apply for and must pass an exam for each one; LARA notes that exams can include questions on the Skilled Trades Regulation Act (2016 PA 407). A contractor may hold some classifications and not others, so the classifications on a license show which jobs it can take. Refrigerant work also requires federal technician certification under EPA Section 608.

Michigan Home Energy Rebates (MiHER)

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) administers the federally funded Michigan Home Energy Rebates program (checked October 8, 2026). It has two pathways: HOMES, for whole-home upgrades that include heating and cooling systems, insulation and air sealing, and HEAR, for high-efficiency electric equipment such as heat pumps, for households at or below 150% of area median income.

As of the October 8, 2026 check, EGLE shows new income-qualified applications temporarily unavailable for properties in its Detroit, Warren, Grand Rapids, Lansing and Kalamazoo districts while it reviews applications and funding capacity. Rebates go through prequalified contractors. No rebate amounts are repeated here.

Reading the Michigan numbers for HVAC buyers

Put side by side, the Michigan figures describe a heating market built on gas, with propane as the main alternative. Three points for planning:

• Furnace work leads. 77.7% of owner homes on utility gas in the 2020-2024 ACS and 6,623 heating degree days in 2025 point to gas furnace and boiler replacement and repair as the core of Michigan HVAC work.
• Propane needs its own crews. One owner home in ten heats with propane statewide, and close to one in ten in Livingston and Ingham, so a buyer with LP-qualified technicians has a defined set of counties to cover.
• Licenses come in pieces. Because LARA issues mechanical classifications separately, a buyer can match request types to the classifications its contractors actually hold.

These readings rest on housing, climate and licensing records alone. They do not estimate the number or location of Michigan HVAC requests.