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Independent guide. Listed installers may pay to be listed. Estimates only, not quotes.
Massachusetts oil heat, run the numbers

Oil is $6.08 a gallon. What would a heat pump cost you instead?

At today’s state average, a home burning 800 gallons pays about $4,864 a year for oil. Put in your own gallons and see an estimate of the heat pump alternative after the Mass Save rebate of up to $8,500.

Run my numbersWeatherization comes first
  • Oil price: Mass. DOER survey, 09/28/26
  • Rebate: Mass Save 2026 amounts
  • No installer is listed yet, so none has paid to be here
Illustrated cutaway of a New England colonial in winter: oil tank and boiler in the basement, insulation in the attic and walls, and a heat pump outdoor unit on the side wall.

Your oil bill vs a heat pump: an estimate

Change anything. Every input has its source underneath, and every output is an estimate, not a quote.

Rule of thumb, not an official figure: about 0.5, 0.4 or 0.3 gallons per sq ft per year for older, mid and newer homes. Your delivery tickets are far better. Switch to “I know my gallons” and use those.

Default: Massachusetts average retail heating oil, $6.08/gal on 09/28/26 (DOER survey, excludes cash discounts; the 10th to 90th percentile was $5.65 to $6.66). Source: Mass. DOER. Your dealer’s price will differ.
Check your electric bill. Municipal light customers are not eligible for Mass Save heat pump rebates. Mass Save: air source heat pumps.
Default: Massachusetts average residential price, 30.49 cents, July 2026. Source: EIA Electric Power Monthly. Your bill is the better number.
Heat pump and system assumptions (all editable)
Our assumption. Older boilers and furnaces are often 70 to 85 percent. The label on the unit or an assessor can tell you.
Our assumption. 2.5 means 2.5 units of heat per unit of electricity over a Massachusetts winter. Cold-climate units run higher in mild weather and lower in deep cold. Ask for a Manual J load calculation and the installer’s expected seasonal figure.
100% for a whole-home system. For partial-home, 50 to 70% is typical; ask your installer.
Default 0, to stay conservative. Mass Save says insulation and air sealing can lower heating and cooling costs by up to 15%. Source: Mass Save: home energy assessments.
Seasonal rates, Nov 1 to Apr 30, for homes heating with heat pumps, from the lower base distribution charge (and Eversource’s lower transmission charge). Auto-filled from the utility above: National Grid 4.24, Eversource 7.27, Unitil 6.54 cents. Set to 0 to ignore. The DPU is reviewing deeper discounts for winter 2026 to 2027, so this may change. Source: Mass.gov heat pump rates (we computed the differences).
Install cost and rebate
Starts at about 1 ton per 500 sq ft. The real size comes from a heating load calculation. Rebates are paid per ton of cooling capacity (AHRI capacity divided by 12,000 Btu).
Default: the $22,000 average whole-home installed cost in Mass Save’s own example (based on 2022 program data, so today’s quotes may differ). Get 2 to 3 quotes. Source: Mass Save: air source heat pumps.
Mass Save’s whole-home rule: built in 2000 or later, or an assessment recommends under $1,000 of weatherization, or recommendations from 2013 or later are completed. Otherwise you may be offered the lower partial-home amount. Source: Mass Save: air source heat pumps.
Estimate, not a quote
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Oil, per year-
Heat pump, per year-
Cumulative cost over 12 years, oil versus heat pump, at today's prices
Keep oilHeat pump (net cost + running)

Cumulative cost, prices held flat at today’s levels. Real prices will move.

Installed cost (your input)-
Mass Save rebate (est.)-
Net cost after rebate-
Simple payback-
Saving if oil falls to last winter’s $4.09-
Heat pump electricity-

Heat is converted at 138,500 Btu per gallon of heating oil and 3,412 Btu per kWh (EIA Btu conversions). Last winter’s $4.09 is DOER’s 2025/26 season average. The 0% HEAT Loan (up to $25,000, Mass Save: 0% financing) is not subtracted. Weather, usage and prices change, so actual results will differ.

Get matched with an installer that calls back
Illustrated cutaway of a wall and attic corner: insulation in the attic floor and wall, sealed gap around a window, drafts stopped outside.
Step one

Seal and insulate before you buy a heat pump

Mass Save’s Home Energy Assessment costs nothing. It lists 75 to 100 percent off approved insulation and no-cost targeted air sealing, and for homes built before 2000 it is how you meet the weatherization rule for the whole-home rebate.

A tighter house also needs a smaller heat pump. How the weatherization rule works.

Illustrated basement corner: electrical panel, oil tank on steel legs, and an indoor heat pump unit with a refrigerant line through the wall.
Steps two to four

Panel, quotes, then the tank

  1. Check the electrical panel. A heat pump adds load. Ask the installer to put any panel work in the quote; it is not part of the rebate.
  2. Get two or three quotes from Mass Save Heat Pump Installer Network contractors, each with a heating load calculation.
  3. Plan the oil tank last. Once the new system has been through a cold snap, decide whether to keep it as backup or remove it. Ask your fire department what permit removal needs.

The numbers behind the calculator

Whole-home heat pump rebate (oil, propane or electric resistance)$2,650 per ton, up to $8,500Mass Save: air source heat pumps, 2026 amounts
0% HEAT LoanUp to $25,000Mass Save: 0% financing
Massachusetts average heating oil, 09/28/26$6.08 a gallon, +73% on a year earlierMass. DOER
Massachusetts homes heated with fuel oil22.4%, about 625,000 homesCensus ACS 2024 5-year, 2020 to 2024

We read mass.gov and eia.gov directly. masssave.com blocks automated readers, so Mass Save figures come from dated Internet Archive copies of the official pages. The sources page says which is which. Confirm on masssave.com before you commit.

Ten oil-heavy towns near Melrose

Wilmington, MassachusettsWilmington53.1% heat with oilMiddleton, MassachusettsMiddleton44.9% heat with oilReading, MassachusettsReading42% heat with oilTopsfield, MassachusettsTopsfield43.5% heat with oilWenham, MassachusettsWenham39.5% heat with oilBurlington, MassachusettsBurlington31.8% heat with oilLexington, MassachusettsLexington31% heat with oilStoneham, MassachusettsStoneham28.8% heat with oilWoburn, MassachusettsWoburn28.5% heat with oilWinchester, MassachusettsWinchester24.2% heat with oil

Heating-fuel shares: Census ACS 2024 5-year. Photos are licensed from Wikimedia Commons; see credits.

Who actually calls back

Many installers are booked out and slow to call back. We will list installers only after they answer real test calls. How the callback test works. No installers are listed yet.

Get matched with an installer that calls back

No installers are listed yet: we are first testing who actually answers the phone (how that works). Send your details and we will reply by email to say who we would match you with once the first installers pass the test. Independent guide; listed installers may pay to be listed.

Get matched with an installer