Frequently asked questions

At the state's 09/28/26 average oil price of $6.08 a gallon and an average electricity price of 30.49 cents per kWh, our estimate is that a heat pump with a seasonal COP of 2.5 produces the same heat for roughly 35 to 40 percent less than oil. It depends on your home, the heat pump's real efficiency, and oil prices, which fell to a $4.09 average last winter. Use the calculator and change the assumptions.

For whole-home air source heat pumps replacing oil, propane or electric resistance heat, Mass Save lists $2,650 per ton up to $8,500 for 2026 installations by Heat Pump Installer Network contractors. Partial-home is $1,125 per ton up to $8,500. Income-qualified households can get up to $16,000 or no cost through Turnkey Services. Check masssave.com for current amounts.

For the whole-home rebate, the home must be sufficiently weatherized: built in 2000 or later, or a Home Energy Assessment recommends under $1,000 of weatherization, or recommendations made in 2013 or later have been completed. The assessment is no cost, and Mass Save lists 75 to 100 percent off approved insulation.

A Mass Save loan offering 0% financing up to $25,000 in total for qualifying work including weatherization and heat pumps. The applicant must be the homeowner with a residential electric or gas account with a Mass Save sponsor, and approval depends on a participating lender.

Not for the heat pump rebate. Mass Save says its rebates are for customers where Cape Light Compact, Eversource, National Grid or Unitil is the electric sponsor, and its assessment page says a municipal utility is not part of the Mass Save program. Municipal light departments such as RMLD and Middleton run their own programs.

Not for 2026. Mass Save notes that the federal heat pump credit expired for expenditures made after December 31, 2025.

Since November 1, 2025, Eversource, National Grid and Unitil offer residential customers who heat with heat pumps a lower base distribution rate from November 1 through April 30 (and Eversource a lower transmission rate). The state is reviewing changes, so confirm your rate with your utility.

Only contractors in the Mass Save Heat Pump Installer Network qualify you for the heat pump rebate. We will list installers on the "who calls back" page after they answer real test calls. No installers are listed yet.

Plan the tank last, once the new system has proven itself through cold weather: keep it as a backup, or remove it. We have no sourced removal cost. Get a quote and ask your local fire department what permit is required.

No. Every figure here is an estimate from public data and the assumptions shown in the calculator. Get written quotes and a heating load calculation before you decide.

It is an independent guide. Listed installers may pay to be listed, and we may be paid when a homeowner request is sent to an installer. That does not change the calculator, the rebate figures or the callback results.