How the Mass Save heat pump rebate works
Short answer: for a whole-home air source heat pump that replaces oil, propane or electric resistance heat, Mass Save lists $2,650 per ton, up to $8,500, for equipment installed in 2026 by a network contractor, on an electric account with Eversource, National Grid, Unitil or Cape Light Compact.
Source: Mass Save: air source heat pumps. Read from the Internet Archive copy saved July 16, 2026 because masssave.com blocks automated readers. Amounts are set per year. Check the live page before you rely on them.
Photo: PeterEastern, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (an outdoor unit in the UK).
The rebate types
| Type | Amount (2026) | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Whole-home | $2,650 per ton, up to $8,500 | The heat pump is the sole source of heating and cooling. |
| Partial-home | $1,125 per ton, up to $8,500 | You keep a boiler or furnace as a supplement. An integrated control is required where oil, propane or gas stays in use. |
| Basic | $250 per ton, up to $2,500 | You are not displacing fossil or electric resistance heat (for example a new addition). |
| Income-based enhanced | Up to $16,000, or up to no cost through Turnkey Services | Income-qualifying households whose existing fuel is oil, propane or electric resistance. See masssave.com/Enhanced. |
A ton is the unit’s cooling capacity (AHRI capacity divided by 12,000 Btu), not its weight. Partial-home rebates also offer a $500 weatherization bonus and a $500 sizing bonus when you meet their conditions.
What you need to qualify
- Residential customer replacing oil, propane or electric resistance heat, where Cape Light Compact, Eversource, National Grid or Unitil is your electric sponsor, applying with a residential electric account.
- Equipment is ENERGY STAR Cold Climate, installed between January 1 and December 31, 2026, by a contractor in the Mass Save Heat Pump Installer Network.
- Rebate form and documents received by February 28, 2027. Allow about eight weeks for processing. Some projects get a random inspection.
- Whole-home only: the home must be sufficiently weatherized, one whole-home rebate per account, and the home must be occupied full time during the winter heating season.
Municipal light customers. If your electricity comes from a town light department (for example Reading, North Reading, Wilmington, Wakefield, Middleton, Danvers or Peabody), Mass Save’s heat pump rebate does not apply to you as an oil customer. Your light department may run its own program. See the town pages. The state list of municipal electric companies is on Mass.gov municipal electric list.
A worked example
A 3-ton whole-home system: 3 x $2,650 = $7,950. A 4-ton system: 4 x $2,650 = $10,600, but the cap holds it to $8,500. So any whole-home system of about 3.2 tons or more gets the cap. Mass Save’s own cost example shows a $22,000 average installed cost minus $8,500 for a net of $13,500 (income-based: $22,000 minus $16,000, net $6,000). The $22,000 figure comes from 2022 program data, so use it only as a starting point.
The 0% HEAT Loan
The Mass Save HEAT Loan offers 0% financing up to $25,000 in total for weatherization, pre-weatherization barriers, heat pumps, heat pump water heaters and some other measures. The applicant must be the homeowner with a residential electric or gas account with a Mass Save sponsor, a no-cost Home Energy Assessment is required for whole-home heat pumps and weatherization, and financing depends on lender approval. Source: Mass Save: 0% financing (Internet Archive copy, June 15, 2026).
What is not there anymore
Mass Save’s page notes that the federal heat pump tax credit expired: expenditures made after December 31, 2025 no longer qualify. There is also an instant incentive channel, the New England Heat Pump Accelerator, available through some distributors and contractors, which Mass Save says is state-led and not administered by the Mass Save sponsors. See nehpa.org for current amounts.
Lower winter electricity rates
Eversource, National Grid and Unitil offer seasonal heat pump rates for homes that heat with heat pumps, with a lower base distribution charge from November 1 through April 30. Mass.gov lists base distribution rates of $0.02052 per kWh for Eversource (plus a lower transmission rate of $0.01492 against $0.04545), $0.02440 for National Grid and $0.03633 for Unitil, against $0.06264, $0.06677 and $0.10176 without the heat pump rate. Customers with a Mass Save heat pump rebate since 2019 are enrolled automatically; others can self-enroll. The state is reviewing further changes. Source: Mass.gov heat pump rates. The calculator uses these differences.