Introductory Information on Residential Heat Pumps
- Clean Energy Lives Here, a campaign of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) is a great place to start.
- New England Energy Partnership (NEEP) provides lots of useful information on cold-climate Air Source Heat Pumps (ccASHP). We particularly recommend the Air Source Heat Pump Buying Guide.
- Residential Incentives
- Short Videos produced by HeatSmart Concord/Carlisle/Lincoln in 2019
Supplementary Guides by the HeatSmart Alliance
- Air-to-Water Heat Pumps – Homeowner Reference. Owners of homes with existing hydronic heat distribution (hot-water baseboards, radiators, or radiant floors) often ask if there’s a way to use their existing distribution system with a heat pump. Air-to-water heat pumps may offer a solution.
- Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH) Guide and Technical Reference. Domestic hot water accounts for about 17% of energy use in a typical New England home. Replacing a conventional electric or fossil-fueled water heater with a hybrid or heat pump water heater can save on energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Resources for Choosing an Installer
None of these lists are comprehensive nor should presence or absence on any of these lists be a primary factor in installer selection. We always recommend getting multiple quotes.
- Mass Save installer list: Go to Electric Heating and Cooling Systems and look for the Find a Contractor form on the bottom right of the page.
- Clean Energy Lives Here: search for installers in your area
- MassCEC Cost of Residential Air-Source Heat Pumps: Provides access to a database with lots of statistics on ASHP installations that qualified for MassCEC rebates in the period 2014-2019. The database is searchable by town, installer and equipment brand. Though the page title focuses on cost, it’s more useful for identifying potential installers than estimating cost because the cost data are out of date.
Guidance on Operating Heat Pumps
- Efficiency Vermont blog: Who knew? 8 ways NOT to use a heat pump
- Our brief guide to Operating and Maintaining Your Ductless Mini-Split
Watch a portion of our usual presentation on heat pumps, presented at a webinar organized by Westford Climate Action in October 2022.