Heat pumps in Idaho
Idaho sits at 2.8% of homes on a heat pump, with cheap hydro power and a climate that swings hard — a 25°F average low in the coldest month, a 93°F average high in the warmest. That spread is a good argument for one machine doing both jobs.
Heat pump adoption
EIA RECS 2020 microdata ↗2.8% of Idaho homes use a heat pump as their main heat
Goal: every home
Central heat pumps and ductless mini-splits combined, counted as the home's main heating equipment.
Episodes
Recorded in Idaho
Homeowners and contractors in ID, in their own words.
Money and next steps
What Idaho pays toward one
Idaho Office of Energy and Mineral Resources
The state energy office. Idaho Power and Avista run the main residential rebates, and both have specific heat pump offerings for homes on electric heat.
Program details →Federal Home Energy Rebates
The IRA rebate programs (HEAR and HOMES) survived the 2025 tax changes — they were grants to states, not tax credits. Each state runs its own, and they are at different stages: some open, some already out of money, some yet to launch. Check where Idaho stands before you count on it.
Program details →
The federal 25C tax credit — 30% back, up to $2,000 on a heat pump — ended for systems placed in service after 31 December 2025. If you had one installed in 2025 or earlier you can still claim it; there is no successor credit. Incentives move fast, so check DSIRE for what is current in Idaho. Last checked September 2026.
Ready to get quotes?
Tell us about your home and we'll connect you with installers who work in Idaho — and who we'd let near our own houses.
The numbers
What a heat pump here has to cover
25°F
Coldest month average low
Boise · NOAA 1991–2020 normals
93°F
Warmest month average high
Boise · NOAA 1991–2020 normals
Cold-climate heat pumps are rated to hold full output well below zero. The question here is not whether one works, it is whether yours was sized and installed for the coldest night of the year rather than the average one.