Heat pumps in Massachusetts
Massachusetts has old housing stock, expensive winter fuel, and one of the most generous rebate programs in the country. That combination makes it one of the most interesting places in America to put in a heat pump — and one of the easiest to get wrong.
Heat pump adoption
EIA RECS 2020 microdata ↗3.7% of Massachusetts 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. A further 2.3% of Massachusetts homes run a mini-split as secondary heat alongside natural gas or oil.
Episodes
Recorded in Massachusetts
Homeowners and contractors in MA, in their own words.
Money and next steps
What Massachusetts pays toward one
Mass Save
Statewide efficiency program funded by the utilities, not by Washington — unaffected by the federal changes. Rebates for whole-home and partial heat pump installs, plus 0% HEAT Loans.
Program details →Federal Home Energy Rebates
The IRA rebate programs (HEAR and HOMES) survived the 2025 tax changes and are administered state by state. Massachusetts has an active program; funding runs until it is depleted.
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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts. Last checked September 2026.
Ready to get quotes?
Tell us about your home and we'll connect you with installers who work in Massachusetts — and who we'd let near our own houses.
The numbers
What a heat pump here has to cover
23°F
Coldest month average low
Boston · NOAA 1991–2020 normals
82°F
Warmest month average high
Boston · 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.