Heat pumps in Montana
Montana sits at 2.5% of homes on a heat pump, in a state where winter is long and the housing is spread thin. Billings is the reference here, but a state this large has real climate variation — the mountain valleys are a different proposition from the eastern plains.
Heat pump adoption
EIA RECS 2020 microdata ↗2.5% of Montana 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 0.5% of Montana homes run a mini-split as secondary heat alongside natural gas.
Episodes
Recorded in Montana
Homeowners and contractors in MT, in their own words.
Money and next steps
What Montana pays toward one
Montana DEQ — Energy
The state energy office, covering weatherisation and efficiency assistance. Residential rebates mostly come from NorthWestern Energy or your local electric cooperative.
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 Montana 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 Montana. Last checked September 2026.
Ready to get quotes?
Tell us about your home and we'll connect you with installers who work in Montana — and who we'd let near our own houses.
The numbers
What a heat pump here has to cover
18°F
Coldest month average low
Billings · NOAA 1991–2020 normals
87°F
Warmest month average high
Billings · 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.