Heat pumps in New Jersey
New Jersey is a natural gas state — cheap, piped, and already in most basements, which is the single biggest obstacle to heat pump adoption here. Only 2.9% of homes use a heat pump as their main heat. The case for switching is usually about cooling and air quality as much as heating cost.
Heat pump adoption
EIA RECS 2020 microdata ↗2.9% of New Jersey 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 New Jersey homes run a mini-split as secondary heat alongside natural gas or oil.
Episodes
Recorded in New Jersey
Homeowners and contractors in NJ, in their own words.
Money and next steps
What New Jersey pays toward one
New Jersey's Clean Energy Program
The statewide program funded through the Societal Benefits Charge. Heat pump rebates, whole-home retrofit incentives, and zero-interest financing.
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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey. Last checked September 2026.
Ready to get quotes?
Tell us about your home and we'll connect you with installers who work in New Jersey — and who we'd let near our own houses.
The numbers
What a heat pump here has to cover
26°F
Coldest month average low
Newark · NOAA 1991–2020 normals
87°F
Warmest month average high
Newark · 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.