Heat pumps in Virginia
Virginia is really two heating markets: gas-heated suburbs in the north, and a rural south and west that went electric long ago. Statewide that averages out to 28.7% of homes on a heat pump — seventh in the country — but the number you actually live with depends a lot on which side of the state you are on.
Heat pump adoption
EIA RECS 2020 microdata ↗28.7% of Virginia 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 0.7% of Virginia homes run a mini-split as secondary heat alongside natural gas.
Episodes
Recorded in Virginia
Homeowners and contractors in VA, in their own words.
Money and next steps
What Virginia pays toward one
Virginia Energy
The state energy office, which coordinates Virginia's federal rebate programmes. Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power run the main utility rebates.
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 Virginia 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 Virginia. Last checked September 2026.
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The numbers
What a heat pump here has to cover
29°F
Coldest month average low
Richmond · NOAA 1991–2020 normals
90°F
Warmest month average high
Richmond · 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.