Why the fall is the time to book
Clement Boston Heat Pumps prices every ducted heat pump from a home visit, and preparing for a heat pump home visit takes an evening. Do it in the fall, while the old system still runs, and you choose the equipment and the date.
A furnace that quits on a January night leaves two options: patch it for one more season or replace it in a hurry. Neither leaves room to fix an undersized return, plan a panel upgrade or line up rebate paperwork.
The rebate calendar matters too
For heat pumps installed from January 1, 2027, Mass Save’s whole-home rebate is $2,350 per ton up to $7,500, down from $2,650 per ton up to $8,500. The install date sets the amount. Our Mass Save rebate guide covers who qualifies.
If you plan to use Mass Save’s 0% HEAT Loan, the application goes in before the work starts, so a fall visit gives the lender time too.
What to gather before we arrive
Five things make the visit faster and the estimate sharper. None of them takes more than a few minutes to find.
- A year of heating bills. Oil or propane delivery slips, or twelve months of gas bills. We compare what the house really burned with the load calculation.
- A year of electric bills. They show your summer cooling use and which utility serves you, which sets the rebate route and the heat pump electric rate.
- Model labels. A phone photo of the rating plate on the furnace or boiler, the AC condenser and any air handler.
- A panel photo. The open panel door, with the main breaker label readable.
- A list of problem rooms. Which rooms run cold in January or hot in July, and at what time of day.
If you live in a condo, bring the master deed or the board’s rules on exterior equipment. Our condo replacement guide explains why that approval can take longer than the install.
What we measure while we’re there
The visit is a measurement session, not a sales pitch. Each measurement answers a question the estimate has to settle.
| What we check | What it tells us |
|---|---|
| Room-by-room load calculation (ACCA Manual J) at your town’s design temperature | The capacity you need on a cold night, often smaller than the old unit |
| Duct static pressure | Whether your ducts can carry the extra airflow a heat pump moves |
| Return size and duct leakage | Whether a bigger return or sealing belongs on the estimate |
| Electrical panel | Room for two 240-volt circuits, or a service upgrade |
| Outdoor spot | Snow clearance, the lot line for noise, and the line set route |
Most of the surprises in a heat pump job hide in the ducts. Our guide to heat pump sizing explains why we size from the house, never from the old furnace’s nameplate.
What the written estimate shows
You get the price in writing, with every line we think the job needs, so you can compare it with any other quote line by line.
The estimate lists the equipment and its capacity at 5°F, each duct change, the electrical work, the permits, the rebate path your address qualifies for and the price. For a whole-home heat pump on ducts we can reuse, our typical range is $15,000 to $28,000 and up before rebates.
Questions to bring
Write down what you want answered: whether to keep the furnace as backup with a dual fuel heat pump, what happens to an oil tank, and how the system behaves in a power outage. Our quote checklist has the rest.
When the old system is already failing
If the furnace or boiler is limping, say so when you book. We still do the full visit, because a rushed swap to the same size repeats the old mistakes.
A furnace that needs a part to finish the winter can sometimes buy time for a planned conversion in spring. Our page on furnace to heat pump conversion walks through that choice, and oil to heat pump conversion covers homes still on a tank.
Book the visit
Send the form or call, tell us what heats the house now, and pick a time when someone can open every room.
Bring the bills, the labels and the panel photo, and you’ll have a written number to weigh before the first hard freeze. The installation process guide shows what happens after you say yes.