Clement Boston Heat Pumps prices every ducted job from a home visit; our typical range for a whole-home heat pump on ducts we can reuse is $15,000 to $28,000 and up before rebates, and the rebate arrives only after the work is done.
The Mass Save heat pump loan, called the HEAT Loan, is how many households bridge that gap at 0% interest.
What the HEAT Loan is
It’s a 0% loan for energy work, made by participating banks and credit unions under rules the Mass Save sponsors set. A qualifying heat pump is one of the eligible measures.
| Feature | How it works |
|---|---|
| Interest | 0% |
| Amount | Up to $25,000, a lifetime cap per customer since January 1, 2025 |
| Who lends | Participating banks and credit unions, not Mass Save and not the installer |
| What it needs | A signed proposal on the contractor’s letterhead from a participating contractor |
| Assessment | A Home Energy Assessment is required for whole-home heat pump projects and partial-home bonus projects |
| Timing | Applied for and approved before the work starts |
The lifetime cap matters if you’ve used the loan before. An insulation job financed a few years ago can count against the $25,000 that’s left for the heat pump.
Who can get it
Homeowners with a residential account at a Mass Save sponsor utility qualify, subject to the lender’s own review.
- Eversource, National Grid and Unitil customers: eligible through the standard program
- Light plant electric customers: eligible only if they heat with natural gas from a sponsor gas company
- Whole-home projects: a Home Energy Assessment has to come first
That light plant rule matters in Belmont, Braintree, Peabody, Wellesley, Reading and the other towns with their own electric utility. An oil-heated house in those towns uses the light plant’s program instead.
The order of steps
The loan only works if the steps run in order. Install first and apply later, and the loan is usually gone.
- Book the Home Energy Assessment and do the air sealing and insulation it recommends.
- Have the first visit: load calculation, duct and panel checks, outdoor spot.
- Get the written estimate with the equipment, capacity, scope and price.
- Apply with a participating lender using the signed proposal.
- Get approval, then schedule the install.
- After startup, the rebate forms go in; the rebate is paid to you later.
Step one also moves the rebate: whole-home needs proof of weatherization, and a sealed house often sizes smaller, which lowers the price the loan has to cover.
How the loan and the rebate fit together
The loan pays for the job up front; the rebate comes back afterward. Used together, they cover most of a typical whole-home conversion without paying interest.
A worked example
Take a 3-ton oil to heat pump conversion on reusable ducts at $24,500 before rebates. The HEAT Loan can cover the full $24,500 at 0%. After the install, the whole-home rebate for 3 tons installed through 2026 is $7,950, paid by check once the forms are approved.
What you do with that check is yours to decide under the loan’s terms. The lender sets the repayment schedule, so ask about it when you apply.
What the lender looks for in the proposal
The lender wants a proposal it can match to the program: who is doing the work, what is being installed and what it costs. A vague one-line quote slows the approval down.
- The contractor’s name and letterhead, signed
- The heat pump model numbers, outdoor and indoor, and the system’s capacity
- Whether the job is whole-home or partial-home, and what happens to the old system
- The price, with the heat pump separated from unrelated work
Our written estimate already carries those items, because the rebate forms ask for the same facts after the install. Keeping the two documents consistent avoids a second round of questions later.
When the job runs past $25,000
Jobs with new ductwork, a service upgrade and an oil tank removal can run past the cap. Our typical range for a heat pump with new ductwork or a small-duct system is $20,000 to $40,000 and up.
The loan covers up to its cap and the rest is paid another way. The estimate lists equipment, ducts, electrical work, permits and removal on separate lines, so you and the lender can see which parts the loan carries.
Phasing work to fit the cap
Some households split the job: weatherization first, the heat pump next, the oil tank removal after the first winter. That keeps each piece clear, as long as the heat pump install itself still meets the rebate’s conditions.
The light plant alternative in Reading
Reading Municipal Light Department, which serves Reading, North Reading, Wilmington and Lynnfield Center, offers its residential customers a heat pump rebate or a 0% loan of up to $40,000 at their primary home.
That program is the light plant’s own, with its own rules, and it replaces the Mass Save electric-side path for oil and electric switches in those towns. Read our Mass Save rebate guide for how the other light plant programs compare.
What to ask before you apply
A few questions settle most loan surprises before they happen.
- Has the account used a HEAT Loan before, and how much of the cap is left?
- Is the Home Energy Assessment done, and are its recommendations finished?
- Does the estimate show the equipment’s capacity at 5°F and its place on the qualifying list?
- Which lines of the estimate does the lender count as eligible?
We write every estimate with those lines in plain view; our quote checklist has the rest. Call us or send the form to book the first visit, and start the assessment the same week.