Braintree Electric Light Department pays two different heat pump rebates, and the one you get depends on what heats your house today. Clement Boston Heat Pumps plans heat pump installation in Braintree, MA around that split, because it changes both the rebate and whether Mass Save joins in.
Gas homes get the smaller BELD rebate plus Mass Save. Oil, propane and baseboard homes get the larger BELD rebate and no Mass Save on the electric side.
Which BELD rebate fits your house
BELD runs its own heat pump program, administered by Abode. The tier is set by your current heating fuel, and both tiers ask for the same equipment and installation standards.
Homes that heat with gas
BELD pays $750 per ton up to $4,500. Because National Grid supplies Braintree’s gas and sponsors Mass Save, a gas home can add Mass Save’s gas-side heat pump rebate on top. BELD’s own program page says so plainly. Our rebate guide lists Mass Save’s conditions.
Homes that heat with oil, propane or electricity
BELD pays $1,250 per ton up to $7,500. Mass Save’s electric-side rebates need a Mass Save electric sponsor, and BELD isn’t one, so this BELD rebate is the main incentive. About 31% of Braintree homes burn oil and 13% use electric heat, so this tier covers a large share of town.
Conditions on both tiers
- Equipment: ducted or ductless heat pumps on the NEEP cold-climate list.
- Placement: the outdoor unit on a stand with at least 12 inches of ground clearance, unless it’s shielded.
- Whole-home: a room-by-room Manual J and the existing system disconnected.
- Refrigerant: R-410A systems installed after December 31, 2025 don’t qualify; see our refrigerant guide.
Whole-home on BELD: what it asks of the house
BELD’s whole-home path asks for two things beyond the equipment: a room-by-room Manual J and the old heating system disconnected. Both decide how the heat pump is sized and what happens on the coldest night.
A load calculation room by room
A whole-house rule of thumb by square footage oversizes some rooms and starves others. The Manual J we run on the first visit works out each room’s heat loss at the design temperature, so every register gets the airflow it needs. We keep the report with the BELD paperwork.
No furnace to fall back on
With the old system disconnected, the heat pump and its backup strips carry the house alone. We choose equipment that holds its output at 5°F and set the strips to come on only when the heat pump can’t keep up.
Where an owner wants a gas furnace kept, that is a partial setup, and we price both options side by side.
Weatherization, the other BELD rebate
BELD also pays half the cost of weatherization, up to $3,500. Sealing and insulating before the heat pump goes in shrinks the system you need.
Why it changes the quote
A colonial with a leaky attic floor and an uninsulated rim joist may need a ton more capacity than the same house sealed. The load calculation shows where the heat goes; our sizing guide explains how we read it.
Order of work
Air sealing and insulation go first, then the final load calculation, then the equipment order. That way the rebate covers the right size.
The houses: capes, colonials and the Highlands
About 65% of Braintree homes are detached houses, and a little over a quarter were built before 1940. Most were built with a furnace or a boiler, some with central air added later.
Furnace houses
Post-war capes, ranches and colonials with warm-air gas or oil furnaces have ducts already. We measure static pressure and check the returns, then reuse what works; see furnace to heat pump conversion.
Boiler houses
Older houses in East Braintree and around Braintree Center often heat with hot-water baseboard or radiators. They need new ducts: a basement air handler for the first floor and an attic unit upstairs. See heat pump ductwork.
Condos
About a fifth of homes are in buildings of five or more units. The association decides where outdoor units go, and BELD’s 12-inch stand rule applies to those spots too.
Oil, gas and running cost on BELD power
Running cost on BELD power follows BELD’s own tariff, not the state seasonal heat pump rates, which only Eversource, National Grid and Unitil offer.
- Oil: the costliest common fuel per delivered BTU, so oil homes see the largest change. We remove the basement tank with the conversion; see oil to heat pump conversion and oil tank removal.
- Gas: cheaper per BTU, so the case is closer. Gas owners usually switch for central cooling or at the end of the furnace’s life; see heat pump vs gas furnace.
- Electric baseboard: two to three units of heat per kilowatt-hour from a heat pump, against one.
Who pays what in Braintree: BELD heat pump rebate and permits
Braintree’s Building Division takes permit applications online through PermitEyes. A heat pump job needs an electrical permit and the town’s mechanical permits, confirmed per address.
| What | The Braintree figure |
|---|---|
| Electric utility | Braintree Electric Light Department |
| Gas utility | National Grid (Boston Gas) |
| BELD rebate, gas-heated homes | $750 per ton up to $4,500, plus Mass Save |
| BELD rebate, other homes | $1,250 per ton up to $7,500 |
| Energy code | Stretch code since January 1, 2021 |
| Heating fuel | Gas 51.2%, oil 31.4%, electricity 13.1% |
Braintree is also on the state’s coastal list, with shoreline on the Fore River and Town River. Units near tidal water go out of direct spray, and BELD’s stand rule keeps them clear of snow; see our placement guide.
Steps on a Braintree install
The first visit settles the rebate tier along with the load: what heats the house, the ducts, the panel and an outdoor spot with room for a 12-inch stand.
- Written estimate: equipment on the NEEP list with its capacity at 5°F, ducts, electrical, permits and the BELD tier.
- Weatherization first, where it lowers the size.
- Install: three to nine working days, depending on ducts; the old system is disconnected for the whole-home path.
- Commissioning: pressure test, vacuum below 500 microns, weighed charge, airflow and the backup lockout recorded.
Weymouth next door is on National Grid and Mass Save, and Randolph to the south shares that setup.