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Residential Heat Pump Installation | Greater Boston
A cold-climate heat pump heats and cools the whole house. The 2026 rebates are real money. We design, install and file the paperwork.
617 HVAC installs cold-climate heat pumps across 30 Greater Boston communities as a Mass Save Heat Pump Installer Network contractor. Ducted systems, ductless mini splits and full conversions from oil or gas all start with the same whole-home assessment. A LiDAR scan measures the rooms, a Manual J calculation sizes the load and the electrical panel gets checked before anything is promised. The design is built around your house, the written quote carries the applicable rebate math and our team handles placement through commissioning and rebate paperwork.
Why Contractor Credentials Matter
Most companies installing heat pumps hold an HVAC license and nothing else. When the installation needs electrical work, they subcontract. When it needs a wall penetration through a finished exterior, they either skip the finish work or subcontract it. When it interacts with insulation and air sealing-which every heat pump does-they don't touch it.
617 HVAC holds general contractor, home improvement and contract supervisor licenses in addition to HVAC and EPA Section 608 certification. We pull our own permits, finish our own penetrations, understand how the heat pump interacts with the building envelope and know Massachusetts Specialized Code requirements before designing the system. It is why our installations are built for the 12–15 years a heat pump should last, not the 4–5 years a poorly integrated heat pump may give you.
Home & System Assessment
A heat pump doesn't work in isolation. Its performance depends on insulation, air sealing, distribution, electrical capacity and the load it is actually asked to carry. Our assessment goes further because heat pump installations that skip this step fail earlier.
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Room-by-room dimensions, ceiling heights, window sizes and floor plans are captured with LiDAR scanning equipment. Accurate measurements feed the Manual J load calculation and documented sizing qualifies your installation for the additional $500 Mass Save sizing bonus.
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We review insulation levels, air-sealing quality and thermal bridging-the things that decide how well the heat pump performs on the coldest days of a Boston winter. When weatherization improvements would meaningfully change the design, we tell you before sizing the system.
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We review existing panel amperage, breaker availability and service capacity. Most homes handle heat pump installations with existing service; some need a subpanel or full service upgrade and we identify which category yours is in during the assessment-not after installation starts.
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We evaluate existing ductwork, hydronic distribution and opportunities for ductless delivery. Sometimes the answer is a hybrid of ducted and ductless zones; sometimes it is replacing distribution entirely.
Four-Trade Integration
Heat pump installation crosses mechanical, electrical, envelope and controls work. The same design has to coordinate all four.
Equipment selection, refrigerant work, load matching, distribution, commissioning and EPA Section 608 practices are handled as one mechanical design.
Service capacity, circuits, disconnects and any required panel work are identified before installation begins and coordinated in the approved scope.
Penetrations, insulation continuity, air sealing and line-set routes are treated as part of the home-not left as unfinished subcontractor details.
Thermostats, backup heat, ducted and ductless zones and operating strategy are designed around how the home needs to perform.
General contractor, home improvement, contract supervisor, HVAC and EPA Section 608 credentials allow one accountable team to carry the design across all four trades.
Get a Second Opinion Before You Replace
If a company has quoted you a heat pump replacement, get the diagnosis first. Second opinions cost the same as any diagnosis. If the first company was right, we tell you-and then this installation page becomes relevant. If they were wrong, you have a written repair price.
Diagnose the existing system before committing to replacement.
See Heat Pump Repair80%
In second-opinion calls where another company recommended full heat pump replacement, our diagnosis supports repairing the existing system about 80% of the time.
How We Install
The project moves from whole-home measurement through written options, permitting, installation, commissioning and a 30-day operating check.
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LiDAR-measured dimensions, building-envelope review, electrical evaluation, distribution assessment and Mass Save eligibility confirmation.
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Two or three real system paths compared side by side. Each includes the Manual J load, equipment match (Manual S), distribution plan (Manual D), price and net-after-rebate cost for qualifying paths.
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Your deposit locks the project timeline.
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We complete the engineering, pull our own permits, coordinate electrical work where required and handle building-envelope coordination in-house.
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The team that designed the system installs it, with daily progress updates, properly sealed penetrations and line-sets routed and insulated to specification.
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Refrigerant charge is weighed in and verified, airflow measured, live operating parameters logged, controls configured and registration and warranty paperwork handled.
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We return to verify the system is balanced and running efficiently after the first month of operation.
Complete Transparency
Standard Replacement
Most standard heat pump replacements are completed in 3–5 days.
Multi-Zone Project
Multi-zone systems with electrical or distribution work typically take 5–10 days.
Written Pricing
Exact pricing follows the assessment and reflects system size, zone complexity, distribution work and electrical upgrades.
The written option sheet gives the exact project price, expected timeline and net-after-rebate price before you decide.
Mass Save® Rebates & Financing | 2026
Mass Save® rebates are why a heat pump conversion can cost less than a like-for-like furnace replacement after all the numbers are in. 617 HVAC is an HPIN contractor, so these rebates are available for qualifying installations and we handle the eligibility check and paperwork.
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Available for qualifying whole-home heat pump systems in 2026.
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Our LiDAR-measured, Manual J-documented sizing qualifies eligible installations for the additional sizing bonus.
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Available for homes with recent qualifying insulation and air-sealing improvements.
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Mass Save financing is available for qualifying projects.
Every qualifying option shows the project price and the net-after-rebate price.
From the Field | Weston
A Weston family was building an all-electric net-zero home. No natural gas, no fossil fuels and every mechanical decision had to serve the whole-home energy strategy-not just the room it was heating and cooling.
The project needed coordination with the building envelope, air sealing at every penetration, insulation continuity around line-set routes and code-compliant integration with the Massachusetts Specialized Code. 617 HVAC served as licensed general contractor and HVAC design lead-the same team wearing both hats.
A multi-zone system combining ducted and ductless heat pump equipment, tailored to the home's layout, insulation and thermal performance. We specified Daikin equipment using R-32 refrigerant, a single-component refrigerant that performs efficiently and can be topped off after a repaired leak without evacuating and recharging the whole system.
The heat pump was not an afterthought bolted onto the mechanical room. It was designed into a home built to net-zero standards from the ground up. A heat pump succeeds inside a home whose contractor understood what it needed.
Heat pump installation pricing depends on system size, zone complexity, distribution modifications and electrical upgrades. After the assessment, you receive exact written pricing and applicable rebate information before you commit.
Yes. Modern cold-climate heat pumps continue extracting heat from outdoor air well below 0°F. The design decides whether it is the sole heating source or part of a hybrid system with backup heat and we specify equipment rated for the coldest week of a Boston winter, not the average January temperature. Homes with strong insulation and air sealing get the best performance; homes that need weatherization first, we tell you.
Whole-home heat pump installations earn $2,650 per ton up to $8,500, plus a $500 sizing bonus for systems sized to the home's full heating load and a $500 weatherization bonus for homes with recent qualifying insulation and air sealing. 0% HEAT Loan financing up to $25,000 is available for qualifying projects. Equipment must use R-32 or R-454B refrigerant and appear on the Mass Save Qualified Products List and installation must be by an HPIN contractor. 617 HVAC is an HPIN contractor and handles the paperwork.
Heat pump installations cross four trades: HVAC-equipment and refrigerant-electrical-service and circuits-envelope-penetrations, insulation and air sealing-and controls-thermostats and zone strategy. Companies that hold only an HVAC license subcontract everything else, which is where installation quality falls apart. 617 HVAC holds general contractor, home improvement and contract supervisor licenses in addition to HVAC and EPA 608, so the same team designs and installs across all four trades.
R-32 and R-454B have lower global-warming potential than the older R-410A blend they replaced. R-32 is also more service-friendly: if a leak develops, an R-32 system can be topped off with new refrigerant after the leak is repaired without evacuating and recharging the entire system the way blend refrigerants like R-410A required. As of January 1, 2026, R-410A systems no longer qualify for Mass Save rebates.
LiDAR scanning uses laser distance measurement to capture accurate room dimensions, ceiling heights and window placements in minutes-much faster and more accurate than tape-measuring an entire home. Accurate measurements feed the Manual J heating and cooling load calculation, which decides the size of your heat pump. Oversized heat pumps short-cycle and dehumidify poorly; undersized ones can't hold temperature on the coldest days. Documented Manual J sizing also qualifies your installation for the additional $500 Mass Save sizing bonus.
Diagnose first. In second-opinion calls where another company recommended full replacement, our diagnosis supports repairing the existing system about 80% of the time. Replacement is the right call when the system has repeated failures, unavailable parts or a design that never matched the home-but the decision should come from a diagnosis, not a sales pitch. See Heat Pump Repair for the diagnosis-first path.
Yes, though the design differs. Boiler-to-heat-pump conversions require adding air distribution the home did not previously have-ducted, ductless or a mix-because heat pumps deliver heating via forced air or refrigerant lines, not hot water. Homes with existing hydronic distribution sometimes make sense as hybrid systems, keeping the boiler for domestic hot water while a heat pump handles space heating and cooling. The assessment tells you which path fits.
Most heat pump installations complete in 3–5 days for standard replacements and 5–10 days for multi-zone systems with electrical or distribution work. Your written option sheet includes the expected timeline for each path.
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Building-science heat pump design, installation, permitting, commissioning and Mass Save guidance from one accountable team.
