Heat Pumps in New England
Gregory L DanyowPro Member
New to Real Estate · VT · Member since 2026 · 11 posts · 0 votesHeat Pumps in New England
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Member since 2025 · 2 posts · 2 votes
4wI live and invest in central VT (Hi neighbor!). About 6 years ago we took advantage of some financing incentives and installed a heat pump with mini split units as our primary heat source. It's... fine. It's certainly cheaper than oil (we have solar so it's almost net $0 cost), but I can't say I'm ever fully comfortably warm. We make use of our oil boiler probably 10-15 days a winter when it's just too cold for the heat pumps to keep up.
Even with 0% financing the units we put in were expensive and I'm not honestly sure I'd do it again. Being in Vermont we don't really need AC, and I don't feel like you'd see enough of a return over something like an efficient direct vent propane system to make it a worthwhile investment - especially since you'll need to have a backup system in working order anyway.
6 Replies
- Real Estate Investor · Burlington, VT · Member since 2010 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes4w
@Gregory L Danyow Haven't gone that route personally yet, been waiting for the technology to improve especially for the coldest areas (I invest mainly in north - central VT). Also curious if others have installed heat pump in these regions and how the experience was.
- Lender · NJ · Member since 2025 · 50 posts · 23 votes4w
I think the tenant side is probably the biggest factor here. If tenants are paying the electric bill, the heat pump can make the numbers work differently than if the landlord is covering utilities.
I'd also look at the actual heating costs from similar properties in the area rather than relying only on the projected savings. That should give you a better idea of whether the higher purchase price is justified.
- Member since 2025 · 2 posts · 2 votes4w
I live and invest in central VT (Hi neighbor!). About 6 years ago we took advantage of some financing incentives and installed a heat pump with mini split units as our primary heat source. It's... fine. It's certainly cheaper than oil (we have solar so it's almost net $0 cost), but I can't say I'm ever fully comfortably warm. We make use of our oil boiler probably 10-15 days a winter when it's just too cold for the heat pumps to keep up.
Even with 0% financing the units we put in were expensive and I'm not honestly sure I'd do it again. Being in Vermont we don't really need AC, and I don't feel like you'd see enough of a return over something like an efficient direct vent propane system to make it a worthwhile investment - especially since you'll need to have a backup system in working order anyway.
- New to Real Estate · VT · Member since 2026 · 11 posts · 0 votes4w
Thanks for everyone's input thus far.
Bill - I had a feeling that would be the case... that the pumps would "work" but that a general comfort would be less obvious, especially on the coldest days. Your house would be warm... but you're still wearing a sweatshirt.
With the advent of the Iran War and these ever-changing energy prices, I'm trying to figure out ways to be more efficient. I was thinking heat pumps would be a good way to offset the cost of oil/propane no matter how high things went. Tenants would be less wasteful in the winter months (goodbye open windows) since they'd be footing the bill. While I imagine they wouldn't be thrilled about the increase in their electric bill, I would argue that this is actually a way more efficient way for us ALL to save money, because with oil/propane costs going up, the rent inevitably will go up as well to compensate. Yes, rent will still rise over time regardless of course, but I'd say it'd be less drastic of a bump so long as the landlord is a team player and reasonable.
If any of you have come up with good ways to be efficient and save on costs, I'd be interested to hear it! Admittedly, I'm still a novice and working on acquiring my first multifamily property... but I'm close and want to ensure I hit the ground running with solid ideas and plans. Thanks again for everyone's input thus far! - Vermont, ME · Member since 2021 · 6 posts · 2 votes7h
I live in central Vermont (hello neighbors!) , and own a rental property nearby. Both properties have heat pumps and we have found that in the really, really cold winter months, they aren't very effective. They "extract" heat from the outside air and at 8 degrees F there just isn't enough heat to extract. They work very well the rest of the year and especially in the summer. They are super efficient at cooling (in our not-super-hot-climate) and taking out the humidity.
Both our home and our rental are very well insulated, which helps. And tenants need to be instructed on how to best use heat pumps to be efficient: you need to set the temp and leave them alone, rather than dialing the heat up and down. Our tenants use them to take the edge off and then turn on the oil heat to get comfortable.
You would have to do the math including any rebates you get for installing heat pumps. And remember that electricity prices can spike too, especially since a lot of electricity is generated using oil and gas.
- Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes7hI would strongly recommend against heat pumps in New England. They will not be able to keep up with the required heating load in the winter. I am in the DC area and have a heat pump for a portion of my house and wish I did not have it. Our winters are much more mild than yours
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