What a Heat Pump Costs in NH

Updated 2026-09-30

Nobody on this website can tell you what a heat pump will cost in your New Hampshire house. The installer quotes that number after a load calculation, a look at the electrical panel, and a decision about ducts or indoor heads. You reach an independent contractor by calling (603) 420-0791 with your ZIP code. This site is a referral line, not a dealer. Confirm license and insurance before work starts. What follows is the list of things that move the quote, and the rebate figures we can actually cite.

What the quote is buying

A heat pump price is not a box. It is equipment, labor, line sets, a pad or a wall stand, electrical work, controls, and sometimes duct repairs or a backup furnace tie-in. A single-zone ductless head in a room over a garage is a different project from a ducted cold-climate system that replaces a furnace and an air conditioner together. If two proposals differ by thousands of dollars, read the line items before you decide one contractor is expensive. One of them may have included a panel upgrade and the other may have left it out.

Ask for heating capacity at a low outdoor temperature, not only the tonnage at mild weather. Cold-climate equipment costs more than a cooling-first unit because the compressor and the coil are built for it. Skipping that and adding electric heat strips as an afterthought can erase the operating-cost story you were sold.

What changes the number in a New Hampshire house

Insulation and air leakage change the size of the machine. A tight house built in the last fifteen years and a balloon-frame house with an unfinished attic are not the same load. Rooms over garages, finished attics, and additions are the usual complaints. Ducts in older forced-air houses are often small. Repairing them is labor, and it belongs in the quote if the heat pump will use those ducts.

Electrical service is the other large variable. Heat pumps draw steady power in heating season. A panel that is already full, or a service that is still 100 amps in a house full of modern loads, may need work by a licensed electrician. Snow clearance changes the mount. A unit on a bracket above the snow line costs more than a pad in a mild yard and fails less often in a Lakes Region winter.

Dual fuel adds controls. If the oil or propane boiler stays as backup, someone has to make the thermostat call the right appliance. That is a few hours of skilled work and a control, not a footnote.

Rebates you can verify

Rebates are not the installed price. They are a credit after you qualify. NHSaves publishes the residential heat pump amounts. On the page reviewed on 2026-09-30, customers of Eversource, Liberty, and Unitil who switch from oil, natural gas, or propane were described as eligible for $250 per ton, with the tonnage math and a 5-ton account limit explained on the page. The same table listed a higher amount for heat pumps that replace electric-resistance heat: $1,250 per ton for installations from January 1, 2026 through March 22, 2026, and $2,000 per ton from March 23, 2026 through December 31, 2026, with pre-verification. A May 29, 2026 NHSaves article said utility-partner customers may receive up to $2,000 per ton when switching from electric resistance, and it described a typical electric-resistance home saving on the order of $1,000 a year. Those sentences are the program's, not a promise about your bill. Read nhsaves.com/residential/electric-heating-cooling-equipment/ and the qualified product list before you subtract anything from a proposal. New Hampshire Electric Cooperative has its own table on related NHSaves pages. Federal tax credits that existed in earlier years should not be assumed for 2026. If a contractor quotes a stack of incentives, ask which ones are approved for your address today.

What we will not print

This guide does not give a low-to-high installed price. Blogs that say a New Hampshire heat pump "typically" costs a single band are not invoices, and the band is wide enough to be useless. Use the contractor's written quote. Compare scope. Ask who pulls the permit in your city or town. Ask what the labor warranty covers and who answers the phone in January.

How to use the call

When you call (603) 420-0791, say whether you heat with oil, propane, gas, or electric resistance, and whether you want whole-house heat or a few rooms. The contractor should visit before naming a price. If a price is offered with no visit, ask what was assumed. You are free to decline. The agreement is between you and the contractor. This site does not warrant the installation.

Related services: heat pump installation, ductless mini-splits, and heat pump repair. Winter performance is a separate question, answered in do heat pumps work in New Hampshire winters.

Comparing two proposals without getting lost

Lay the quotes side by side and mark every line one of them has that the other does not. Panel upgrades, duct sealing, line-set covers, a stand, a crane, tax, permit fees, and old-equipment disposal are the usual gaps. If one quote is "turnkey" and the other is equipment-only, the totals are not comparable. Ask both contractors to price the missing lines rather than guessing a percentage. Ask which manufacturer warranty requires registration and whether labor is included after year one. A cheap outdoor unit with no labor warranty is not cheap when a board fails in a cold week and the truck roll is entirely yours.

Also ask how long the quote is valid. Equipment pricing moves. A number from April may not be a number in October. None of this is a published statewide price. It is how you read the price the contractor is willing to sign.

One more comparison that belongs on the page: operating cost is not in the installation quote, and installation cost is not in the rebate table. Keep three numbers separate. The gross quote is what you might finance. The rebate is what the program might pay if you qualify and funding remains. The operating cost is a worksheet from your bills and the contractor's assumed efficiency, labeled as an estimate. When a proposal blends all three into one 'net monthly comfort payment,' ask for the pieces. You can still choose the blended offer. You should not have to reverse-engineer it. Call (603) 420-0791 when you want an independent contractor to build the gross quote in person. Bring the electric bill and a year of fuel deliveries if you have them.

What a heat pump costs in New Hampshire