Frequently Asked Questions
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- What is HeatSmart Hudson-Stow and who is organizing it?
- How does HeatSmart Hudson-Stow work?
- How does HeatSmart Hudson-Stow offer a discounted price?
- How were the HeatSmart Hudson-Stow installers selected?
- Why should I participate now?
- Is participation in this program limited to Hudson-Stow residents?
- What is clean heating and cooling and what technologies is HeatSmart Hudson-Stow offering?
- What support is available for purchasing clean heating and cooling technologies?
- How does the Home MVP incentive work?
- What are the benefits of using an air source heat pump?
- Don’t air-source heat pumps perform poorly in cold climates?
- Are there other drawbacks to air source heat pumps?
- Is an air source heat pump right for me?
- How do the annual maintenance costs of an air source heat pump compare to other heating systems?
- How long do air source heat pumps last?
- How noisy are air source heat pumps?
- Can air source heat pumps provide hot water?
- How complicated is installing a heat pump and how much time will it take?
- How can I maximize energy savings from my heat pump?
- How well do air source heat pumps work in the middle of winter?
- Does it matter whether I have ductwork or not? Is a ducted or ductless air source heat pump solution is right for me?
- Will I need an electrical service upgrade?
Ground Source (Geothermal) Heat Pumps
- What are the benefits of using geothermal heat pumps?
- Are there other drawbacks to geothermal heat pumps?
- Is a geothermal heat pump right for me?
- Can geothermal heat pumps provide hot water?
- How do the annual maintenance costs of an geothermal heat pump compare to other heating systems?
- How long do geothermal heat pumps last?
- How complicated is installing a geothermal heat pump and how much time will it take?
- What if I don't have a lot of yard space or don't want to excavate?
- How well do geothermal heat pumps work in the middle of winter?
- Can a GSHP well take advantage of a pond or other body of water that is on or borders my property?
- How far away from the home can the ground source collection system be located?
About HeatSmart Hudson-Stow
What is HeatSmart Hudson-Stow and who is organizing it? |
HeatSmart Hudson-Stow is a community-based education and group purchasing program for clean heating and cooling technologies. HeatSmart Hudson-Stow seeks to offer residents and businesses the opportunity to reduce their energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions from heating and cooling by adopting clean heating and cooling technologies. Until the end of 2019, residents and businesses in Hudson and Stow will be able to purchase these selected technologies at a special, limited-time discount from competitively-selected installers. Throughout the duration of this program, HeatSmart Hudson-Stow will offer educational “meet the installer” events and open houses to offer community members opportunities to learn more about the available technologies and what options may be best suited for their residence or business. HeatSmart Hudson-Stow is the latest community-driven, town-sponsored clean energy initiative. This initiative is led by a team of volunteer residents from the two towns with support from the town representatives. HeatSmart Hudson-Stow is part of HeatSmart Mass, a statewide program supported by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). |
How does HeatSmart Hudson-Stow work? |
HeatSmart Hudson-Stow offers an easy way to learn about and purchase clean heating and cooling technologies from some of the most qualified installers in the region. All you have to do is sign up for HeatSmart Hudson-Stow, indicate which clean heating and cooling technologies you’re most interested in, and our competitively selected installers, Boucher Energy Systems and Bill Wenzel Heating and AC will take it from there. |
How does HeatSmart Hudson-Stow offer a discounted price? |
One of the goals of HeatSmart Hudson-Stow is to offer transparent, discounted pricing to residents and local businesses. Due to the high potential volume of leads concentrated in a small geographic area, HeatSmart Hudson-Stow’s selected installers are able to get the best bulk pricing from their manufacturers and distributors and be more efficient with scheduling and coordinating personnel. In exchange, HeatSmart Hudson-Stow has worked with these installers to ensure that they are passing their savings to HeatSmart customers. Installers evaluated for this program were asked to bid their best pricing, and these bids were benchmarked against regional and statewide average pricing information provided by MassCEC. |
How were the HeatSmart Hudson-Stow installers being selected? |
Interested installers were invited to submit bids through a competitive, public request for proposals administered by MassCEC to participate in HeatSmart Hudson-Stow (and the three other community campaigns: Belmont, Marshfield, and Arlington-Winchester). After evaluating these bids for a range of factors—including but not limited to pricing, diversity of product offerings, technical expertise, and track record of customer service—the Hudson-Stow selection committee, with support from technical experts, selected Boucher Energy in partnership with Bill Wenzel to provide both air and ground source heat pump installation services to our residents.
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Why should I participate now? |
HeatSmart Hudson-Stow and the associated discounted pricing offered is available for a limited time only. Only customers who sign contracts with one of the HeatSmart Hudson-Stow installers by October 31 are eligible for our special offer. Additionally, Hudson Light and Power is doubling their incentive from $500 to $1,000 for the first 100 HeatSmart participants who install qualifying air or ground source heat pumps. |
Is participation in this program limited to Hudson and Stow residents and businesses? |
Participation in HeatSmart Hudson-Stow is limited to residents and businesses in Hudson-Stow, as well as residents and businesses in surrounding communities that are served by Hudson Light and Power. While you are welcome to reach out to any of our selected installers, only Hudson and Stow residents and businesses are eligible to receive the HeatSmart Hudson-Stow standard pricing. However, our installers may consider individual requests from neighboring towns on a case by case basis. If your community is interested in hosting a HeatSmart program in the future, MassCEC will be issuing a new round of HeatSmart Mass later in 2019. Reach out to for more information. |
What is clean heating and cooling and what technologies is HeatSmart Hudson-Stow offering? |
In cold climates, like Massachusetts, heating and cooling accounts for nearly 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Reducing emissions from heating and cooling will be necessary for the state to meet its legally-binding target of reducing emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. In 2014, the Commonwealth released a statewide strategy for increasing the adoption of clean heating & cooling (also known as “renewable thermal”) technologies. Clean heating and cooling (CH&C) describes high-efficiency heating and cooling technologies that can use thermal energy (or be powered by energy) derived from renewable sources--including the sun, air, earth, and sustainably-harvested bioenergy. Because of the importance of meeting state climate goals, the state and local governments as well as local utilities across the Commonwealth are offering thousands of dollars in incentives to support CH&C technology adoption. HeatSmart Hudson-Stow is offering two CH&C technologies: air source heat pumps (ASHP) ground source (geothermal) heat pumps (GSHP). Learn more about them here. |
What support is available for purchasing clean heating and cooling technologies? |
A variety of incentives are available from Hudson Light and Power and the state to support the purchase of air and ground source heat pumps. 0% interest financing may also be available through the Massachusetts Dept. of Energy Resources' Home MVP Pilot Program. Learn more about the available incentives and financing options here. Are you on fixed income or concerned about affordability? Additional incentives and support are available for households earning less than 120% of the state median income. Learn more about the additional options available here or email us at for more information.
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How does the Home MVP incentive work? |
The Home MVP Pilot Program is a new incentive program that provides homeowners with incentives for energy reduction and clean heating and cooling upgrades based on the amount of energy saved. In addition to an incentive, all homeowners are eligible to finance the cost of their MVP-approved improvements with a 0% interest loan. Learn more about the loan here. Home MVP scorecard The Home MVP scorecard provides an estimate of the annual financial and energy savings as well as the Home MVP rebate for the proposal provided by the installer. If you are interested in moving forward, but want to see your custom scorecard before committing to the project, you can request it from the installer. Please note that the scorecard values come from a program provided by the state and are rough estimates. Your installer assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of these estimates. Also, although you are not obligated to proceed with the project, since the scorecard requires a great deal of the installer’s time and effort, please do not request one unless it is very likely you will proceed. Home MVP rebates The Home MVP program provides contractors with a rebate based on what has been installed, how much energy savings are anticipated, and a calculation of how much more energy-efficient your home will be after the work is completed. Our installers spend a great deal of additional time for the MVP process, with measurements and calculations, data-entry, and communication with state agencies. The MVP incentive goes to the installers, and some of that amount is passed along to the homeowner as a credit towards the cost of the project. Because each project is different, each customer will need to talk with the installer to get an estimate of the credit amount. The installers are committed to being as fair as possible. |
About Air Source Heat Pumps
Ground Source (Geothermal) Heat Pumps