Boston / Reading
Reading is about 14 miles from the Census center point for Boston in a straight line and covers 9.976 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
Reading has 25,612 residents (give or take 25) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=060XX00US2501756130, checked 2026-10-19), about 2,567 people per square mile.
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Reading that is 01867 (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision relationship file, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).
Of the 9,740 occupied homes in Reading, 43% heat with natural gas, 42% with heating oil, 10% with electricity and 4% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=060XX00US2501756130, checked 2026-10-19).
Reading has 24 points more oil heat than Middlesex County as a whole, where 18% of homes burn oil, and 8 points less electric heat than the county's 18% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US25017, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas leads in Reading at 43%, but 46% of homes still burn delivered oil or propane, and those 4,480 or so homes are where a heat pump pays back fastest.
The median Reading home was built in 1960 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=060XX00US2501756130, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 6.9 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=060XX00US2501756130, checked 2026-10-19).
Reading has 9,951 housing units, 27% built before 1940 and 75% before 1980, with 15% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=060XX00US2501756130, checked 2026-10-19).
Reading has 5 points fewer pre-1940 homes than Middlesex County as a whole (32%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US25017, checked 2026-10-19).
75% of Reading homes were built before 1980 and only 15% in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=060XX00US2501756130, checked 2026-10-19), so most of the stock predates modern insulation codes; the installer's heat-loss calculation, not a square-footage rule, decides the tonnage.
71% of Reading homes are single-family detached, 7% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 19% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=060XX00US2501756130, checked 2026-10-19).
With 71% detached houses and 7% in small multi-family buildings, a Reading quote is usually one or two outdoor units with ducted or ductless heads sized room by room. With 18% of Reading homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=060XX00US2501756130, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Reading has 25 points more detached houses than Middlesex County overall (46%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US25017, checked 2026-10-19).
Reading is also on the state table of towns served by a municipal light plant, Reading Municipal Light Department (Massachusetts municipally-owned electric companies, https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-municipally-owned-electric-companies, checked 2026-10-19).
Mass Save heat pump rebates are for electric accounts with Cape Light Compact, Eversource, National Grid or Unitil, so a Reading home billed by Reading Municipal Light Department asks the plant for its heat pump rebate instead.
Median household income in Reading is $165,912 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=060XX00US2501756130, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
Heating design temperature: 1F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Middlesex County row, 99% heating, PDF page 56 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That 1F figure is the Middlesex County cold-day number a Reading heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 1F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 43% of Reading on gas and 10% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Reading home has 6.9 rooms and was built around 1960, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Reading. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Reading yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.