How much is the Cape Light Compact heat pump rebate?

Up to $8,500 per home for a whole-home cold-climate heat pump at $2650/ton — the statewide Mass Save standard, identical to every sponsor. Partial-home (supplemental) installs qualify for up to $8,500 at $1125/ton, plus stackable $500 sizing and weatherization bonuses. Equipment must be on the Mass Save HPQPL and your installer must be enrolled in the Heat Pump Installer Network (HPIN).

What is Cape Light Compact and why is it my Mass Save sponsor instead of Eversource?

Cape Light Compact is a regional municipal-aggregation organization formed by the towns of Barnstable and Dukes counties. It administers the Mass Save energy-efficiency programs (rebates, assessments, the HEAT Loan) for Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, funded by the same Energy Efficiency Charge on your electric bill. Eversource still owns and maintains the physical delivery wires in the region, but the Compact is the efficiency-program sponsor — so your heat pump rebate is a Cape Light Compact filing, not an Eversource one.

Which towns does Cape Light Compact serve?

All 15 towns of Barnstable County (Cape Cod) — including Barnstable, Falmouth, Sandwich, Bourne, Yarmouth, Dennis, Brewster, Harwich, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, Provincetown, and Mashpee — plus the towns of Dukes County (Martha's Vineyard): Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, West Tisbury, Chilmark, Aquinnah, and Gosnold. If your electricity is billed on Cape Cod or the Vineyard, Cape Light Compact is almost certainly your Mass Save sponsor.

Are Cape Light Compact rebates the same as the rest of Massachusetts?

Yes for the headline amounts. The rebate schedule ($8,500 whole-home, $1,125/ton partial, $250/ton basic) and the 0% HEAT Loan are statewide Mass Save standards, identical across all six sponsors. Cape Light Compact has historically layered strong local marketing and outreach on top, but the core rebate you claim is the same statewide figure.

Does Cape Light Compact have a special electric rate for heat pumps?

No, and this is worth getting right before you budget. The Massachusetts Seasonal Heat Pump Rate — a reduced winter distribution rate that runs November 1 through April 30 — is offered by Eversource, National Grid and Unitil. Cape Light Compact does not participate, so Compact customers pay their standard aggregation rate all twelve months and should not budget for a winter discount. The Compact's all-in rate runs roughly $0.28/kWh (2026-Q1) including Eversource delivery — below the Eversource standard residential rate because of the aggregation buying model, which is where the Cape's electricity cost advantage comes from instead.

Can I still get the federal §25C or §25D tax credit on the Cape?

No. The federal §25C ($2,000 heat pump credit) and §25D (30% geothermal credit) both expired December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Those were federal IRS credits, not Cape Light Compact programs. The IRA-funded HEAR rebate (up to $8,000 for households at or below 80% AMI) survives and is available through the Mass Save income-eligible pathway.

Cape Light Compact Heat Pump Rebates

By MassHVAC Editorial Team Reviewed by MassHVAC Editorial Team Last updated 2026-09-19

The one thing that's different about Cape Light Compact

On Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, your Mass Save sponsor is not one of the big investor-owned utilities — it's Cape Light Compact, a municipal-aggregation organization created by the towns of Barnstable and Dukes counties. The Compact administers the same Mass Save rebates, Home Energy Assessments, and 0% HEAT Loan you'd get anywhere in Massachusetts, funded by the same Energy Efficiency Charge on your bill. Eversource still owns the physical wires that deliver your power, but the Compact runs the efficiency programs — so your heat pump rebate files through Cape Light Compact, not Eversource.

For a homeowner, this changes almost nothing about the rebate itself. The amounts, eligibility rules, and equipment requirements are the statewide Mass Save standard. It mostly changes who you call and whose portal your installer files through. See the full Mass Save Sponsors directory for how every MA town maps to a sponsor.

The 21 towns Cape Light Compact serves

Cape Light Compact covers all of Barnstable County (Cape Cod) and Dukes County (Martha's Vineyard): Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Chatham, Dennis, Eastham, Falmouth, Harwich, Mashpee, Orleans, Provincetown, Sandwich, Truro, Wellfleet, and Yarmouth on the Cape; Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Gosnold, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, and West Tisbury on the Vineyard.

Massachusetts incentives

2026 Mass Save Heat Pump Rebates (Cape Light Compact sponsor)

See the full Mass Save rebates hub

Verified 2026-09-19

Most homes

Whole-Home Heat Pump Rebate

$2,650 /ton

Capped at $8,500 per home

The installed heat pump must be the sole source of heating and cooling for the spaces served. Equipment must be ENERGY STAR Cold Climate certified and listed on the Mass Save Heat Pump Qualified Products List (HPQPL). A Manual J load calculation is needed to qualify for the sizing bonus and is industry-standard practice on Mass Save projects.

Partial-Home / Supplemental Heat Pump Rebate

$1,125 /ton

Capped at $8,500 per home

Heat pump installed alongside an existing primary heating system. Equipment must be on the HPQPL. Lower per-ton rebate reflects supplemental rather than sole-source use.

Basic Heat Pump Rebate

$250 /ton

Capped at $2,500 per home

New for 2026. Applies to replacing an existing heat pump with a new qualified HPQPL-listed heat pump, or conditioning a previously unconditioned space.

$500 Right-Sized Equipment Bonus Partial-home

Partial-home installs only. Equipment must be sized to meet 90–120% of the total heating load at the outdoor design temperature, documented via an ACCA Manual J load calculation submitted with the rebate application.

$500 Weatherization Bonus Partial-home

Partial-home installs only. Requires a Mass Save Home Energy Assessment plus installation of the recommended weatherization (typically air sealing and insulation) within one year prior to or up to six months after the heat pump installation.

Financing

Mass Save HEAT Loan

0% APR up to $25,000

Below 135% of State Median Income: 7 years (84 months)
135%–300% of State Median Income: 5 years (60 months)
Over 300% of State Median Income: 3 years (36 months)

Subject to bank underwriting through participating Massachusetts lenders. Covers equipment + installation costs for qualifying high-efficiency upgrades (heat pumps, ductless mini-splits, insulation, water heaters, and batteries enrolled in ConnectedSolutions). A Home Energy Assessment is mandatory before financing a whole-home heat pump. Households below approximately 81% SMI typically route to Mass Save's no-cost / enhanced-rebate programs rather than the HEAT Loan.

No federal heat pump tax credit applies in 2026.

Section 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (heat pump portion) (30% of cost up to $2,000 annually for qualifying heat pump installations (inflation reduction act expansion)) ended for property placed in service after 2025-12-31 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21).
Section 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit (geothermal portion) (30% of installed cost for ground-source (geothermal) heat pumps, with no dollar cap) ended for property placed in service after 2025-12-31 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21).

Status as of 2026-09-19: neither 25C nor 25D has been reinstated or replaced by Congress. Pending bills (e.g. H.R. 616) have not advanced. Pre-2026 §25D installs may carry forward unused credits.

Rebate amounts and eligibility verified 2026-09-19 against primary program documentation. We re-check before any publish.

Get a quote using these rates

Primary source

“Mass Save heat pump rebates: $2650/ton up to $8,500 per home (whole-home tier) — statewide rate, administered by Cape Light Compact for Cape Cod & Martha's Vineyard.”

— Mass Save program documentation Accessed 2026-09-19

Why heat pumps make particular sense on the Cape

The Cape and Islands have an unusually high share of homes heated by oil and propane — expensive delivered fuels with no natural-gas alternative in most towns. That makes an oil-to-heat-pump conversion especially high-leverage here: you swap a volatile delivered fuel for electricity, add cooling for the humid summer season, and claim the up-to-$8,500 rebate. Many older Cape cottages and Vineyard homes also lack ductwork entirely, which points to ductless mini-splits sized to a written Manual J.

Same statewide rebate money

Whole-home: $2,650/ton, capped at $8,500 per home.
Partial-home / supplemental: $1,125/ton, capped at $8,500, plus $500 sizing and $500 weatherization bonuses.
HEAT Loan: 0% APR up to $25,000, term-tiered by income.
Income-qualified: the Cape is the one exception to the statewide Enhanced dollar caps — Cape Light Compact's enhanced heat pump incentive covers 80% of installed cost rather than a fixed maximum; see the income-qualified pathway.

The full breakdown, including how each tier stacks, lives on the Massachusetts HVAC Rebates Hub and the eligibility guide.

How the filing works

Schedule a free Cape Light Compact / Mass Save Home Energy Assessment.
Choose a Mass Save HPIN-enrolled installer and confirm enrollment before signing.
Your installer runs an ACCA Manual J and specs an HPQPL-listed, R-32 or R-454B cold-climate model.
After install, the installer files through the Mass Save contractor portal; Cape Light Compact processes the rebate.
The rebate check typically arrives 6–12 weeks after filing.

Cape Light Compact heat pump FAQ

How much is the Cape Light Compact heat pump rebate?: Up to $8,500 per home for a whole-home cold-climate heat pump at $2650/ton — the statewide Mass Save standard, identical to every sponsor. Partial-home (supplemental) installs qualify for up to $8,500 at $1125/ton, plus stackable $500 sizing and weatherization bonuses. Equipment must be on the Mass Save HPQPL and your installer must be enrolled in the Heat Pump Installer Network (HPIN).
What is Cape Light Compact and why is it my Mass Save sponsor instead of Eversource?: Cape Light Compact is a regional municipal-aggregation organization formed by the towns of Barnstable and Dukes counties. It administers the Mass Save energy-efficiency programs (rebates, assessments, the HEAT Loan) for Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, funded by the same Energy Efficiency Charge on your electric bill. Eversource still owns and maintains the physical delivery wires in the region, but the Compact is the efficiency-program sponsor — so your heat pump rebate is a Cape Light Compact filing, not an Eversource one.
Which towns does Cape Light Compact serve?: All 15 towns of Barnstable County (Cape Cod) — including Barnstable, Falmouth, Sandwich, Bourne, Yarmouth, Dennis, Brewster, Harwich, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, Provincetown, and Mashpee — plus the towns of Dukes County (Martha's Vineyard): Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, West Tisbury, Chilmark, Aquinnah, and Gosnold. If your electricity is billed on Cape Cod or the Vineyard, Cape Light Compact is almost certainly your Mass Save sponsor.
Are Cape Light Compact rebates the same as the rest of Massachusetts?: Yes for the headline amounts. The rebate schedule ($8,500 whole-home, $1,125/ton partial, $250/ton basic) and the 0% HEAT Loan are statewide Mass Save standards, identical across all six sponsors. Cape Light Compact has historically layered strong local marketing and outreach on top, but the core rebate you claim is the same statewide figure.
Does Cape Light Compact have a special electric rate for heat pumps?: No, and this is worth getting right before you budget. The Massachusetts Seasonal Heat Pump Rate — a reduced winter distribution rate that runs November 1 through April 30 — is offered by Eversource, National Grid and Unitil. Cape Light Compact does not participate, so Compact customers pay their standard aggregation rate all twelve months and should not budget for a winter discount. The Compact's all-in rate runs roughly $0.28/kWh (2026-Q1) including Eversource delivery — below the Eversource standard residential rate because of the aggregation buying model, which is where the Cape's electricity cost advantage comes from instead.
Can I still get the federal §25C or §25D tax credit on the Cape?: No. The federal §25C ($2,000 heat pump credit) and §25D (30% geothermal credit) both expired December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Those were federal IRS credits, not Cape Light Compact programs. The IRA-funded HEAR rebate (up to $8,000 for households at or below 80% AMI) survives and is available through the Mass Save income-eligible pathway.

Related guides

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