Can Your Electrical Panel Handle a Heat Pump Upgrade?

Upgrading from a furnace or AC to a modern cold-climate heat pump is one of the smartest comfort moves a Massachusetts homeowner can make — but your electrical panel has to be ready for it. Most heat pump systems require a dedicated 240V circuit, and older 100-amp panels common in Marlborough, Worcester, and Framingham can quickly run out of headroom.

Before we install any new system, our team performs a free load calculation. We confirm the panel's main breaker rating, count existing dedicated loads (range, dryer, EV charger, hot water), and verify that adding a heat pump won't trip the main during peak winter operation.

If the panel is undersized, you typically have three options: upgrade the service to 200 amps, install a smart load-management device that prevents overlapping high-draw loads, or choose a heat pump model engineered for lower amp draw. Mass Save® rebates often offset both the panel upgrade and the heat pump itself.

The bottom line: don't let a tight panel stop you from going electric. A 30-minute assessment from Prodigy tells you exactly what your home needs — and how much of it Mass Save will cover.