Manchester / Dunbarton

Heat pump installation in Dunbarton, NH - up to $250 rebate

Dunbarton in Merrimack County

Dunbarton has 3,097 residents (give or take 25) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=060XX00US3301319460, checked 2026-10-19), about 100 people per square mile.

Dunbarton is about 12 miles from the Census center point for Manchester in a straight line and covers 30.863 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).

The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Dunbarton that is 03046 (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision and ZCTA to place relationship files, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt and https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_place20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).

Dunbarton is spread out at 100 people per square mile across 30.863 square miles of land, so a long refrigerant line run between the outdoor unit and the farthest indoor head is the sizing question an installer checks first.

Fuel mix

Of the 1,194 occupied homes in Dunbarton, 2% heat with natural gas, 54% with heating oil, 2% with electricity and 30% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=060XX00US3301319460, checked 2026-10-19).

Heating oil is the largest single fuel in Dunbarton at 54%, ahead of propane at 30%, so the usual job here is an oil boiler or furnace coming out and a cold-climate heat pump going in, with the oil tank removed.

Dunbarton has 21 points more oil heat than Merrimack County as a whole, where 33% of homes burn oil, and 11 points less electric heat than the county's 13% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US33013, checked 2026-10-19).

Housing stock

Dunbarton has 1,233 housing units, 10% built before 1940 and 35% before 1980, with 29% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=060XX00US3301319460, checked 2026-10-19).

Dunbarton has 14 points fewer pre-1940 homes than Merrimack County as a whole (24%) and 9 points more homes built after 2000 than the county's 20% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US33013, checked 2026-10-19).

The median Dunbarton home was built in 1990 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=060XX00US3301319460, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 6.6 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=060XX00US3301319460, checked 2026-10-19).

93% of Dunbarton homes are single-family detached, 1% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 0% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=060XX00US3301319460, checked 2026-10-19).

With 93% detached houses and 1% in small multi-family buildings, a Dunbarton quote is usually one or two outdoor units with ducted or ductless heads sized room by room. With 5% of Dunbarton homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=060XX00US3301319460, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.

Dunbarton has 30 points more detached houses than Merrimack County overall (63%) and 14 points fewer five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 14% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US33013, checked 2026-10-19).

Only 5% of Dunbarton homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=060XX00US3301319460, checked 2026-10-19), so nearly every quote here is the resident talking to the installer directly, and the rebate goes to the person living in the house.

Rebate path

Eversource and Unitil each list Dunbarton for electric service (New Hampshire Department of Energy, utilities by city and town, https://www.energy.nh.gov/utilities-providers/utilities-city-town, checked 2026-10-19); the bill decides the rebate path.

NHSaves air source heat pump rebate, run by NHSaves (Eversource, Liberty, Unitil), is a live program for New Hampshire addresses and lists a standard figure of $250 (registry row 6 verified 2026-10-14, https://nhsaves.com/residential/electric-heating-cooling-equipment/, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Dunbarton address before counting it. With 2% of Dunbarton homes already on electric heat and 86% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.

Median household income in Dunbarton is $124,348 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=060XX00US3301319460, 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.

Cold-day number

Heating design temperature: -4F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Merrimack County row, 99% heating, PDF page 81 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 -4F figure is the Merrimack County cold-day number a Dunbarton heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at -4F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.

Next step

Ask what happens to the oil tank, since 54% of the 1,194 occupied Dunbarton homes have one and removal is usually a separate line on the quote.

Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Dunbarton home has 6.6 rooms and was built around 1990, 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 Dunbarton. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.

No local contractor is named on this door for Dunbarton yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.

Where should the follow-up go?

We will follow up by email. No calls.

No spam, no sold information. One follow-up about exactly this request.