A Long Island homeowner shopping for an all-electric upgrade to a roughly 1910 house said many bids landed on the same approach: a single-compressor heat pump paired with the old boiler for backup, even though the boiler was already in bad shape.
Here's what to know
For the homeowner, that pattern helps explain why some people leave saying heat pumps "don't work" in older houses. In the Reddit discussion, the owner said some contractors were willing to eliminate the gas boiler only without increasing or reworking the system so it could carry the home's full heating load through winter.
A recurring explanation from users had less to do with greed than with balancing summer and winter demand in cold regions.
One user said, "My 1960s home needs about 60k btus of heating. if they put a 5 ton heat pump into my home, i'll have a very oversized AC since my home needs just shy of 36k btus of cooling."
For homeowners trying to make sense of conflicting quotes, upgrading heating and cooling can be one of the best ways to cut utility bills and protect against rising energy costs. Palmetto can help homeowners understand their HVAC options and lower energy bills with newer, more efficient HVAC systems and heat pumps, and its Comfort Plan network can connect readers with vetted installers.
Users also raised concerns about backup and infrastructure. One said that larger ducted heat pump systems can trigger airflow problems because "heat pumps require ~400 CFM / 12k BTU," potentially requiring a "full re-duct."
What can be done?
Some users said the conversation should start with measurements, not assumptions. One asked, "Was a manual J done?" and another questioned why the house's insulation problems were not being tackled first.
The thread suggested there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Hybrid setups may still work for some older Northeastern homes, while in this case a user said a "dual-compressor layout" could handle the load without ductwork or a boiler backup.
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For homeowners who aren't ready to spend up front, a Comfort Plan can offer $0-down options that can cut heating and cooling costs by up to 50%, and Palmetto Comfort Plans also include 12 years of free maintenance.
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Where can I learn more?
If you're weighing bids that rely on boiler backup or skip load calculations, these stories follow the same questions in other homes. They cover Manual J disputes, compromises on backup boilers, and cold-climate heat pumps sized for winter loads.
• On Long Island, a homeowner paid for a Manual J after contractors kept pushing 100K furnaces.
• In New England, a heat pump upgrade came with the old oil boiler still standing by.
• As a homeowner ditched oil, pros still urged keeping the boiler beside a heat pump.
• In the UK, installer bids swung from 2.9 to 6 kW, and one had to be wrong.
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