Belmont: heat pumps and Mass Save
38% of Belmont housing units are in buildings of two to four units and 65% of homes are owner-occupied, so many projects start with a landlord or a two-family owner.
- Facts checked: November 3, 2026
How Belmont homes heat today
| Main heating fuel | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 7,240 | 70% |
| Electricity | 1,052 | 10% |
| Fuel oil or kerosene | 1,921 | 18% |
| Propane or bottled gas | 159 | 2% |
| Other or none | 40 | 0% |
10,412 occupied homes: 6,739 owned and 3,673 rented. Median year built: 1938. Of 10,881 housing units, 4,170 (38%) are in buildings of two to four units, 1,125 (10%) in buildings of five or more, and 5,586 (51%) in single-family homes and other types.
How Belmont compares
Among the 23 towns we cover, Belmont ranks 12th for oil heat (18% against an average of 20%), 1st for natural gas (70% against 57%) and 22nd for electric heat (10% against 19%). Other towns on the list, for reference:
| Town | Oil | Gas | Electric | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melrose | 20% | 63% | 14% | 1938 |
| Arlington | 18% | 59% | 18% | 1945 |
| Everett | 12% | 67% | 18% | 1938 |
| Lynn | 17% | 57% | 22% | 1946 |
| Somerville | 6% | 70% | 19% | 1938 |
| Waltham | 19% | 53% | 24% | 1961 |
Put another way: Belmont is the 20th largest of the 23 towns by occupied homes (10,412). For every home on oil there are 3.8 on natural gas. Its median home year of 1938 is 14 years older than the 1952 average across these towns. 1,052 homes (10%) are electric, and 159 (2%) use propane or bottled gas.
Furnace and boiler tune-ups in Belmont
Gas is the main fuel in 7,240 Belmont homes, 70% of the town. A gas visit means the burner and ignition, the heat exchanger, the flue and the controls that shut the system down.
Across the three burner fuels, 9,320 of 10,412 homes (90%) burn gas, oil or propane: 7,240 gas, 1,921 oil and 159 propane. 3,673 homes (35%) are rented, and in those the owner of the building, not the person paying the heat bill, usually arranges service. The median Belmont home dates to 1938, so expect older equipment and more than one round of work in the basement.
Book a tune-up in Belmont, or read about a furnace tune-up and a boiler tune-up.
A new heating system in Belmont
70% of Belmont homes are on gas, and there the rebate depends on your gas utility: Mass Save requires a gas sponsor. Look at your bill before you plan around it. Rates and the January 1, 2027 drop are on the 2027 rebate page.
Belmont is served by Belmont Light, a municipal utility. Municipal utilities run their own heat pump programs, so the Mass Save figures here may not apply to you. Check with Belmont Light first.
Weighing options? Read heat pump or a new oil boiler and what drives a boiler price, then send photos from Belmont.
What next
The calculator turns a quote into a net price. Gas bill? Then this guide applies. Heating with oil? Oil to heat pump. Own a multi-family? Triple-decker heat pumps. See panel upgrades before you pick a system size.