Philadelphia / Media
Media has 5,870 residents (give or take 47) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US4248480, checked 2026-10-19), about 7,693 people per square mile.
Media is about 15 miles from the Census center point for Philadelphia in a straight line and covers 0.763 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).
Median household income in Media is $89,092 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US4248480, 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.
7,693 people per square mile puts Media in suburban density, where the outdoor unit usually sits in a side yard and the noise is not an issue for neighbors.
18% of Media homes are single-family detached, 16% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 42% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US4248480, checked 2026-10-19).
With 42% of Media homes in buildings of five or more units and 18% detached, the condo association usually decides where outdoor units can go, so that approval comes before the quote. With 58% of Media homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US4248480, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Media has 26 points fewer detached houses than Delaware County overall (44%) and 27 points more five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 15% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US42045, checked 2026-10-19).
58% of Media homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US4248480, checked 2026-10-19), so the market splits between resident-led jobs where the occupant picks the system and landlord-led jobs where they do not, and the rebate paperwork differs.
Of the 3,049 occupied homes in Media, 53% heat with natural gas, 10% with heating oil, 34% with electricity and 1% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US4248480, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 53% of Media against electricity at 34%, so most quotes here are a partial-home system that carries the shoulder seasons and the summer while the gas furnace handles the coldest nights, or a whole-home system when the house is ready for it.
Media has 3 points less oil heat than Delaware County as a whole, where 13% of homes burn oil, and 11 points more electric heat than the county's 23% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US42045, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for Media on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
PPL Electric Savings Phase V heat pump rebate, run by PPL Electric Utilities, is a live program for Pennsylvania addresses and lists a standard figure of $225 (registry row 16 verified 2026-10-15, https://www.pplelectricsavings.com/ppl/media/allresrebates_612026.pdf, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Media address before counting it. With 34% of Media homes already on electric heat and 64% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
PECO heating and cooling rebates (ASHP), run by PECO, is a live program for Pennsylvania addresses and covers qualifying equipment at $1,950 per system (registry row 17 verified 2026-10-14, https://pecohomerebateprogram.com/heating-cooling-rebates.html, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Media address before counting it.
Duquesne Light residential HVAC instant discounts (ASHP), run by Duquesne Light, is a live program for Pennsylvania addresses and lists a standard figure of $215 (registry row 49 verified 2026-10-15, https://dlcinstantdiscount.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DLC-Residential-HVAC-Product-Incentives-Customers-v260806.pdf, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Media address before counting it.
Media has 3,105 housing units, 28% built before 1940 and 81% before 1980, with 12% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US4248480, checked 2026-10-19).
Media has 6 points more pre-1940 homes than Delaware County as a whole (22%) and 4 points more homes built after 2000 than the county's 8% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US42045, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median Media home was built in 1959 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US4248480, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 4.5 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US4248480, checked 2026-10-19).
81% of Media homes were built before 1980 and only 12% in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US4248480, checked 2026-10-19), so most of the stock predates modern insulation codes; the installer's heat-loss calculation, not a square-footage rule, decides the tonnage.
Heating design temperature: 11F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Delaware County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 102 to 105 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 11F figure is the Delaware County cold-day number a Media heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 11F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 53% of Media on gas and 34% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Media home has 4.5 rooms and was built around 1959, 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 Media. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Media yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.