Philadelphia / Swarthmore
Swarthmore has 6,550 residents (give or take 23) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US4275648, checked 2026-10-19), about 4,679 people per square mile.
Swarthmore is about 14 miles from the Census center point for Philadelphia in a straight line and covers 1.4 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 Swarthmore that is 19081 (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).
4,679 people per square mile puts Swarthmore in suburban density, where the outdoor unit usually sits in a side yard and the noise is not an issue for neighbors.
Of the 2,067 occupied homes in Swarthmore, 71% heat with natural gas, 8% with heating oil, 18% with electricity and 0% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US4275648, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 71% of Swarthmore against electricity at 18%, 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.
Swarthmore has 5 points less oil heat than Delaware County as a whole, where 13% of homes burn oil, and 5 points less 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).
Swarthmore has 2,163 housing units, 46% built before 1940 and 91% before 1980, with 4% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US4275648, checked 2026-10-19).
Swarthmore has 24 points more pre-1940 homes than Delaware County as a whole (22%) and 4 points fewer 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 Swarthmore home was built in 1949 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US4275648, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 6.3 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US4275648, checked 2026-10-19).
56% of Swarthmore homes are single-family detached, 10% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 26% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US4275648, checked 2026-10-19).
24% of Swarthmore homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US4275648, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 56% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
Swarthmore has 12 points more detached houses than Delaware County overall (44%) and 11 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).
46% of Swarthmore homes were built before 1940 and 91% before 1980 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US4275648, checked 2026-10-19), so insulation is the first sizing question: an older home leaks more heat per square foot, and the installer runs a room-by-room heat-loss calculation to size the system for what the walls and windows actually hold in, not just the floor plan.
No electric utility is on file for Swarthmore 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 Swarthmore address before counting it. With 18% of Swarthmore homes already on electric heat and 79% 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 Swarthmore 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 Swarthmore address before counting it.
Median household income in Swarthmore is $152,361 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US4275648, 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.
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 Swarthmore 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 71% of Swarthmore on gas and 18% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; a Swarthmore house from before 1940 (46% of the 2,163 units) rarely matches a square-footage rule of thumb.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Swarthmore. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Swarthmore yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.