Worcester / Douglas
Douglas is about 15 miles from the Census center point for Worcester in a straight line and covers 36.446 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).
Douglas has 9,207 residents (give or take 19) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=060XX00US2502717300, checked 2026-10-19), about 253 people per square mile.
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Douglas that is 01516 (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).
Douglas is spread out at 253 people per square mile across 36.446 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.
Of the 3,320 occupied homes in Douglas, 1% heat with natural gas, 59% with heating oil, 9% with electricity and 18% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=060XX00US2502717300, checked 2026-10-19).
Douglas has 21 points more oil heat than Worcester County as a whole, where 38% of homes burn oil, and 11 points less electric heat than the county's 20% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US25027, checked 2026-10-19).
Heating oil is the largest single fuel in Douglas at 59%, ahead of propane at 18%, 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.
The median Douglas home was built in 1986 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=060XX00US2502717300, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 6.7 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=060XX00US2502717300, checked 2026-10-19).
Douglas has 3,497 housing units, 22% built before 1940 and 41% before 1980, with 26% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=060XX00US2502717300, checked 2026-10-19).
Douglas has 5 points fewer pre-1940 homes than Worcester County as a whole (27%) and 11 points more homes built after 2000 than the county's 15% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US25027, checked 2026-10-19).
Only 26% of Douglas homes are new enough to pass the whole-home rebate's weatherization check on age, and 22% date from before 1940, so most of the other 74% show it with a home energy assessment before the heat pump goes in.
83% of Douglas homes are single-family detached, 7% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 6% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=060XX00US2502717300, checked 2026-10-19).
With 83% detached houses and 7% in small multi-family buildings, a Douglas quote is usually one or two outdoor units with ducted or ductless heads sized room by room. With 16% of Douglas homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=060XX00US2502717300, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Douglas has 26 points more detached houses than Worcester County overall (57%) and 11 points fewer five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 17% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US25027, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for Douglas on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
If the Douglas electric bill comes from one of the Mass Save sponsors (Cape Light Compact, Eversource, National Grid, Unitil), the whole-home heat pump rebate is $2,650 per ton up to $8,500, and the partial-home rebate is $1,125 per ton up to $8,500; for projects installed on or after January 1, 2027, the whole-home figure drops to $2,350 per ton capped at $7,500 (Mass Save air-source heat pump rebates, https://www.masssave.com/residential/rebates-offers-services/heating-and-cooling/heat-pumps/air-source-heat-pumps, checked 2026-10-19).
Median household income in Douglas is $152,267 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=060XX00US2502717300, checked 2026-10-19); Mass Save's enhanced heat pump incentives are income-based and decided household by household, so the town median only hints at how many neighbors qualify.
Heating design temperature: -2F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Worcester County row, 99% heating, PDF page 56 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 -2F figure is the Worcester County cold-day number a Douglas heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at -2F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask what happens to the oil tank, since 59% of the 3,320 occupied Douglas homes have one and removal is usually a separate line on the quote.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Douglas home has 6.7 rooms and was built around 1986, 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 Douglas. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Douglas yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.