What Denver Homeowners Paid for Heat Pumps: 1,238 Invoices, 2020 to 2026

Since October 1, 2026, most Xcel gas customers in the Denver metro pay $14,800 to $18,200 out of pocket for a cold-climate heat pump with a new gas furnace. Before rebates the same system is $21,000 to $28,000. These are UniColorado's October 2026 price bands.

• Fully electric (heat pump with an electric air handler instead of a furnace): about $500 to $800 more.
• Heat pump added to a furnace you keep: about $10,500 to $14,000 out of pocket.
• Furnace + AC with no heat pump: $12,800 to $16,200, with no heat pump rebates to subtract.

The heat pump installation cost guide breaks these down by system type and size.

Three programs make up the out-of-pocket math above:

• Xcel cold-climate rebate: $1,500 per heating ton for Xcel gas customers, down from $2,250 before October 1, 2026.
• Power Ahead Colorado: $1,500 in the nine Denver-metro DRCOG counties, no income limit, for projects completed on or after June 29, 2026.
• Colorado heat pump credit: $1,000 in 2026. The contractor claims it and takes it off your invoice. Power Ahead and the state credit are one claim per address.

UniColorado takes all three off the invoice. Xcel may pause heat pump rebate payments after October 19, 2026; our customers still get the Xcel rebate upfront and we wait for the check (details on the pause).

Two programs are gone. The federal 25C credit (up to $2,000) ended December 31, 2025. HEAR closed on the Front Range April 28, 2026 and statewide August 1, 2026.

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Every Rebate You Qualify For, Off the Invoice on Day One

We handle Xcel, Power Ahead Colorado and the Colorado credit on cold-climate Mitsubishi, Bosch and Carrier systems, apply them upfront and file the paperwork. Your estimate lists each rebate line by line.

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Across 1,238 closed heat pump installs at UniColorado and its sister company Electrify Colorado, the median invoice was $14,100. Half fell between $12,400 and $17,000. The data covers Denver-metro jobs billed at $5,000 or more, pulled April 17, 2026.

Each figure is the invoice total after the rebates taken off at signing, so it reflects the rebates of its year. The category mixes heat pump only, dual fuel (heat pump with a gas furnace) and some ductless jobs, so the median is not a price for any one system.

Four rebate changes separate these invoices from today's prices:

• Xcel cut its cold-climate rebate from $2,250 to $1,500 per heating ton on October 1, 2026, $2,250 less on a 3-ton system.
• HEAR, up to $8,000 for income-qualified households, closed on the Front Range April 28, 2026.
• Power Ahead Colorado added $1,500 from June 29, 2026.
• The Colorado credit dropped from $1,500 for 2024 and 2025 installs to $1,000 for 2026.

Furnace + AC invoices gained about $3,700 from 2022 to 2025 and heat pump invoices about $2,000. The furnace + AC medians rest on 32 to 37 jobs a year, so read them as a direction, not a price.

After the October 2026 changes, the out-of-pocket gap runs about $2,000: $14,800 to $18,200 for a heat pump with a new gas furnace against $12,800 to $16,200 for furnace + AC.