Vermont HVAC leads

How Vermont homes are heated

Most Vermont homes are heated with fuel that arrives by truck. In the Census Bureau’s table B25117 (ACS 5-year 2020-2024), fuel oil or kerosene is the main heating fuel in 82,099 of 200,079 owner-occupied homes, 41.0%, the 4th highest share of any state. Propane adds 38,378 owner homes (19.2%), second only to one other state, and wood heats 31,629 (15.8%). Utility gas heats 16.0%, most of it in Chittenden and Franklin counties, and electricity just 5.3%, the second lowest share in the country.

Across all 273,416 occupied homes, owners and renters together, table B25040 (2020-2024 ACS) shows electricity at 9.2% and utility gas at 18.0%.

What the mix tells an HVAC buyer is the kind of system in the basement. Oil homes usually have an oil-fired boiler or furnace and a storage tank; propane homes run gas equipment off a tank. A replacement can be a like-for-like boiler swap or a change of fuel. The shares describe housing only, not how many leads any group of homes produces.

Vermont HVAC contractor licensing

In Vermont, the credentials that matter most for heating work belong to the technician and come from the Department of Public Safety’s Division of Fire Safety, which adopts the fire and fuel codes and certifies the people who work under them. Its pages (checked October 8, 2026) list these:

• Oil burning equipment installer: a certification of fitness for the installation, inspection and service of oil burning equipment, with eight hours of related instruction every three years, at least two of them on preventing carbon monoxide leakage. The oil burner page lists the adopted codes, including NFPA 31 for oil-burning equipment and NFPA 90A and 90B for air conditioning, ventilating and warm air heating systems.
• Natural gas installer and LP gas installer: the gas certification page states that everyone engaged in the inspection, installation and service of propane or natural gas systems must be certified under the Vermont Fire and Building Safety Code, with the same eight-hour continuing education rule.
• Electrical and plumbing specialist licenses: the division’s licensing ledger includes electrical specialist classes A1 (automatic gas/oil heating) and C3 (refrigeration and air conditioning), and plumbing specialist class P2 (heating system specialist).

The same pages say that new and renewing license and certification holders have had to complete a Vermont Energy Goals education module since July 1, 2021, under a 2020 law. Heat pump and air conditioning work that involves refrigerant also falls under federal technician certification in EPA Section 608. Residential contractor registration with the Office of Professional Regulation is a separate, business-level rule covered on leads in Vermont.

Vermont heat pump and clean heat programs

Vermont’s Department of Public Service manages the state’s share of the federal home energy rebates. Its rebate page (checked October 8, 2026) describes two programs and their status:

• Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR): planned in three parts, including heat pump rebates for moderate-income households, where the heat pump must be the home’s primary heating source. A May 2025 update on the page says HEAR funding remains in question while the federal government reviews conditionally approved proposals, and recommends not planning on HEAR funds for future projects.
• Home Efficiency Rebates (HOMES): delivered at no cost to low-income households through the Weatherization Assistance Program, with sign-up through local Community Action Agencies.

The department’s Clean Heat Standard page (checked October 8, 2026) describes a second track. Act 18, the Affordable Heat Act, became law on May 24, 2023 and set up a framework in which fuel wholesalers and dealers would meet emissions targets by retiring clean heat credits; the page gives replacing an oil boiler with a cold climate heat pump as one example of a measure that would generate credits. It says the Public Utility Commission is still designing the rules.

Reading the Vermont numbers for an HVAC campaign

Taken together, the official figures on this page suggest three things for a buyer setting up Vermont coverage:

• Oil and propane equipment dominates. Fuel oil and propane heat 60.2% of owner-occupied homes in the 2020-2024 ACS, so crews certified by the Division of Fire Safety for oil burners or gas appliances can work on most of the state’s heating systems.
• The season is long. 7,930 heating degree days in 2025 in the NCEI series put Vermont near the top of the country for heating load, while cooling degree days stayed under 300.
• Burlington’s county is different. Chittenden’s 55.6% gas share sets it apart from the rest of the county table, where oil leads. A buyer with gas technicians and one with oil technicians would choose different ZIP codes (ACS 2020-2024 county data).

These points describe homes and weather, and do not estimate how many requests any part of Vermont produces.