Even the Boston Globe is sounding the alarm bell on heat pumps
Installation quality is a real risk, even under the state’s own program.
In September 2026, the utilities that run Mass Save, the state’s heat-pump rebate program, sued a South Shore heating contractor in Plymouth Superior Court. The utilities allege it collected nearly $8 million in rebates for heat pumps that were never installed, were installed improperly, or were installed and later removed. They inspected 220 sites, and a table attached to their complaint states that less than 10 percent of the company’s work was done to specifications, according to the Boston Globe article “Heat-pump contractor accused of ‘staggering fraud’ of nearly $8 million from Mass Save” (Sept. 22, 2026).
The day after the Globe report, Mass Save announced expanded inspections and stricter contractor vetting for heat-pump installers in “Fall 2026 Program Updates: Strengthening Oversight and Consumer Protections” (Sept. 23, 2026).
That matters at 3920 Mystic Valley Parkway. Under the heat pump policy, each owner would hire their own installer. There is no single standard and no single inspection for work hung on shared balconies and facades. Outdoor condensers, refrigerant line sets, indoor wall heads, condensate drains, mounts, covers, and mismatched brands would go onto a building that was never designed for them—unit by unit, contractor by contractor. When every owner picks whoever they find, the building inherits whoever shows up. One weak install is not just one unit’s problem: the equipment sits on common exterior surfaces that every owner shares.
Quality is then a private bet, not a shared one.
Caveat emptor.