Baltimore / Arbutus
Arbutus has 22,507 residents (give or take 1,448) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US2401975, checked 2026-10-19), about 3,449 people per square mile.
Arbutus is about 6 miles from the Census center point for Baltimore in a straight line and covers 6.526 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 Arbutus that is 21227 (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).
3,449 people per square mile puts Arbutus in suburban density, where the outdoor unit usually sits in a side yard and the noise is not an issue for neighbors.
Of the 8,424 occupied homes in Arbutus, 60% heat with natural gas, 4% with heating oil, 32% with electricity and 3% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US2401975, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 60% of Arbutus against electricity at 32%, 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.
Arbutus has 3 points less oil heat than Baltimore County as a whole, where 7% of homes burn oil, and 6 points less electric heat than the county's 38% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US24005, checked 2026-10-19).
Arbutus has 8,618 housing units, 18% built before 1940 and 80% before 1980, with 6% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US2401975, checked 2026-10-19).
Arbutus has 11 points more pre-1940 homes than Baltimore County as a whole (7%) and 9 points fewer homes built after 2000 than the county's 15% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US24005, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median Arbutus home was built in 1956 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US2401975, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 6.4 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US2401975, checked 2026-10-19).
53% of Arbutus homes are single-family detached, 8% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 11% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US2401975, checked 2026-10-19).
31% of Arbutus homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US2401975, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 53% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
Arbutus has 6 points more detached houses than Baltimore County overall (47%) and 14 points fewer five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 25% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US24005, checked 2026-10-19).
80% of Arbutus homes were built before 1980 and only 6% in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US2401975, checked 2026-10-19), so most of the stock predates modern insulation codes; the installer's heat-loss calculation, not a square-footage rule, decides the tonnage.
No electric utility is on file for Arbutus on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
Median household income in Arbutus is $99,090 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US2401975, 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: 12F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Baltimore County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 55 to 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 12F figure is the Baltimore County cold-day number a Arbutus heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 12F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 60% of Arbutus on gas and 32% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Arbutus home has 6.4 rooms and was built around 1956, 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 Arbutus. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Arbutus yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.