Grand Rapids / Chelsea
Chelsea has 5,426 residents (give or take 29) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US2615020, checked 2026-10-19), about 1,501 people per square mile.
Chelsea is about 95 miles from the Census center point for Grand Rapids in a straight line and covers 3.616 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).
Of the 2,764 occupied homes in Chelsea, 91% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 7% with electricity and 2% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US2615020, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 91% of Chelsea against electricity at 7%, 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.
Chelsea has about the Washtenaw County oil share of 1% and 12 points less electric heat than the county's 19% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US26161, checked 2026-10-19).
Chelsea has 2,847 housing units, 32% built before 1940 and 56% before 1980, with 22% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US2615020, checked 2026-10-19).
Chelsea has 20 points more pre-1940 homes than Washtenaw County as a whole (12%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US26161, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median Chelsea home was built in 1971 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US2615020, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 6 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US2615020, checked 2026-10-19).
60% of Chelsea homes are single-family detached, 5% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 22% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US2615020, checked 2026-10-19).
37% of Chelsea homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US2615020, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 60% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
32% of Chelsea homes were built before 1940 and 56% before 1980 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US2615020, checked 2026-10-19), so insulation is the first sizing question: an older home leaks more heat per square foot, and the installer runs a room-by-room heat-loss calculation to size the system for what the walls and windows actually hold in, not just the floor plan.
No electric utility is on file for Chelsea on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
DTE Energy heating and cooling rebates (southeast Michigan only), run by DTE Energy, is a live program for Michigan addresses and covers qualifying equipment at $1,500 per system (registry row 19 verified 2026-10-15, https://www.dteenergy.com/us/en/residential/save-money-energy/rebates-and-offers/air-conditioners.html, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Chelsea address before counting it. With 7% of Chelsea homes already on electric heat and 93% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Consumers Energy Home Solutions 2026 (ASHP), run by Consumers Energy, is a live program for Michigan addresses and lists a standard figure of $300 (registry row 50 verified 2026-10-15, https://www.consumersenergy.com/residential/savings-and-clean-energy/rebates/heating-and-cooling, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Chelsea address before counting it.
Median household income in Chelsea is $72,098 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US2615020, 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: 3F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Washtenaw County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 56 to 60 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 3F figure is the Washtenaw County cold-day number a Chelsea heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 3F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 91% of Chelsea on gas and 7% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; a Chelsea house from before 1940 (32% of the 2,847 units) rarely matches a square-footage rule of thumb.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Chelsea. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Chelsea yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.