San Francisco / Los Altos
Los Altos has 30,698 residents (give or take 67) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US0643280, checked 2026-10-19), about 4,694 people per square mile.
Los Altos is about 57 miles from the Census center point for San Francisco in a straight line and covers 6.54 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 Los Altos that is 94024 (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).
4,694 people per square mile puts Los Altos in suburban density, where the outdoor unit usually sits in a side yard and the noise is not an issue for neighbors.
Of the 10,840 occupied homes in Los Altos, 77% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 21% with electricity and 1% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US0643280, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 77% of Los Altos against electricity at 21%, and a cold-climate heat pump sized for this market replaces the gas system outright, so the usual quote is a whole-home install.
Los Altos has about the Santa Clara County oil share of 0% and 15 points less electric heat than the county's 36% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US06085, checked 2026-10-19).
Los Altos has 11,781 housing units, 3% built before 1940 and 73% before 1980, with 18% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US0643280, checked 2026-10-19).
Los Altos tracks Santa Clara County on housing age, with the county at 5% pre-1940 and 20% post-2000 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US06085, checked 2026-10-19).
The median Los Altos home was built in 1964 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US0643280, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 6.8 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US0643280, checked 2026-10-19).
82% of Los Altos homes are single-family detached, 2% 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=160XX00US0643280, checked 2026-10-19).
With 82% detached houses and 2% in small multi-family buildings, a Los Altos quote is usually one or two outdoor units with ducted or ductless heads sized room by room. With 18% of Los Altos homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US0643280, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Los Altos has 31 points more detached houses than Santa Clara County overall (51%) and 18 points fewer five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 29% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US06085, checked 2026-10-19).
73% of Los Altos homes were built before 1980 and only 18% in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US0643280, 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 Los Altos 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 Los Altos is $250,001 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US0643280, 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: 27F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Santa Clara County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 11 to 13 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 27F figure is the Santa Clara County cold-day number a Los Altos heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 27F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 77% of Los Altos on gas and 21% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Los Altos home has 6.8 rooms and was built around 1964, 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 Los Altos. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Los Altos yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.