Chicago / Darien
Darien has 21,879 residents (give or take 50) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US1718628, checked 2026-10-19), about 3,544 people per square mile.
Darien is about 17 miles from the Census center point for Chicago in a straight line and covers 6.174 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 Darien that is 60561 (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).
3,544 people per square mile puts Darien in suburban density, where the outdoor unit usually sits in a side yard and the noise is not an issue for neighbors.
Of the 8,735 occupied homes in Darien, 85% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 14% with electricity and 0% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US1718628, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 85% of Darien against electricity at 14%, 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.
Darien has about the DuPage County oil share of 0% and 1 points less electric heat than the county's 15% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US17043, checked 2026-10-19).
Darien has 8,950 housing units, 1% built before 1940 and 55% before 1980, with 8% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1718628, checked 2026-10-19).
Darien has 4 points fewer pre-1940 homes than DuPage County as a whole (5%) and 7 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=050XX00US17043, checked 2026-10-19).
The median Darien home was built in 1978 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US1718628, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 6.6 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US1718628, checked 2026-10-19).
61% of Darien homes are single-family detached, 5% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 18% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US1718628, checked 2026-10-19).
21% of Darien homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1718628, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 61% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
No electric utility is on file for Darien on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
Ameren Illinois Instant Incentives (ducted ASHP), run by Ameren Illinois, is a live program for Illinois addresses and lists a standard figure of $900 (registry row 45 verified 2026-10-15, https://amerenillinoissavings.com/residential/ducted-air-source-heat-pump/, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Darien address before counting it. With 14% of Darien homes already on electric heat and 85% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Median household income in Darien is $111,215 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US1718628, 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), DuPage County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 29 to 33 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 DuPage County cold-day number a Darien 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 85% of Darien on gas and 14% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Darien home has 6.6 rooms and was built around 1978, 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 Darien. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Darien yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.