Chicago / Lake Forest
Lake Forest has 19,416 residents (give or take 559) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US1741105, checked 2026-10-19), about 1,129 people per square mile.
Lake Forest is about 29 miles from the Census center point for Chicago in a straight line and covers 17.201 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 Lake Forest that is 60045 (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).
Of the 6,900 occupied homes in Lake Forest, 84% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 16% with electricity and 0% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US1741105, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 84% of Lake Forest against electricity at 16%, 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.
Lake Forest has about the Lake County oil share of 0% and 1 points more electric heat than the county's 15% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US17097, checked 2026-10-19).
Lake Forest has 7,282 housing units, 18% built before 1940 and 54% before 1980, with 19% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1741105, checked 2026-10-19).
Lake Forest has 10 points more pre-1940 homes than Lake County as a whole (8%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US17097, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median Lake Forest home was built in 1976 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US1741105, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 10 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US1741105, checked 2026-10-19).
77% of Lake Forest homes are single-family detached, 4% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 13% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US1741105, checked 2026-10-19).
With 77% detached houses and 4% in small multi-family buildings, a Lake Forest quote is usually one or two outdoor units with ducted or ductless heads sized room by room. With 11% of Lake Forest homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1741105, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Lake Forest has 10 points more detached houses than Lake County overall (67%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US17097, checked 2026-10-19).
Only 11% of Lake Forest homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1741105, checked 2026-10-19), so nearly every quote here is the resident talking to the installer directly, and the rebate goes to the person living in the house.
No electric utility is on file for Lake Forest 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 Lake Forest address before counting it. With 16% of Lake Forest homes already on electric heat and 84% 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 Lake Forest is $235,081 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US1741105, 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), Lake 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 Lake County cold-day number a Lake Forest 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 84% of Lake Forest on gas and 16% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Lake Forest home has 10 rooms and was built around 1976, 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 Lake Forest. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Lake Forest yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.