Wichita / Independence
Independence has 8,422 residents (give or take 27) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US2033875, checked 2026-10-19), about 1,124 people per square mile.
Independence is about 95 miles from the Census center point for Wichita in a straight line and covers 7.492 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 3,665 occupied homes in Independence, 73% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 23% with electricity and 3% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US2033875, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 73% of Independence against electricity at 23%, 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.
Independence has about the Montgomery County oil share of 0% and 1 points more electric heat than the county's 22% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US20125, checked 2026-10-19).
Independence has 4,511 housing units, 38% built before 1940 and 81% before 1980, with 5% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US2033875, checked 2026-10-19).
Independence has 4 points more pre-1940 homes than Montgomery County as a whole (34%) and 4 points fewer homes built after 2000 than the county's 9% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US20125, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median Independence home was built in 1954 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US2033875, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 5.7 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US2033875, checked 2026-10-19).
80% of Independence homes are single-family detached, 3% 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=160XX00US2033875, checked 2026-10-19).
With 80% detached houses and 3% in small multi-family buildings, a Independence quote is usually one or two outdoor units with ducted or ductless heads sized room by room. With 30% of Independence homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US2033875, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
38% of Independence homes were built before 1940 and 81% before 1980 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US2033875, 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 Independence 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 Independence is $51,069 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US2033875, 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: 10F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Montgomery County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 41 to 46 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 10F figure is the Montgomery County cold-day number a Independence heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 10F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 73% of Independence on gas and 23% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; a Independence house from before 1940 (38% of the 4,511 units) rarely matches a square-footage rule of thumb.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Independence. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Independence yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.