Wilmington / Ellendale
Ellendale has 760 residents (give or take 325) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US1024020, checked 2026-10-19), about 1,788 people per square mile.
Ellendale is about 64 miles from the Census center point for Wilmington in a straight line and covers 0.425 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 200 occupied homes in Ellendale, 1% heat with natural gas, 13% with heating oil, 72% with electricity and 9% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US1024020, checked 2026-10-19).
Electricity already heats 72% of Ellendale homes, ahead of oil at 13%, and a home on electric baseboard sees the biggest bill change from a heat pump because it replaces resistance heat one for one.
Ellendale has 6 points more oil heat than Sussex County as a whole, where 7% of homes burn oil, and 19 points more electric heat than the county's 53% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US10005, checked 2026-10-19).
Ellendale has 209 housing units, 13% built before 1940 and 37% before 1980, with 56% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1024020, checked 2026-10-19).
Ellendale has 9 points more pre-1940 homes than Sussex County as a whole (4%) and 7 points more homes built after 2000 than the county's 49% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US10005, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median Ellendale home was built in 2004 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US1024020, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 5.5 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US1024020, checked 2026-10-19).
86% of Ellendale homes are single-family detached, 10% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 0% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US1024020, checked 2026-10-19).
With 86% detached houses and 10% in small multi-family buildings, a Ellendale quote is usually one or two outdoor units with ducted or ductless heads sized room by room. With 20% of Ellendale homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1024020, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Ellendale has 21 points more detached houses than Sussex County overall (65%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US10005, checked 2026-10-19).
56% of Ellendale housing was built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1024020, checked 2026-10-19), and homes that recent usually meet the insulation codes in place at the time, so a heat pump sized to the floor plan lands closer to the real load than it would in an older neighborhood.
No electric utility is on file for Ellendale 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 Ellendale is $65,250 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US1024020, 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: 18F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Sussex County row, 99% heating, PDF page 17 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 18F figure is the Sussex County cold-day number a Ellendale heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 18F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Ellendale home has 5.5 rooms and was built around 2004, 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 Ellendale. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Ellendale yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.