If you own a Georgetown townhouse, you already know a federal board can have a say over your windows and paint. It also gets a say over your heat pump’s outdoor unit. At Perennial DC Heat Pumps we plan ducted air-source heat pump installation for Georgetown and Burleith townhouses, and we build Old Georgetown Board review into the schedule from day one.
The rule we work by is simple: we decide where the condenser, the line set and any screen will go, and get them drawn, before anyone orders equipment.
Why does a federal board care about your condenser?
Because it reviews almost everything outside your walls that someone on a sidewalk or alley could see. Under the Old Georgetown Act, DC sends permit plans in the district to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, and its Old Georgetown Board reviews the exterior changes. CFA’s Old Georgetown FAQ names vents, meters and rooftop condensers among them and says the board looks at all alterations visible from public space, including the back of the house.
Visibility gets decided on site. OGB staff visit to judge whether the work can be seen, and they do not count plants as screening, so your holly hedge or climbing vine does not hide a condenser. When staff find the work not visible, it goes back to the DC preservation process instead of before the board.
DOB cannot issue the building permit until CFA has acted. That is why a unit bought ahead of approval can end up the wrong size for the spot the board accepts.
Pick the spot first, then the unit
We work backward from what the board will see. Footprint and height decide whether a screen can hide the unit, so we choose the outdoor model to fit the position, not the other way round. A compact side-discharge unit tucked against a garden wall may pass where a taller top-discharge cabinet would rise above it.
Copper counts as exterior work too. A line set climbing a rear wall that faces an alley is visible from public space, so we draw its path, its cover and its paint color. CFA’s permit submission requirements ask for drawings of the full facades showing any exterior mechanical equipment.
Your electrical service needs the same foresight. Meters are on CFA’s list, so a heavy-up that moves or replaces the meter adds a second exterior change to the package. Our electrical requirements guide explains when you actually need 200-amp service.
Will the monthly board calendar slow you down?
It can, if the old system dies first. The permit application goes to DOB, which passes it to the Old Georgetown Board, and CFA’s submission page sets a filing deadline three weeks before each monthly meeting.
Miss that deadline and review slips a full month. If your aging system still runs, there is room to plan. If it fails in late June, you face a July with a normal daily high of 89.6°F at Reagan National while the application waits. That is why we encourage Georgetown owners to plan a heat pump replacement while the old equipment still works.
Put these questions into a project brief
Describe what you know about the property. Technical unknowns can stay unknown.
Georgetown or Burleith: which review applies to your house?
The DC Office of Planning describes both neighborhoods by their older townhouses. The same kind of house, though, does not always mean the same review.
Georgetown
If your address is inside the Old Georgetown district, every visible piece of the installation goes through OGB; the Act behind that dates to 1950. Along M Street, the main shopping corridor, apartments above shops can share roofs and walls with commercial tenants, which turns a home job into a coordination question. Our commercial heat pumps page covers mixed buildings.
Burleith
Burleith’s townhouses sit just north of the old core, and the name alone does not tell us whether OGB review applies. If your house is outside the Old Georgetown boundary, a standard DOB mechanical permit governs the work; inside it, the full CFA process applies. We check HPO’s historic district map before design starts.
Uneven rooms inside an old Georgetown townhouse
Indoors, the board has no role, and ordinary engineering takes over. We size your system to the house’s room-by-room heat loss at 14°F, the ENERGY STAR heating design temperature for Washington, and its cooling at the 94°F design point. The sizing guide shows why swapping an old unit ton for ton often oversizes it.
Many older townhouses run ducts through tight chases to an air handler in the attic or basement. If your ducts are undersized or leaky, our ductwork service page explains how we decide between repair and replacement, and the air-handler page covers a cabinet above finished rooms. The historic homes guide deals with chases in old plaster.
How we run a Georgetown job, step by step
We start with a load calculation and a photo survey from the street, the alley and any neighboring public space. Next come placement, screen and line-set drawings, then the DOB filing: a Class E refrigeration permit costs $50.60 for equipment up to 120,000 BTU/h, and an electrical heavy-up instant permit costs $64.90.
After the CFA submission and board action, DOB issues the permit and the installation goes ahead. If you are claiming a DCSEU rebate, the program requires a DC-licensed contractor and a DC Master Refrigeration and Air Conditioning mechanic, and we get the file in within 30 days of installation. Our quote checklist shows who prepares each drawing.
What a Georgetown heat pump costs and why it can run higher
Our typical range for a whole-home ducted installation or like-for-like replacement is $8,000 to $18,000 before rebates. The written estimate after the site visit sets your price. Georgetown jobs go higher when the board asks for a custom screen, when drawings go through a revision cycle, when a meter or service has to move, or when a roof spot needs a crane.
DCSEU’s current rebates come back to you after installation rather than as a discount: $4,000 for an ENERGY STAR ducted heat pump replacing gas heat and $5,000 for a Most Efficient model in that role, within a $15,000 yearly household cap. The rebate guide, cost guide and cost estimator separate base scope from review-driven extras. Send us your address and anything you already know about the house through the contact page.
Neighborhoods east and north of Georgetown
Upper Northwest covers larger detached houses from Glover Park up to Chevy Chase. Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant and Adams Morgan deals with rowhouses split into flats. Downtown, Navy Yard and Southwest includes Foggy Bottom and the West End. Every area is on the service areas page.
Questions for this area
Does a Georgetown heat pump behind the house still need Old Georgetown Board review?
Yes, if any part of it can be seen from public space, alleys included. CFA says the board reviews all alterations visible from public space, rear alterations among them. When staff find the work not visible, it goes back to the DC preservation process instead, and we plan for that outcome where the yard allows it.
Will a hedge in front of a Georgetown condenser keep it out of review?
No. CFA says vegetation is not counted when OGB staff judge visibility from public space. What the board evaluates is a built screen drawn into the submission, so we design the screen with the unit.
Should a Georgetown owner buy the outdoor unit before the Commission of Fine Arts acts?
We would wait. Final CFA action is required before DOB issues the permit, and the board may accept a position that only a smaller or side-discharge model fits. We choose the model once the placement is approved.
How much should a Georgetown or Burleith townhouse budget for a ducted heat pump?
Our typical range for a whole-home ducted installation or like-for-like replacement is $8,000 to $18,000 before rebates, and the written estimate after the site visit sets your price. Custom screens, drawing revisions, a relocated meter or a crane for a roof spot add scope beyond it.
Is every Burleith house inside the Old Georgetown district?
The neighborhood name does not settle it; the district boundary does. We look up your address on HPO's historic district map. Inside the line, CFA review applies; outside it, a standard DOB mechanical permit governs the job.