How Sexy is Your Heat Pump?
Would you be surprised if I told you that the number one thing people can do to their homes to help the climate comes in the shape of a boring box and has an even less glamorous name?
It’s true. The mighty heat pump is the best technology you probably haven’t heard of. And it’s not even a new technology: it’s been around since the 70s. Now, like so many of us that came into being at that time, the heat pump is coming into its stride and being recognized for all that it can do now that it is (ahem) middle aged.
What makes a heat pump so great?
One, it both heats and cools, so you don’t need a heater and an air conditioner, you just need a heat pump.
Two, heat pumps are 3-5 times more efficient than gas furnaces and cheaper to own. Current payback cost is about seven years.
Three, natural gas is primarily methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Heaters are the biggest gas users in most homes, which is why this is biggest climate step you can make in your home.
Four, the best thing you can do to improve the air in your home is to stop using gas.
If you are like most people, you start thinking about buying a new heater when the old one dies and you need a solution asap. Most HVAC installers want to give you what they already know, which is a gas furnace. Heaters are usually in place for 10-20 years so the time get a heat pump is as soon as your current one needs to be replaced.
If they’re so great, why have I never heard of heat pumps before?
Heat pumps are true Gen Xers - despite being effective performers, they have been largely ignored. Possibly because like the rest of Gen X, heat pumps aren’t trying to be sexy or marketable or caving to trends, they have just been doing their thing, getting the job done, and sticking it to The Man (I may be projecting a bit here??).
Another reason is that we have been bamboozled by the fossil fuel industry to think that gas is the best way to heat our homes. But it is not.
Making heat pumps the go-to option
What heat pumps really need is to do is get sexy. Perhaps the wizards on Madison Avenue can convince us we are inadequate and will not attract a mate without one? Or, better yet, a flashy tech company can design a heat hump that becomes a status symbol. Instead of a drab box it could be sleek and space-age looking, the Tesla of home heating. The iMac of HVAC.
Brand awareness being what it is, people might then start locating their enviable heat pumps so they are visible from the street. This in turn could inspire others to show that they are sensible and won’t be fooled into overspending when there is just as good of an option for a lower price. This will drive competition and lower prices, making clean heat from heat pumps the cheapest, easiest choice for everyone. (pumps fist in celebration)
Meanwhile, while we wait for this exciting fantasy to become reality, here’s some good news to help you get your heat pump:
- The newly minted Inflation Reduction Act includes tons of money for heat pumps. The details are currently being worked out, but many people can expect tax rebates of about $2,000 per heat pump.
- The High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act (HEERA) will mean money going to states in 2023 that will cover up to $8000 for heat pumps for low- and moderate-income households.
- If you live in the Bay Area or central coast of California, heat pump incentives of $1,000-$4,500 are still available.
- Canada has CAD$2,500-5,000 for heat pumps through the Canada Greener Homes Grant
- The UK Boiler Upgrade Scheme is offering £6,000 grants to pay for heat pumps.
While free money is probably all the attractiveness that most people will need to convince them to buy a heat pump, I still think there is a case for improving the image of this I-may-be-Gen-X-but-I’ve-still-got-it technology (I mean, 50 is the new 30, right?).
Probably my all-time favorite twitter thread is from a procrastinating genius who made a series of images showing heat pumps that look like George Clooney. George in a suit, George with Amal, George behind a shrub. As one commenter noted, “If only all men were as dreamy, intelligent, iconic, reliable, and popular as these heat pumps.”
We could be just one marketing campaign away from the heat pump reaching its rightful glory and showing the world once and for all that efficient and electric is sexy as hell.
