Heat Pumps . . . Happen
I’ve been bringing up heat pumps quite a bit recently. That’s because the ENERGY STAR will require heat pump installation for electrically heated homes starting in 2026, and the Zero Energy Ready Homes program already does. The NEEM team has been talking with home dealers and sales people about heat pumps, and we have heard that a lot of people are confused about them and whether they can be installed in conjunction with the factory-supplied furnace (the answer is yes, by the way). We put together a Heat Pump Fact Sheet that explains how heat pumps work, but we heard that it is a bit on the technical side – my bad!
We heard from some dealers that they are reluctant to get involved with the heat pump/air conditioner decision, because there is no upside to them. A local HVAC contractor makes the money on the upgrade, but the home dealer will likely get the blame if anything goes wrong. Makes sense, but heat pumps and air conditioners will still happen, even without the dealer doing what they can to help “keep the train on the rails” by supplying good information to their home buyers. Perhaps there could be an upside for the home dealer, in that HVAC contractors may be happy to pay for referrals. This could be particularly true if the dealer can supply them with the duct system BTU/hr capacity number from the HUD Data Plate’s “Comfort Cooling” section. (The Data Plate is the label under the kitchen sink.) This number is what the factory has declared to be the largest size of air conditioner or heat pump that can be attached to the home’s duct system and operate properly. As long as the heating contractor installs a heat pump that is less than 6,000 BTU/hr larger than the number on the data plate, the customer should get a system that performs well. Without a heat pump installed, a home buyer with an electric furnace might get a few months of wintertime electric bills of $250 to over $400. That’s enough to make someone question the quality of their new home.
The NEEM team has put together a Heat Pump Comparison Table that can help home buyers and sales people consider the different options for adding cooling and efficient heating to homes. We are looking for feedback on whether this piece is helpful, so please do not hesitate to reach out to the NEEM team with questions and comments. If you like it, we can ship you a supply to hand out and have on hand.