Heat Pumps Are a Climate Solution:
Heat pumps have been making the headlines in recent years, but this may be the first time many Americans are hearing about the versatile, high efficiency appliance that heats AND cools homes and businesses. Heat pumps work by moving hot air around to achieve the temperature on your thermostat instead of actually heating or cooling the air. In the summer that means taking heat out of the air inside your house and moving it outside. In the winter, it means taking the heat from outside and moving it in.
Unlike most furnaces on the market that are powered by fossil fuels — like methane gas (so-called “natural” gas), propane, and oil — heat pumps are electrically powered. This means that heat pumps do not burn dirty fuels inside your home to be breathed in or released into the atmosphere. For the average US home, installing electric heat pumps in place of a gas furnace and gas water heater would reduce heating emissions more than 45 percent over the next 10 years. That’s the equivalent of cutting a gas-powered car’s carbon pollution by more than half.
In addition to being all electric, heat pumps are also super efficient - generally 3-4 times more so than conventional heaters and air conditioning units. This means that when households make the switch to heat pumps, they’re reducing emissions and reducing their monthly energy bills. Highly efficient electric appliances that use less energy will help cut electricity demand, and make sure we have more than enough power to go around.
California Needs Clean Cooling Heat Pump Requirements to Meet Climate Goals:
If California is to achieve its ambitious goals to fight the climate crisis, the State must move quickly to put programs in place to support the widespread adoption of heat pumps in homes and businesses. That’s where clean cooling policy comes in. The California Energy Commission is on track to adopt a voluntary building code where existing buildings would be encouraged to replace air conditioners with heat pumps rather than conventional air conditioning.
This policy would nearly double the current adoption rate of heat pumps and bring the state on track to meet its goal of 6 million heat pumps installed by 2030. Upgrading existing homes with highly-efficient heat pump systems can also save families on energy costs, which is especially important as Californians struggle with rising energy prices. And while the upfront cost of installing heat pumps is a little higher than conventional air conditioning, the long-term efficiency savings along with significant financial incentives in place at the state and federal level can actually make these appliances more cost effective and affordable than the alternatives. Specifically, the Biden Administration’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act provides a $2,000 tax rebate for the purchase of a heat pump, which combined with state and local programs, can offer thousands of dollars in savings. With available or forthcoming incentives, most low-income households should experience net savings if they are replacing a central air conditioner and furnace.
When Should I Replace my AC with a Heat Pump?
The best time for households to switch to a heat pump is when they need to replace their air conditioner (AC), not their furnace. Air conditioners and heat pumps are similar in price, but heat pumps can also easily replace central AC units without requiring electrical upgrades or other expenses that might come with replacing a gas furnace.
An air conditioner-heat pump replacement policy can also save households the hassle of potentially costly heat pump replacements for their gas furnaces after 2030, when gas furnaces will no longer be sold.
Let’s say you’re a single-family homeowner in Riverside and your air conditioner burns out in 2026: You could replace your air conditioner with an air conditioner. Or, if Riverside has opted into an AC-Heat Pump policy, you could instead replace your air conditioner with a cost-competitive or cheaper two-way electric heat pump. Then, let’s say your gas furnace burns out in 2030. If you had replaced your air conditioner with an electric heat pump thanks to smart policy, you’d be good to go, since your heat pump can provide heating. But if you had just replaced your air conditioner with another air conditioner, you’d have to then replace your furnace with a much more expensive heat pump. This would nearly double your appliance replacement costs overall (since you’d have to make two costly replacements, an air conditioner and then a heat pump), and could have been easily been avoided with local policy that is complementary to impending appliance standards.