Guest Post by Tacy Lambiase, Director of Climate Solutions

Just in time for the holiday season, we’re welcoming a new addition to our family. (And no, before you ask, it’s not a baby or a puppy. But it IS something we worked to acquire over the course of about nine months and we are thrilled to see it come to life!) Please put your hands together for…our shiny new heat pump! 

Caption: Our heat pump is a heating and cooling system in one, and it looks very similar to our previous air conditioning unit. What a beauty! 

When my husband and I bought our house more than two years ago, we knew we wanted to eventually electrify everything. We purposefully looked for a house with an electric stovetop to avoid toxic indoor air pollution and existing ductwork that would make it easier to transition heating and cooling systems from natural gas to electricity. After we moved in, we didn’t have a specific timeframe in mind for when we were going to make the switch from our aging gas furnace to an electric heat pump. We simply (and in hindsight, somewhat naively) put “heat pump” on our home improvement wish list and figured we’d get to it down the road.  

As we’ve learned as first-time homeowners, however: You cannot control when things break. So, here’s how we knew it was time to say goodbye to gas.   

The Wake-Up Call 

In early February, we woke up freezing. We realized our furnace was not putting out any warm air - which is not exactly what you want to feel in the middle of winter in Maryland! Fortunately, the week that we spent using space heaters and trying to connect with HVAC contractors was unusually warm (thanks, climate change?). While we were eventually able to get the furnace fixed, after that, we were on high alert. Our furnace was more than 12 years old. What if it broke down again during a cold spell? The experience made us realize that the worst time to switch to a new HVAC system would be when we were forced to do it – desperate for heat or air conditioning, without having done any real background research into our electrification options.  

Understanding Our Options 

In the spring and summer, we started researching and planning. How, exactly, does a heat pump work as both an air conditioner and a furnace in one? What questions should we ask contractors to understand our options and their qualifications? What brands and efficiency ratings should we prioritize? How much was it going to cost up front and how much could we potentially save over time with a more efficient system?

Rewiring America offered really helpful resources to get us started. We created a personalized home electrification plan and utilized the heat pump project guide to understand potential benefits, costs, and how to vet contractors. We also reached out to a local program offered by Montgomery County, Maryland called Electrify MC to explore our options for how to maximize our home’s energy efficiency alongside installing a heat pump. 

 Maximizing Energy Efficiency with Weatherization 

According to Rewiring America, on its own a heat pump can be 3x more efficient than a fossil fuel heating system. But how much energy your home uses is also dependent on how well your home is insulated and able to retain heat in the winter and keep out excess heat in the summer. Adding wall insulation is the most cost-effective energy efficiency strategy for homeowners in Maryland, followed by replacing a worn-out furnace with a heat pump. To find out if there were any opportunities for improvement, we had an energy audit conducted through the Electrify MC program. Based on the results, we decided that it would be worthwhile to add insulation to our attic and basement this winter, which will make our heat pump even more effective. 

Getting a Second (and Third and Fourth) Opinion 

This fall, we asked for recommendations from friends and a neighborhood Facebook group to identify HVAC companies in our area that specialize in heat pump installations. We ended up contacting and receiving quotes from four different companies, all of which carry different brands and models of heat pumps. One company could not offer a heat pump that would fit in our basement (where the air handler would connect to our existing duct work) and told us we would have to move our water heater, remove our utility sink, and should consider a “dual-fuel” system with a heat pump on the outside of our house and a natural gas furnace inside. Since keeping a fossil fuel system was directly counter to our goals for the project, we sought quotes from companies that carried other brands and could provide numerous and fully electric options that fit our space. Always seek out multiple quotes to find what works best! 

Accessing Tax Incentives and Rebates 

We scheduled the installation of our heat pump for late fall to make sure that our system was in place before colder weather set in. But we also timed our installation to take advantage of the tax incentives and rebates currently being offered. We ended up receiving point-of-sale discounts from our local utility and the manufacturer, and we are planning to claim the $2,000 federal 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Tax Credit, too. Hopefully these incentives will remain available for homeowners under the next administration – they definitely made it easier and more appealing for us to make the switch! 

More Comfort, Greater Efficiency, Less Climate Pollution: A Win-Win-Win 

At the end of the day, installing a heat pump was the right choice for our family and our planet. So far, our heat pump is working like a champ, evenly heating our multistory home and keeping it nice and cozy on very cold days (yes, heat pumps really do work in cold temperatures!). We’re confident it will keep us cool and comfortable during the summer, too. But what makes me even more satisfied is the fact that we did not lock ourselves into another 10-20 years of fossil fuel use by simply replacing our natural gas furnace with another one. We still need to electrify our hot water heater to have a fully electrified house, but in the meantime, our heat pump has significantly decreased the amount of climate pollution that our home is generating. Across the country, heat pumps reduce greenhouse gas emissions across their lifetime by up to 93 percent compared with gas furnaces. And that is beautiful Christmas music to my ears. 

Imagine if everyone installed a heat pump instead of replacing their aging HVAC systems with another oil or natural gas system. That’s what we need to see across the U.S. if we want to achieve our climate pollution reduction targets and prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

Here’s how local governments are leading the charge and some resources to consider: 

• Heat Pump Leadership Goes Local 
  
  
• Lexington, MA's HeatSmart Program
  
  
• Heat Pump Coaches Get Residents – and Climate Goals – to Yes
  
  
• "How heat pumps can maintain their momentum in 2025 and beyond"
  
  
• "Heat pump leadership goes local"