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Electric heat pumps are central to Connecticut’s energy efficiency programs as the state seeks to accelerate their adoption through free consulting services and significant discounts.
EnergizeCT has contracted energy management company Abode to provide consulting services and develop a network of trained heat pump installers across the state. The convent, based in Concord, Massachusetts, has a similar project in the state that has installed about 2,200 heat pumps in 13 communities to date, said Christopher Haringa, the company’s project manager.
Taxpayers can register for a virtual chat with a heat pump expert on the EnergizeCT website. Since launching the service in late May, Abode has held more than 100 consultations, Haringa said, averaging 45 minutes each.
“Homeowners are afraid of making the wrong decision, especially when they are going to spend $10,000 or more on an installation,” he said.
Eversource and United Illuminating, which run EnergizeCT, are also revising the program’s website to better promote heat pump technology, said Ronald Araujo, director of energy efficiency at Eversource.
Air source heat pumps are heating and cooling systems that run on electricity rather than fossil fuels. They transfer heat outside in summer and indoors in winter. They are very efficient and can significantly reduce your energy bills when combined with weatherproofing your home.
A previous pilot program for small heat pumps, launched in 2019, confirmed customer savings from heat pumps when replacing oil and propane systems, Araujo said.
“Therefore, we have approached the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection with a request to turn the pilot project into a full-fledged program this year,” Araujo said. “That way we don’t lose momentum.”
For several years, clean energy advocates have been pushing the government to allocate additional resources to promote heat pumps. The issue appears to have taken on more urgency last year after the annual greenhouse gas inventory report showed that building emissions in the state were on the rise.
The State’s latest Energy Efficient Loading and Management Plan, essentially the EnergizeCT plan, specifically guides utilities in prioritizing customer transitions to heat pump technology. State regulators have diverted from the gas expansion by ordering utilities to remove incentives for homeowners who switch from oil to gas.
Bernard Pelletier, vice president of People Action for Clean Energy, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting heat pumps locally, said he thinks the heat pump pilot program is taking too long, but the utility introduced Abode. He was impressed. He said the informational webinar the company hosted last month “was actually the best heat pump presentation I’ve ever seen.”
In this webinar, Abode Residential Decarbonization Consultant Melanie Shea tried to dispel the common myth that heat pumps don’t perform well in extremely cold environments. According to her, the high-performance unit works well down to -15 degrees. Although they are less efficient at very low temperatures, they are still more efficient than combustion systems.
Taxpayers can first get basic information about heat pumps and understand what questions to ask contractors through advisory services. Once they have suggestions, they can arrange a follow-up meeting to help them compare system designs and prices.
“We have to be completely independent when it comes to brands and contractors – we’re not here to sell you anything,” said Haringa. “We’ll take an objective look at the quotes and help you understand how performance compares between systems.”
The calculator tool on the EnergizeCT website can help homeowners calculate how much energy they can save by switching to a heat pump. The tool can also roughly estimate the cost of the system depending on the size of the home, as well as the amount that can be reimbursed.
A ductless heat pump costs about $5,000 including installation, Shi says. A minimum of $15,000 is required to install a plumbing system. Whole-home systems could include a combination of the two, she said.
Two levels of discounts are available. Instant discounts are available to all utility customers when qualified contractors purchase equipment. The higher mail-in discount is only available to customers who are changing their heating systems to oil or propane.
Eversource’s Araujo said these discounts are not yet available to customers who replace natural gas systems because the ongoing savings from replacing those systems are “not significant.”
Discounts are also available for ground source heat pumps. These systems work in the same way, but use the earth through an underground pipe system, acting as a heat sink in summer and a heat source in winter.
Dandelion Energy recently opened a new facility in Windsor and installed 92 geothermal systems in Connecticut, with 315 more under contract, said Heather Dees, policy and regulatory director.
Installation costs are high — a geothermal system serving a typical 2,500-square-foot home can cost $40,000 to $50,000, she said. But she said that with federal and state tax credits, Dandelion is trying to bring its out-of-pocket expenses down to $18,000-$25,000. The company also offers financing with no down payment.
But she would like the government to increase the rebate to further reduce the cost of switching from fossil fuels and make it affordable for natural gas consumers and home builders.
Lisa is a longtime correspondent in Connecticut. She writes regularly about housing, development and business for The New York Times. Her work has also appeared in The Boston Globe, CNBC.com, Next City, and many other publications. She is the author of The Snob Zones: Fear, Prejudice, and Real Estate. A native of New England, Lisa spans Connecticut and Rhode Island.
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