Posted on July 21, 2021 by Sudeshna Pal
Tags, Energy
As the energy sector is making strides toward an emissions-free future, CUB is actively participating in several regulatory proceedings to find out the best possible way to make this transition. As a member of CUB staff, I have worked on these proceedings and heard from both utilities and regulators about what this transition might look like.
Building electrification is considered vital in a clean energy world. It essentially means heating and cooling your home using electric heat pumps. I recently replaced my old gas furnace and central air conditioner with a ducted electric heat pump and decided to share my experience here on the CUB Blog.
Electric heat pumps work differently than gas furnaces. While a gas furnace burns natural gas to generate heat, an electric heat pump transfers heat from the outdoor air to indoors. There are also geothermal heat pumps available on the market that transfer heat indoors from the ground outside, but these are less common and more expensive.
Heat pumps can be ducted or ductless. They can be used to both heat and cool homes. Under ideal climatic conditions, a heat pump’s efficiency can be as high as 300 percent, whereas a gas furnace can be 95-96 percent efficient at best. This means that heat pumps use significantly less energy compared to a gas furnace.
When I began researching heat pumps, I found that there are several kinds of electric heat pumps available (for example, single-speed vs. variable speed) with varying costs and capacities to heat homes. Equipment and installation prices ranged accordingly from around ,000 to ,000. No matter the Heat Pump Manufacturer or model, the price quotes from contractors inevitably included a backup gas furnace. Excluding a new gas furnace did not have a significant impact on the final price of the product. Ultimately, I purchased a “dual fuel system” with an electric heat pump and an 80 percent efficient gas furnace.
How would I rate the heat pump on performance? I saw an immediate change in the way I felt indoors. There are no blasting noises from the air vents anymore. It feels less dry and more comfortable inside the house when the heat pump runs. The heat pump works great in both winter and summer, especially when outside temperatures are mild or moderate, which is typical of western Oregon.
How is the heat pump affecting my energy consumption and bills? I got the heat pump installed in 2021 toward the end of January. I paid about $40 less for my home energy bills from February through May this year compared to 2020 and reduced my home energy consumption by about 7000 kilowatt-hours. This is after going through a few extreme cold weather events and switching to gas heating on those occasions.
I am happy that I made the switch to an electric heat pump. I burn less fossil fuel than before and consume much less energy while heating and cooling my home. I acknowledge that there are some high upfront costs involved in electrifying your home heating/cooling system. Heat pumps may be relatively less effective or more expensive to run during extremely cold weather spells. And they are not accessible to many Oregon residents who live in multi-family housing. Utility companies and regulators must work together to make clean energy resources affordable and accessible for all Oregon customers.
Currently, the Energy Trust of Oregon offers some cash incentives that can aid utility customers in adopting electric heat pumps for their heating and cooling needs. Several utilities in Oregon, both public and private, also offer incentives or discounts to customers who purchase electric heat pumps. If you are looking into purchasing a heat pump, be sure to ask your utility’s customer service department about what programs they have in place for energy efficiency upgrades.
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