Heat pumps seen as another tool in energy efficiency kit

RICHMOND -- Betsy Hardy of Richmond owns a two-story home built more than a century ago. Over the past three years, she has insulated her attic and basement, installed a solar array on her roof and placed a solar hot water heater in her basement.

Now, she is working with an electrician to install two heat pumps to be her primary heating source this winter.

"I really want to reduce my carbon footprint," Hardy said. And, she said, "I think it's a good investment because it will make my home a lot more affordable for me after I retire if I don't have to spend lots of money on fuel oil."

Heat pumps have been available in the U.S. for decades, but it was not until recently that the technology could be used to heat homes in Vermont, where temperatures frequently dip below freezing.

Heat pump exterior unit. (Photo courtesy of SunCommon)

Like a refrigerator or air conditioner in reverse, electric air source heat pumps use a refrigerant to extract heat from the cold outside air and pump it inside. Even in sub-zero temperatures, there is heat in the air. But as the temperature drops, the technology must work harder to extract the heat from the air. Eventually, the system becomes less efficient and stops producing heat.

Hardy is a member of the Richmond Climate Action Committee, a town energy group that tells residents about heat pumps. As she prepares to test the technology herself, renewable energy advocates and businesses are pushing to put heat pumps into homes before winter hits.

Proponents of the technology say heat pumps can warm homes in temperatures as low as minus-8 Fahrenheit, generating average savings similar to natural gas compared to heating fuels like oil or propane.

Hardy said she is installing a large heat pump on her first floor and a smaller one in a second-floor bedroom. This year, she said she will keep her oil furnace as a back-up for colder days, but will consider replacing it with a wood stove if the heat pumps work well enough.

She said she will capitalize on the net-metering energy credits her utility gives her for the solar power her panels produce in the summer. In the winter, she will use the credits to power the heat pumps, effectively heating her home with energy from the sun year-round.

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Heat pumps seen as another tool in energy efficiency kit