Heat Pumps to the Rescue: What Could Go Wrong?

Recently passed federal legislation, in conjunction with local and state initiatives, will simultaneously encourage and require heat pump technology. Selecting and installing heat pumps in a manner that reduces fossil fuel usage, manages peak demand, and delivers energy efficiency while maintaining customer comfort is the win-win-win proposition. Several research studies undertaken in the NW have shown that there is still room for improvement. Converting homes that now have gas or electric furnaces are more challenging than upgrading systems that have ducted heat pumps. Further, many sites may be better suited to ductless heat pumps or hybrid systems (combinations of ducted/ductless units). This session will discuss challenges to matching heat pump systems to homes so that efficiency and comfort are enhanced. The session will also outline a possible quality control plan that would be required to meet these goals. There are a number of challenges with heat pumps that can make them more expensive to operate than gas furnaces, which raises questions about equity.  This session explores the potential for heat pumps to deliver the win-win-win promise, and identifies factors that need to be considered to make sure that heat pump performance is not compromised