BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – As arctic air grips Vermont, homeowners are cranking up their heating systems, including a growing number relying on electric heat pumps that don’t burn fossil fuels.
Efficiency Vermont has installed 82,000 heat pumps in the last decade, making Vermont a leader in New England. The state’s energy efficiency utility says the technology can be effective even in bitter cold, but requires upgrades in other parts of the home to be effective.
“Which shows they are a good fit for the cold climate in Vermont,” said Matthew Smith of Efficiency Vermont.
But heat pumps have their skeptics during cold snaps like these.
“We have them in our house and our son’s house and we both hate them,” said Phil Horican of North Hero. “It’s great AC. The heat? Forget it. I don’t personally like them at all. Some people say they love them, but I find it hard to believe that they perform when it’s that cold.”
Heat pumps are aimed at cutting carbon and improving Vermonters’ utility bills by reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
“If folks are encountering a problem with how heat pumps are operating, it’s usually not the heat pump technology; it’s everything else about that heat pump installation,” Smith said.
Efficiency Vermont says heat pump technology has improved significantly in the last decade and can operate below zero. But Vermont has the oldest housing stock in the country, and without necessary upgrades to seal the home and make it more efficient through weatherization, heat pumps don’t perform to their full potential.
“Once that home is weatherized, it’s going to be more efficient no matter how you heat your home, but a well-weatherized home is a good fit for a heat pump,” Smith said.
Heat pumps can cost anywhere from $4,000 to about $15,000. Efficiency Vermont offers rebates for homeowners who want to finance a heat pump or get started weatherizing, and encourages homeowners to research whether a heat pump makes sense for them and their home.
