Heating and Cooling

Background

In New England, building heating and cooling account for roughly one-third of energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We are highly dependent on fossil fuels for heating, with natural gas and delivered fuels (i.e., oil and propane) accounting for the vast majority of usage. Getting to 100% renewable energy will require two steps:

First, reduce heating and cooling loads through investments in efficiency. Most buildings built before 2000 are inefficient and lose considerable heat in the winter. As outlined in the Efficiency section of the Guidebook, improving the building shell and insulation of all existing buildings is crucial to achieving a renewable future. In the short run better buildings will reduce consumption of whatever fuel is currently being used. In the intermediate to longer run it will enable Connecticut to move away from combustion as a source of heating and towards heat pump technology.

Second, replace fossil fuels with clean, low carbon electricity to heat and cool our buildings. Sometimes called “strategic electrification”, this step entails supplementing and eventually replacing fossil fuel equipment currently used for heating and cooling with heat pumps. Heat pumps are a form of efficient electric heating for both residential and commercial buildings. They use air-to-air exchangers or ground-source loops to transfer heat between the inside and outside of the building. Because they are moving heat rather than generating it through combustion or electric resistance, heat pumps can achieve efficiencies well above 100%. Long used for cooling in warm climates, heat pumps are now able to provide efficient heating in cold climates even at outdoor temperatures as low as -15 °F.

Electrification of heating and cooling brings a range of health benefits to both residents and businesses, including cleaner air, better control of temperature and humidity, improved acoustics (i.e., quieter), lower carbon monoxide risk and reduced risk of fire.

Getting Started

The transition of both residents and businesses away from boilers, furnaces, and resistance heating to heat pumps has been slow to date. While future developments hold significant promise for heat pumps in both the residential and commercial sectors, there are currently barriers to greater adoption, including:

Heating systems turn over slowly (~5% per year) and growth of new construction is low.
Residential heat pumps are typically not cost-competitive against natural gas for retrofits due to the relatively low cost of natural gas and high cost of electricity in the region.
The technology is not well understood and home heating and cooling systems are more complicated than solar panels or electric vehicles.
For older buildings, substantial shell improvements may be required for heat pumps to meet all heating needs. While these improvements are typically an excellent investment, they add to the up-front cost.
While performance of cold-climate heat pumps has improved, efficiency declines significantly below 0°F and systems typically shut down below -15°F.
Most HVAC installers are tied by experience and tradition to fossil fuel heating and traditional air conditioners.

As a result of these challenges, most residential heat pump installations in the Northeast are not whole-home heating replacement, but supplement existing systems. Such systems can be installed at any time, not only when the entire system needs replacement. And, for such projects, weatherization improvements may not be necessary for the entire house. Other common applications include:

Homeowners installing central air. In this case, the incremental cost to install heat pumps, which are excellent air conditioners and have the ability to heat, is small.
Homeowners adding an addition – in this case the heat pump may be a means of easily heating a new area without extensive re-ducting.
Homeowners seeking a hedge against future fossil fuel price increases, especially in light of mounting pressure on governments to penalize fossil fuels (e.g., through a carbon tax).
Customers willing to also install solar power, thereby locking in future heating and cooling prices.
Environmentally conscious homeowners who will pay a premium to move away from fossil fuels.

Towns and cities have an opportunity to accelerate this transition through a range of policies, regulations and programs. A valuable first step is to carry out a Baseline Energy Assessment, including an analysis of the existing building stock to determine what heating fuels are currently used. This information provides a foundation for creating a heat pump implementation plan.

Based on this information, educational and promotion campaigns can provide residents and businesses reliable, objective information on a range of issues, including:

current heat pump technologies,
their applicability in a range of specific applications,
how to assess the economics of a heat pump installation,
financing and incentives,
local contractors

Further, town officials can review permitting processes, fees and tax policy regarding energy upgrades to reduce barriers, lower soft costs and incentivize transition to heat pumps.

In order to shed light on the relative operating costs of heat pumps compared to other fuels, PACE has developed a spreadsheet that compares the annual fuel cost for heating for different fuels. The spreadsheet is included in the resources section below. While this comparison depends on several assumptions (e.g., efficiencies of the gas furnace and heat pump and energy prices), it suggests that a heat pump is slightly more expensive to operate than a natural gas furnace, but is significant less expensive than oil, propane and electric resistance. The table below shows a comparison of these four heating fuels for a given set of assumptions, and is intended to illustrative only. Download the spreadsheet and use assumptions specific to your application; feel free to Contact Us for assistance.

Checklist

Carry out a Baseline Energy Assessment, including an analysis of the existing building stock to determine what heating fuels are currently used. The resource section provides a sample of how this can be derived from the energy benchmarking study.
Engage with PACE on the HeatSmartCT program and develop a campaign aimed at residential buildings that would benefit economically from conversion to heat pumps. HeatSmartCT can assist you to:
- Recruit a volunteer team to help educate the town
- Connect with and evaluate local installers
- Help develop and fund a marketing budget.
Promote “HeatSmartCT Lite” educational campaigns on the importance and utility of heat pumps.
Hold an educational event for local businesses on commercial heat pump technologies and available financing opportunities (e.g., C-PACE).
Lead by example by converting local municipal buildings and school to heat pumps.
Review local permitting processes, fees and tax policy regarding energy upgrades to reduce barriers, lower soft costs and incentivize transition to heat pumps.
Pass a moratorium on new natural gas service for heating.

Resources

General Resources
- Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) has produced thorough and clear Air Source Heat Pump Buying Guide.
- A great explanation for the layperson of How a Heat Pumps Works comes from the guys at This Old House.
- Getting the Most out of Your Heat Pump, by Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), offers helpful tips on how to operate a heat pump.
- Feasibility of Renewable Thermal Technologies in Connecticut. This research initiative led by the Yale Center for Business and the Environment provides a comprehensive statewide perspective and a regulatory policy framework for your town.
- Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) has compiled a list of cold-climate air-source heat pumps (ccASHP). We suggest using products solely from this list in the Northeast.
Analysis of Existing Building Stock
- The American Community Survey (ACS), conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, is an excellent source of data on housing characteristics, including heating fuel, at a detailed level (e.g., census tract, zip code). This data may be accessed here; for a customizable table on housing characteristics, click here.
- PACE has prepared a data request for town tax assessors, listing information helpful to an analysis of building stock (and motor vehicles).
- Example of a town-wide clean energy survey, carried out in Hampton (Download Survey).
Strategic Electrification
- From Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP)
  - Northeast Regional Assessment of Strategic Electrification, 2017.
  - Action Plan to Accelerate Strategic Electrification in the Northeast, 2018.
Electrify Your Health! How Electrification Can Improve Health in Urban Buildings, presentation at September 2019 Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) Building Energy NYC Conference.
Heat Pump Promotion Campaigns
- Community Request for Proposal for 2019-20 HeatSmart CT pilot campaign.
- Community Campaigns for Renewable Heating and Cooling Technologies, Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), 2019.
  - Full report and
  - Corresponding webinars: Part 1 and Part 2.

Economics of Heat Pumps
- Estimate the savings in cost and greenhouse gas emissions by switching to heat pumps using this calculator prepared by the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA).
- The Economics of Electrifying Buildings, Rocky Mountain Institute, 2018.
- Efficiency Maine’s Online Home Heating Cost Calculator.
Financing and Incentives
- Rebates for heat pump systems from EnergizeCT.
- As of October, 2019, EnergizeCT is conducting a heat pump pilot with higher rebates for oil and propane homes. For information on this pilot, contact a Home Energy Solutions (HES) contractor or call EnergizeCT at 1 (877) Wise Use (1-877-947-3873).
- Residential Smart-E loans, from the Connecticut Green Bank, offer no-money-down, low-interest financing for a range of energy upgrades, including heat pumps.
- Commercial Property-Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program, from the Connecticut Green Bank, offers innovative financing solutions for energy upgrades, including heat pumps.
Local Policies and Regulations
- Brookline, MA Bans Oil and Gas in New Construction (November 2019)
- Driving the Heat Pump Market: Lessons Learned from the Northeast, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, 2018. Pages 59 and following of this report give examples of promoting electrification of heating through the use of building codes.
- Empower Your Community Toolkit: A Guide to Passing Local Oil and Gas Moratoria, 350 Colorado.