FAQs
I’ve heard that heat pumps won’t work in our region. Is that true?
No. It used to be true that air-source heat pumps couldn’t handle our cold winter weather, but heat pump technologies have improved dramatically, and now there are “cold climate heat pumps” that are specifically designed to work effectively in climates like ours, though their efficiency does decrease on very, very cold days. Ground-source heat pumps (i.e., geothermal systems) have always worked well in our region.
Don’t you need a big open space to install a geothermal system?
Not necessarily. There are four kinds of geothermal systems, each with different space requirements. Vertical systems are typically most appropriate for dense urban areas, because they can be installed in small yards, or under driveways and parking lots. Not all properties are suitable for geothermal, but you shouldn’t rule yours out until you’ve had a qualified professional take a look.
What’s the return-on-investment (ROI) on a heat pump? How long will it take for the system to pay for itself?
Every building is different, and energy prices can fluctuate dramatically, so each situation has a unique ROI. To determine your ROI you will need to sign up for an energy assessment and get a quote from one or more heat pump installers. Also, keep in mind that excellent incentives and financing options are currently available, and operation and maintenance costs are typically low, so even if the initial investment seems high, a heat pump may still give you a favorable return.
Our building uses an electric resistance system for heat/hot water/etc. Does that mean we’ve successfully gone all electric?
Though they do run on electricity, electric resistance systems are typically inefficient and expensive to operate. Modern heat pumps are a much better option for most applications.
What does it mean to be “heat pump ready”?
For a heat pump to be properly sized and function effectively, you’ll first need a tight building envelope, or in other words, insulation and air-sealing.
Why do we need to stop using natural gas? I thought it was an environmentally friendly option.
Like oil and coal, natural gas is a fossil fuel that causes harmful greenhouse gas pollution. Though natural gas emits less carbon dioxide than other fossil fuels when burned, natural gas is mostly methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, which routinely escapes into the atmosphere during extraction and transport processes. Because methane is so potent and widely used, small leaks add up to big problems. Even if we could completely eliminate the leaks, burning natural gas would still produce CO2, a greenhouse gas, which can never be a zero emissions energy source. To mitigate the threat of climate change and achieve the goals of NYS’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, we need to achieve net-zero emission by 2050, which means discontinuing our use of fossil fuels in all but the most difficult to electrify applications. To help people understand this, many experts are moving away from using the term “natural gas,” in favor of calling it “methane,” “fossil gas,” or “fracked gas” instead.