The next five years will see more than 580,000 heat pumps installed in two of the coldest parts of the United States, and in households that need them most, with subsidies from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Late July saw heat pump initiatives in Southeast Alaska and New England awarded funding support via the IRA’s US$4.3-billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, reports Canary Media.
Southeast Alaska will receive $38.6 million to switch more than 6,000 households from expensive, emissions-intensive heating oil to heat pumps.
And Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island will receive $450 million to help their Heat Pump Accelerator program switch almost 580,000 households to the super-efficient heating systems, thereby “avoiding 2.5 million metric tons of planet-cooking emissions,” Canary Media writes.
“This investment will be transformational for our region, and… a great model to support heat pump adoption elsewhere in the country,” said Katie S. Dykes, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which leads the New England effort.
A heat pump’s capacity to slash household emissions by anywhere from 36% to 64% makes their adoption a necessary climate solution, and adoption is accelerating in the U.S. Last year, the devices outsold gas furnaces in the country for the second year running.
“But adoption has a long way to go,” with only 16% of American homes making the switch so far, according to November, 2023 data from Rewiring America.
That heat pumps now have street cred as cold weather workhorses is helping uptake rates. Notoriously nippy Maine “blew past its initial goal to install 100,000 heat pumps by 2025; it plans to deploy 175, 000 more by 2027,” Canary Media writes.
The New England Heat Pump Accelerator program turns significantly on a novel funding mechanism that directs upfront incentives to manufacturers and wholesale distributors, which then provide customers with a discounted price.
“The details are still being worked out, but distributors, for example, may receive up to a $1,000 incentive for each heat pump, get to keep 20 to 30%, and pass along the rest to contractors and customers,” the news story states. This means customers don’t have to fill out forms and wait for refunds.
This approach also “enables us to create a clear investment signal for manufacturers of these technologies that they can count on significant demand in our region,” Dykes said.
There is a clear climate justice component to the New England endeavour, as well, with “approximately half” of the IRA-awarded funding earmarked for “historically overburdened and underserved communities,” she added.
Climate justice will also be prioritized in Southeast Alaska’s new heat pump initiative, with “rural, distressed, and tribal communities” the focus of upfront discounts ranging between $4,000 and $8,500 to help households switch away from heating oil.
