Now that last Winter has passed and Spring is in the air, it is time to start thinking about how to prepare for next Winter. You can save on your energy bill and easily reduce your household’s carbon footprint by simply switching to a heat pump to heat your house.
Traditionally, we heat our homes using a gas furnace. Cold air is heated with a gas flame and a fan blows the hot air through the vent and duct system throughout your home into each different room. A lot of gas is used to heat the air before it is blown through your duct system, and the usage of gas increases your household’s carbon footprint. However, there is another way you can heat your home using electricity only and therefore, eliminate your need for gas usage.
Heat Pumps are a good alternative — although this method has been around for awhile, it is becoming more popular among the energy concious. Basically, a heat pump works in the reverse way that an air conditioner works (see how it works – including video clip). An air conditioner takes outside air on a warm day, cools the air over cold coils, then the unit’s fan pushes the cold air through the duct system into your house to cool the home. A heat pump does the reverse. It’s like an air conditioner but with 2 switches. You can switch between “air conditioner” mode or “heater” mode. Depending on which mode you have the switch turned to the heat pump acts like an air conditioner or when it is switched the other way it acts like a heater by reversing the flow of the freon. So in essence, the heat pump moves heat without a flame.
The heat pump – how it works in image.
An added bonus for those of you considering converting to solar too since you will have plenty of electricity to heat your home and, get rid of that big clunky furnace!! Are you using a Heat Pump? Let me know if it works for you and how much you save!
Sounds interesting … but …
Do these make economic sense? Over the past year I’ve paid between $0.90 and $2.00 per therm for natural gas. That is equivalent to 3-6 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity. Baseline price for electricity is over 8 cents per kWh. While the heat pump generates more than 1 kWh of heat inside the house for each kWh of power consumed none of the links you gave provide data on how much more … the ratio would have to be well above 3 to come close to practical.
If you have an over-spec pholtovoltaic array on the roof, then you might indeed have the “free” electricity to run the pump. But it really isn’t free as you had to pay a bundle to install those solar panels. The array would have to be hugely over sized to give you spare power in the winter (when days are shorter, the sun is lower in the sky, and cloudy/rainy days all combine to reduce yield).
Do heat pumps qualify for utility rebates?
Tony,
Thanks for the comments and questions. Of course, it is hard to say if it makes economical sense for every household to convert from natural gas furnaces to heat pumps since each household’s case is different. I guess it would depend on what your utility company is charging per KWH too. The most current PG&E gas and electric tariff listings are found here: http://www.pge.com/tariffs/
And yes, during Winter your supply of solar electricity might be compromised if your region is inclined to inclement weather. Of course, I’m out here in California where we have mild winters and plenty of sunny days during the Winter. You are right…”NOTHING is free.”
I found this web site that helps to calculate possible cost savings from converting a natural gas furnace to a heat pump which you might find useful in determining whether it is cost effective or not to make the switch. http://ces.ca.uky.edu/energy/calculators/Energy-NG_to%20_Heat_Pump_conversion/index.htm
PG&E does not offer a rebate for heat pumps. However, there is a guide you can refer to on the PG&E website that includes a buyer’s guide with tips on buying the best heat pump that is suitable for your home.
http://www.pge.com/myhome/saveenergymoney/savingstips/heatpump
Thanks again for your interest,
Linda
Linda,
The link for doing cost savings estimates was good. I’ll
have to do some more research to figure out the right values
to plug into it. But right now I already know that the best way
for me to spend any money for carbon footprint reduction would
be on insulation. My house in San Jose will be celebrating
its 100th birthday this year … it is not even close to being
state of the art in keeping the warm air in
This link:
http://www.pge.com/myhome/saveenergymoney/savingstips/heatpump
gave me a “page not found” error.
Hi Tony,
Thanks for your response and info…here is the complete link:
http://www.pge.com/myhome/saveenergymoney/savingstips/heatpumps/
Congrats on your 100 yr old house!!!! There are rebates from PG&E for insulation….just go here:
INSULATION: http://www.pge.com/myhome/saveenergymoney/rebates/remodeling/insulation/.
DUCTs: http://www.pge.com/myhome/saveenergymoney/rebates/coolheat/duct/termsandconditions/
Cheers,
Linda
One of the factors for me in deciding to go with a heat pump was the “all or none” feature of the furnaces I have used in the past. In other words, the air coming out of the vents felt like a hair dryer — very uncomfortable. With a heat pump, the temperature inside my house stays much more constant. I don’t have the continual heat up/cool down cycle. It definitely takes some getting used to, however. But we’ve been very pleased with the comfort level as well as the energy efficiency.
Hi Greg,
Thanks so much for the feedback. The air during Winter is dry enough so I am happy to hear that you’ve found a good solution and a more efficient way to heat your home during the cold seasons in addition to the added comfort for your family. Enjoy!