Heat Pumps Do Work in the Cold!
Technology advances quickly, however often our technical knowledge stays routed firmly in something we read about 10 years ago or heard from a friend 2 years ago. Well, a lot can change in 10 or even 2 years. That’s been the case with electric vehicle range and that’s definitely the case with heat pumps.
Heat pump sales grew over 12% annually in the United States from 3,109,840 in 2019 to 3, 916,766 in 2021 according to Carbon Brief, as companies developed a new generation of heat pumps with “inverter-driven variable-speed compressors.” According to Grist, “Soon, high-performance heat pumps were being produced that could warm a home even when outdoor temperatures were down to -31 degrees Fahrenheit. (Even in extreme sub-zero temperatures, there is still some amount of heat in outdoor air.) A heat pump’s efficiency does go down as it gets colder, but even in subzero temperatures high-end units can be over 100 percent efficient. And in recent years, some of the country’s coldest states have gone all-in on the technology.”
The new MassSave program offers rebates up to $10,000 for whole-home air-source heat pumps and $15,000 for whole-home ground-source heat pumps. So if you haven’t already invested in a heat pump, now is the time to check them out and find one that can work for your home.
