Bye-bye AC, hello heat pump
Heat pumps have an unfortunate name because half the benefit, the cooling part, is left out. If you live in a warm climate you’d buy a heat pump mostly for the cooling. In a moderate climate you’d buy it for both. There is some speculation, fueled by Elon Musk, that Tesla may come out with residential heat pumps. However, I imagine it will have some swish name as even calling it Tesla HVAC is an improvement over Tesla Heat Pump, especially in California.
Many homeowners are switching off of natural gas (methane) completely for home heating. It’s not inexpensive to replace both your heating and cooling system at once. A proposed federal rebate should help, but there’s another option for ducted homes if your AC is nearing the end of it’s life and your furnace is on the newer size. It’s simple, just replace your air conditioner with a heat pump. That’s what Goldfinch clients Eli and Ashley have done.
Heat pumps are just fancy air conditioners that also work in reverse. They move heat outside a house in summer and move it inside in winter. They can even work down to -27C. Ashley and Eli recently bought a home and hired Goldfinch to prepare a Cleantech Roadmap, a 10-year plan to improve efficiency and decarbonize their home. As the home came with a brand new furnace, replacing it didn’t make sense so instead they’ve opted to replace their non-functional air conditioner with a heat pump.
Broken AC
New heat pump and a new baby!
Through our HVAC installation service, Goldfinch ran calculations using a new tool from Natural Resources Canada. We focused on finding the best size for both heating and cooling, as well as the efficiency of various models. We also brought in a trusted installer.
We’re estimating their heat pump will cover all their heating from 5C and above, which is a significant amount of time their gas furnace won’t be running from now on. We can’t wait for next winter to analyze the results, but in the meantime, Eli and Ashley will enjoy the financial savings. Their heat pump has much higher efficiency than most air conditioners and, in the shoulder seasons, heat pumps typically cost less to operate than gas furnaces.
Heat pumps are an old technology (our fridges are heat pumps too) but in the past decade their application has exploded. Part of the reason it’s speculated that Tesla will get into HVAC is that they put heat pumps in their newest cars to help in colder climates. As EV owners in Canada know, electric cars don’t give off tons of heat the way gas cars do, so in winter it uses up the battery to defrost and warm them. Switching out a radiant heater for a heat pump heater in the newest Teslas, saves more of the charge for driving and improves winter range.
We applaud Ashley and Eli for prioritizing carbon emission reductions in their home and thank them for choosing Goldfinch. We wish their family of four a wonderful summer in their more comfortable home.
The heat pump is also whisper quiet!