Learn how air-source heat pumps can provide clean, efficient heating and cooling for your home or building.
Using oil, propane, or electric resistance to heat and cool your home or business? There are better, more efficient options – clean heating and cooling technologies, like heat pumps, are making it possible for homes and businesses to stay comfortable year-round, save energy, and reduce their carbon footprint. Unlike conventional HVAC systems, heat pumps draw heat from the environment and move it indoors to heat or move it outdoors to cool a home or business.
How it works
While most heating systems burn fuel, air source heat pumps (ASHPs) are powered by electricity, using well-established technology to move existing heat from one place to another. ASHPs collect heat from the outdoor air, transfer it via an air exchanger, and distribute it inside. During the summer, the operation is reversed to cool your building by moving heat from indoors to outdoors. When powered by zero-carbon electricity, ASHPs provide space heating with almost no greenhouse gas emissions.
Why ASHPs?
In the United States, commercial and residential buildings produce roughly 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Most of these emissions come from burning fossil fuels for space heating. These emissions must be significantly reduced or eliminated for the US to achieve deep decarbonization goals, including net zero emissions by 2050.
What are the benefits?
Heat pumps are smart and healthy options that bring many benefits to buildings of all types and sizes:
- Energy Efficient. Since air-source technology concentrates and transfers heat rather than generating it directly, heat pumps can deliver 1.5 to 3 times more heat energy to a building than the electrical energy they consume.
- Warmer in Winter and Cooler in Summer with a dual heat-and-cooling system.
- Easier. Heat pumps last longer than conventional furnaces and AC units and require minimal maintenance.
- Cost savings
- Whisper quiet
- Lower emissions
- Filters and dehumidifies air
Types of Air-Source Heat Pumps
Ductless Mini-Split
For homes without ducts for central air conditioning or heating, ductless mini-splits are efficient, quiet, and can keep your home or business comfortably warm or cool without blocking a window.
Variable Refrigerant Flow
Like mini-splits, variable refrigerant flow (VRF) is composed of an outdoor unit that circulates refrigerant to one our multiple indoor units, allowing for simultaneous heating and cooling in different zones and personalized comfort control. Since just one outdoor compressor can control dozens of indoor units, VRF is a great option for multi-family or commercial buildings.
By using refrigerant to move heat throughout a building, as opposed to water or air, and adjusting the flow of refrigerant continually based on the energy needs of each indoor unit, VRF systems operate more efficiently than traditional HVAC systems.
Central Air-Source
Central Air-source carries warm and cool air through a building using a duct system. Central air-source heat systems are great for buildings with central-air-conditioning systems that need to be replaced. They can also provide heat in the winter months, supplementing your furnace and increasing its lifespan.
Rebates and Incentives
Central Air-Source Rebates
You may qualify for $5,000+ in rebates. Large, full-load heating projects may be eligible for thousands more in incentives.
Ductless Mini-Split Rebates
Get an instant, $250 rebate per outdoor condenser unit. Large, full-load heating projects may be eligible for $5,000+ in incentives.
Variable Refrigerant Flow Rebate
Get cash back for installing energy efficient electric equipment, including VRFs, at your business. These upgrades can reduce your energy use and improve your bottom line.
Ready to save?
Click below to fill out a form for your building type.
How to get the most from my ASHP?
Heat pumps work differently than a boiler or furnace. Here are some tips
to help you get the most from your heat pump.
Cold-climate heat pumps deliver heat efficiently over an entire heating season and do it best when maintained at a steady temperature. Set your heat pump’s thermostat to a comfortable level, and your older central system’s thermostat lower than your heat pump. Then leave your heat pump alone. Note that the setting on your heat pump may be higher than you are used to. Every home is a little different, and you may need to adjust your settings to maximize comfort and savings.
Don’t shut your heat pump off in very cold weather. If anything, turn it up a bit. Cold-climate heat pumps continue to work fine to well below zero. If a central heating system is the existing central heating system, be sure to understand how it is set up to minimize central heating as much as possible while maintaining reasonable comfort.
