I'm equipped with the extra dose of skepticism found in most journalists, but after two years of reading and writing about heat pumps, I'm impressed.
Heat pump technology has been around for a while, and its evolution has accelerated in recent years as manufacturers sought greater efficiencies and began moving toward the electrification of HVAC equipment. Heat pumps are versatile — they can be used in a variety of applications and configured for ducted or ductless systems — efficient, and effective in finding heat at temperatures near or even below zero. They're also more affordable, thanks to generous incentives, and — with the government's help — will increasingly be made in the U.S.
So I was taken aback when, during a routine home furnace checkup recently, the tech from the local heating and cooling company was completely dismissive of the idea when I mentioned heat pumps. In a sense, for a couple minutes, he was the skeptic (and then some).
The tech was polite, and I had no reason to be anything but confident in his ability to work on the 13-year-old, high-efficiency gas furnace in our home just outside Detroit. His jacket was emblazoned with the logo of a major HVAC manufacturer — one that, incidentally, is faring well in the U.S. Department of Energy's Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge.
His employer was a name-brand HVAC contractor in our area that, apparently, had acquired either the assets or the customer lists of another local company, the one that had installed the furnace. But that’s a different trend and a different column.
The conversation started when he called me to the basement to explain that the humidifier wasn't working (a possible solenoid valve problem and perhaps a blocked water supply line, too). The solution wasn't entirely clear — maybe a new valve and clearing the supply line would do it, or it might take more.
But you need a new air conditioner anyway, he said, so you might as well do everything at once. (The same tech had been out last summer for an a/c check, so he was aware that the condenser is from the early '90s.)
“Well,” I ventured, “we're considering a heat pump. ...”
“I wouldn't recommend it,” he said, “not in this Michigan climate. They don't work well when it gets down to 32°. And you wouldn't save much energy anyway. We only do a couple a year.”
I knew he wasn't quite right, but I didn't have the confidence, nor the facts at the ready, to question him on the spot.
It crossed my mind to tell him what I do, but I just listened. I did say we were thinking about keeping the furnace and using it in a dual-fuel system, and he didn't object. But I'm not sure he grasped the full meaning — that we'd rely on the heat pump for cooling and the vast majority of heating needs, with the furnace only kicking on in extreme winter conditions.
And the non-working dehumidifier? I expressed interest in scheduling a service appointment, but the tech didn’t seem too keen on that — unless I wanted to do something about that a/c condenser, too. (The condenser still works, and I’m waiting to see how incentives shape up in Michigan before going ahead with a heat pump.)
The exchange caused me to wonder whether heat pump manufacturers, which have invested a lot of resources in those products, are getting the word about what heat pumps can do out to those in the field who, if the heat-pump revolution is to get fully underway, will be installing and servicing those systems. According to one major manufacturer, only 30% of contractors are aware that a modern heat pump can supply 100% of a home's heating load at outdoor temperatures of around 0°F.
I hear from experts about the wonders of heat pumps on a regular basis, and get to see the latest models up close at events like the AHR Expo, and I understand if the message isn't filtering out to techs, many of whom are overworked and running from job to job. In my own profession, I can’t keep up with most of the latest developments in journalism — I'm just too busy doing the work.
But if the public, especially in colder climates, is going to embrace heat pumps the way manufacturers seem to say they will, the industry needs to convince its foot soldiers of their capabilities.
