Disclaimer: Tipping Point 01545 does not endorse any vendors. In addition, rebates and tax credits change from time to time, so it is important to check current information.

This is part one of a series of interviews that explores the transition from standard furnaces and air conditioners to highly efficient, electric heat pumps that heat and cool your home as one system. There are many reasons to make this transition.

What convinces most people to switch to an electric heat pump? Usually it’s four things:

  • Cost Savings
  • Comfort
  • Climate
  • Health

Heating and cooling is the biggest user of household energy. Heat pumps are 3-5 times more efficient than fossil fuel furnaces and standard air conditioners. They are a single, electric HVAC system that absorbs heat from the air and transfers it from one space to another. Heat pumps are quiet, comfortable, and reliable. They eliminate the need for air conditioners and filter your air for air pollution and pollen. And, of course, because they are electric, heat pumps allow you to transition off fossil fuels and reduce your carbon footprint.

Interview #1: 1953 three-bedroom ranch

Beth: Your three-bedroom 1953 ranch has always had an oil furnace and forced hot air ducts. In March 2024, you stopped using oil to heat your house and installed one whole-house heat pump that uses your existing air ducts to heat and cool the whole house. You also added one mini split in the basement to turn that into a single zone because, as a living space for your adult daughter, it is cooler and has its own needs. What motivated your transition from an oil furnace to an electric heat pump?

It started about a year ago. My daughter had picked up information from SELCO about electrifying the home, and I said to her, literally, “Why are we not doing this?” It made so much sense for the environment, for the comfort of the house, but it just seemed it was a little expensive. In January 2024, I was having the furnace serviced, and the technician told me the oil tank was about to leak, they were shutting me off from oil service, and I needed to buy a new oil tank. So I decided then, “No, I’m going to go with electric.” He gave me all sorts of scare tactics, which didn’t work because I know how great SELCO is. And that’s when I started to do some investigative work.

Was cost a motivator for you?

Yes. I went to SELCO because I didn’t know where to begin. They helped me make a Home Energy Assessment appointment with Next Zero, their Energy Assessment and Rebate Partner. A gentleman came out. He did the whole home energy assessment, emailed me a thorough report, and gave me his recommendations, because there are different kinds of rebates with SELCO. If you want the 0% financing through them, you need to do the Tier 2 rebate and Tier 2 work, which for me meant putting additional insulation in the attic, and then some insulation around the perimeter of the basement.

Through SELCO, we took out a 0% five-year $10,000 loan. And I also got a $3,300 interest-free loan for the insulation they put in.

We chose to work with Control Point Mechanical in Shrewsbury. Angela at Control Point did all the applications for financing. I just had to send her the proof of insulation, the calculation to size the system (Manual J) and the electric bill.

NOTE: A Manual J assessment is the national ANSI-recognized standard for producing HVAC equipment sizing loads for single-family detached homes, multi-unit structures and manufactured homes. It is essential to size heat pumps correctly. Too small will not suffice. Too large is inefficient, may not work well, and strains the unit. Through SELCO, Shrewsbury residents can work with NextZero to have the Manual J done.

Angela applies for financing, she applies for rebates, she applies for the warranty. Control Point has you put half down before they start, and half when they are done. They took the $10,000 loan from SELCO as the deposit. You basically write them a check, which is extremely helpful for somebody who’s busy like me. They arrange for the electrician to come in. They arrange to have the oil tank be removed, and the pipes to be taken out. At the end, I wrote them a check for $8,000. Then she sends you everything by email, so I have all the paperwork. The loan is then attached to the SELCO electric bill.

After NextZero did the Manual J, Control Point came out to do the installation. It took three days to do two zones. The main part of the house has one whole-house heat pump because we already had ducts. The basement (a living space) is cooler than the rest of the house, so we put in a mini split to heat and cool that zone separately.

How did you choose the company you worked with?

I started to make calls to different companies, because SELCO can’t recommend anybody. I called Control Point in Shrewsbury, I called my oil company, and I called other places that didn’t get back to me. Dan from Control Point came out. He was so thorough and so informative that I felt very comfortable with them. A couple of friends had gone with them. So I went with them. They were just so thorough. The assessment that the oil company had done was not as thorough as what they had done. In the interim, I had the Manual J done by NextZero to make sure that the sizing for each heat pump was correct.

Is the noise of the mini split in the basement bedroom okay? Are you bothered by the mini split blowing on you?

It’s very quiet. It’s comfortable down there. The system is quiet, and it’s very soft. The mini split is very subtle. You don’t get that blast of hot air like when the furnace kicks on. It’s continuous and very comfortable.

Summary of benefits from having transitioned to heat pumps:

  1. Because of the foot of closed-cell spray foam insulation in the attic (a Tier 2 requirement), from March through May Beth went days without the heat on.
  2. In the basement, the mini split works much better than the old baseboard heat. The baseboard is turned off now. Beth hadn’t known that electric baseboards are the most inefficient way to heat.
  3. From March through May, the basement mini split was set to 66-68 degrees, and that space was comfortable.
  4. Beth’s house no longer needs a carbon monoxide detector, because they are not burning anything anymore.
  5. They no longer have to install put out portable air conditioners and fans or run extension cords all over the place.
  6. The heat pump air conditioning is completely quiet. Instead of having that noise pollution, it’s so much quieter.
  7. The house has more space now: the oil tank and air conditioners are gone.
  8. The big thing for Beth is that they have cut their carbon footprint in half. She needs a big car that burns fossil fuel because she has a disabled child. She feels like she’s doing her part to offset that.
  9. And, if you subtract out the 0% loan from SELCO, Beth’s electric bill did not budge!

“We’re not a perfect house, but every little bit helps. We’re trying!”

TAKE AWAYS:

Beth’s oil furnace was at the end of life. That provided her with an opportunity to rethink her decision about transitioning to heat pumps. Her house already had forced air ducts, so it was ideally suited to a whole-house heat pump. With the addition of a mini split, she was able to create a separate heating and cooling zone in the basement. SELCO offers Shrewsbury residents electrification rebates and a 0% loan. Beth qualified for them by having a whole-home energy assessment and a Manual J calculation. Based on that, she used financial incentives to weatherize her home. A local company that specializes in heat pumps simplified the entire rebate application process for her. They brought in their own workers to do the assessment, to remove the furnace and oil tank, and to install the new system. Temperature control in her home is now more comfortable, more consistent, simpler, quieter and zone specific. She cut her carbon footprint in half. Her SELCO bill, when you zero out the 0% ten-year loan, has not increased.

Shrewsbury is a town with many Ranch homes with ducts for forced hot air. They provide an incredible opportunity to replace the furnace with a whole-house heat pump to both heat and cool the home at a very reasonable cost. Much of the cost of electricity can be offset with solar panels. When your furnace nears the end of life, it’s smart to plan ahead to replace it with a heat pump.

Image of heat pump

A LITTLE NITTY GRITTY ABOUT AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMP

Whole-House Heat Pumps vs. Mini Splits

There are two basic kinds of air source heat pumps: whole-house heat pumps, which use ducts to distribute forced air throughout your house; and mini splits, frequently the method of choice when a home does not have ducts. Mini splits are installed on an inside wall to heat and cool your choice of rooms.

Both are quiet, comfortable, and work well. In the winter, air source heat pumps are so reliable that they are the heating method of choice in Norway and Maine. In the summertime, they are far more efficient than air conditioners.

Both types have an outdoor unit.

Whole-house heat pumps are ducted, and they have a central indoor unit, smaller than a furnace. They use ducts to distribute forced hot or cool air throughout your home. One advantage of this is the ability to dehumidify the entire house at once. Heat pumps are natural dehumidifiers, and they filter out air pollution, pollen, dust, wildfire smoke, etc.

Mini splits are installed toward the top of an interior wall. They heat and cool discrete zones separately. An advantage of mini splits is their ability to control temperature in different rooms as you choose. They do not require ducts.

Who Is Eligible For Rebates And Loans?

In Massachusetts, if you heat primarily with natural gas, heat pumps qualify for $10K+ in Mass Save Rebates and up to a $50K 0% HEAT loan. If you heat with oil or electric baseboard, you are also eligible for excellent rebates and a 0% loan through NextZero, though at different rates . https://www.masssave.com/en/residential/rebates-and-incentives/heating-and-cooling

For Shrewsbury residents who do not heat primarily with gas, our municipally-owned electric utility, SELCO, offers its own electrification rebates and a 0% interest loan with a five year term. https://nextzero.org/shrewsbury/

All federal tax-payers are eligible for a heat pump tax credit of up to $2,000 per year through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). You get the tax credit when you pay your taxes in the spring. There is also a $1,000 Decarbonization Rebate if you remove or disconnect your fossil fuel heating system. https://www.forbes.com/home-improvement/hvac/heat-pump-tax-credit/

Rebates and tax credits can be layered for maximum savings, so be sure to look into all rebates available.

Cost Of Fossil Fuels Vs. Electricity

When considering the cost of electricity vs. fossil fuels to heat and cool your home, Shrewsbury has an advantage other towns don’t have: SELCO. Core to their mission is reliable electricity at affordable rates. SELCO charges only 13 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to the average 40 cents per kilowatt hour throughout the rest of the Commonwealth. In Shrewsbury, the cost to heat with either gas or electricity is comparable. Over time, the price of gas and oil are predicted to rise relative to electricity.

Steps For Installing A Heat Pump

  1. Get a Whole Home Energy Assessment through Mass Save or SELCO, or both. That’s free.
  2. The next step, regardless of who does your assessment, is to weatherize your home by adding the recommended insulation or air sealing in order to receive a Certificate of Completion. Weatherization immediately reduces utility costs. As of this post, Mass Save will cover 75% of the cost of insulation and 100% of the cost of air sealing. NextZero also has excellent incentives you can learn about on the SELCO website. Once weatherization is completed, you qualify for heat pump rebates and a 0% loan from either Mass Save or SELCO.
  3. Choose a qualified company that specializes in heat pumps. Make sure they will help you with rebates, loans, warranties, etc, or will provide you with the necessary documentation. Good companies like that exist!