Below you’ll find answers to some of the most common questions about our residential heat pump program we hear from homeowners.
Yes. Properly sized, selected, and located heat pumps can heat a home, without backup, down to temperatures as low as negative 22 °F regardless of windchill. Click here to read how heat pumps did as the sole heating source during the cold snap of 2023.
In our rebate program for whole-home heat pumps, the heating capacity of both single-zone and multi-zone heat pumps can be counted in the sizing, but the cost of multi-zone heat pumps is not rebatable. The advantages of single-zone systems include: lower operating costs (especially at lower speeds), better comfort (dehumidification, ability to run different modes simultaneously, and only heat the rooms that need it), and backup (other heat pumps will continue to operate if one needs service).
Electricity bills increase when you switch to heat pumps — sometimes significantly — but heating with heat pumps is usually less expensive than heating with oil, kerosene, or propane, so the bottom line is that heat pumps typically save money. To see how your costs might be affected, please visit our Compare Home Heating Costs calculator.
Heat pumps cost less to operate than oil and propane systems so maximizing use of heat pumps maximizes savings. The cover is simply a way to reduce the likelihood that a boiler/furnace is inadvertently turned on.
No. Heating with heat pumps is less expensive than heating with oil above negative 1 °F or heating with propane above negative 11 °F. However, these temperatures are rare and switching to oil or propane below these temperatures and then failing to switch back to heat pumps when temperatures rise above these points could end up costing more.
Assumptions: Oil at $3.86/gal, 87% combustion efficiency, and 80% distribution efficiency. Propane at $3.43/gal, 90% AFUE, and 80% distribution efficiency. Electricity at 22 cents/kwh, heat pump COP=2.93, and 100% distribution efficiency. 80MMbtu/yr heating load.
The intention of our whole-home heat pump rebate program is to encourage homeowners to use heat pumps whenever possible. There may be occasions, however, when it makes sense to turn your furnace or boiler back on (e.g., when the power is out and the generator is big enough for the boiler or furnace but not the heat pumps, or when a heat pump is being serviced).
Heat pumps use electricity so their impact depends on where the electricity comes from. If you’re using 100% renewable electricity, there would be no emissions. Maine’s electric grid is among the cleanest in the country so if you switched from oil to heat pumps powered by Maine’s grid, you’d cut your carbon footprint by roughly two thirds.
Rebate-eligible units are capable of producing heat at colder temperatures and tend to be more energy efficient.
Yes. Here’s a partial list of companies that have offered such policies:
If you’re aware of other companies, please email us.
Even if a heat pump leaked all of its refrigerant, it would have less global warming potential than running an oil or gas boiler or furnace for a year.
