High Efficiency Heat Pumps

More than 20,000 high efficiency ductless heat pumps have been installed in Maine homes and businesses in the past 3 years. Word is spreading quickly about how this exciting new technology is able to extract heat from outdoor air (even when it is very cold) and deliver heat energy into homes. There are over 400 Registered Vendors actively installing units around the state who are familiar with the highest performing models as well as our rebate process. Heat pumps can also be part of larger home energy upgrades that qualify for up to $5,000 in incentives.

Efficiency Maine offers residential rebates through the Home Energy Savings Program on the installation of eligible high efficiency heat pumps. Click here for Eligibility Criteria and Units. Other important forms include the Ductless Heat Pump Rebate Claim Form and the Heat Pump Installation Checklist which needs to be submitted with the claim form and a paid invoice.

$500 rebates are available toward installation of ductless heat pumps that provide a single or first zone of heating in your home. An additional rebate of $250 is available for ductless heat pump installations that provide a second zone of heating in your home. The combination of these rebates can be received with either multiple single indoor unit systems or with a single larger system installed with multiple indoor blower units and completed on or after 9/14/16. Heat pump rebates require heat pumps that meet minimum efficiency standards and are installed by a Registered Vendor.

Click on the video below to see a Ductless Heat Pump Case Study in Presque Isle:

Taking Action

1. Registered Heat Pump Installers – Click here to find some installers in your area that sell heat pumps.
2. Get incentives and financing for energy upgrades – Click here to find out about loans and incentives for projects that include energy assessments, air sealing, insulation, heat pumps and more.
3. Cost of Heating Comparison Calculator – Click here to find out how much you could save by using heat pumps.

Find more information about this exciting technology below:

Long used for cooling in warm climates, heat pumps are now one of the fastest growing technologies for ultra-efficient heating in cold climates. Rather than generate heat from combustion or electric resistance, heat pumps extract heat from outside air or the ground and deliver it indoors as needed. This process is a more cost-effective way to heat than most conventional systems. In the summer, heat pumps can reverse and work as air conditioners, cooling indoors and rejecting heat outside.

Watch this video to learn more about heat pumps.

Heat pumps generally fall into two categories:

1. Air-source heat pumps draw heat from an outdoor unit and deliver it indoors. In the summer, they reverse and act as high-efficiency air conditioners.
   A. Ductless heat pumps have one outdoor unit connected to one or more indoor units with small copper lines. These are the most efficient air-source systems and are often installed in homes and offices to supplement existing systems, usually in the most frequently used rooms like family rooms or bedrooms. Over the course of a typical Maine winter, these units can deliver more than three units of heat for every unit of electricity used.
   B. Ducted heat pumps have an outdoor unit connected to a building’s ductwork. Like ductless heat pumps, ducted heat pumps can both heat and cool buildings.
2. Ground-source heat pumps or “geothermal” heat pumps draw heat from the soil or groundwater and transfer it to a ducted air distribution system or radiators. Ground-source heat pumps are typically more efficient and more expensive than air-source heat pumps.

Advantages

1. Low-cost heat – The cost of heating with a heat pump is similar to heating with natural gas or wood. This is typically half the cost of heating with oil, kerosene, electric baseboard or propane. Click here to compare heating costs of different heating systems.
2. Low-cost air conditioning – Today’s best heat pumps are twice as efficient as typical air conditioners.
3. Comfort – With advances in controls, heat pumps can maintain very constant temperatures.
4. Safety – Because heat pumps are electrically powered, there is no risk of combustion gas leaks.
5. Air quality – Heat pumps filter air as they heat/cool/dehumidify it.

Disadvantages

1. Cold temperature performance – As outdoor temperatures drop, so does the efficiency of an air-source heat pump. For example, a unit that delivers four units of heat for every unit of electricity at 50°F, may only deliver two units of heat for every unit of electricity at temperatures below zero. There is evidence of highest performance units operating and providing heat even below -15 °F in Presque Isle but if the temperature drops low enough, the system may turn off completely. For this reason, homeowners may choose to keep existing heating systems in place to serve as a secondary backup when outdoor air temperatures are very low.

Click here for a ductless heat pump user tips guide.