Can I offset household carbon emissions by using a heat pump?

Heat pumps use electricity to heat your home, so their carbon footprint depends on the power generation that serves the regional energy grid. The mix of generation that serves the grid in Maine is among the cleanest in the country. If you have a heat pump that offsets just one third of your home’s annual heating load, and if you heat with oil like most Mainers, the heat pump would eliminate 2,400 pounds of CO₂ per year, the equivalent of eliminating the carbon pollution from three months of average driving. The more your heat pump offsets your home’s heating from fossil fuels, the more you will reduce your carbon emissions.