All About Heat Pumps

Rate It Green Members and Friends -  

If you feel that recent news has been all about heat pumps, I agree!  It seems there's a growing push to educate consumers and increase demand, as part of support for wider electrification and decarbonization efforts.  Why are heat pumps so exciting? As you may already know, heat pumps are 300-400% efficient, as they move energy instead of generating it, and without onsite fossil fuel combustion.  The numbers seem almost unreal. Heat pumps are also part of more equipment than many people might think, from HVAC systems which are more known to water heaters (even a plug in-water heater!), ventless dryers and even swimming pool equipment.  If you'd like more information or a piece you can refer colleagues and clients to for an introduction to the key things to know about heat pumps, check out: Heat Pumps 101 - Comfort, Health, Savings, Energy Efficiency, and Lower Emissions.  We've put together our thoughts on the top things to know about heat pumps, and we'd love your ideas and feedback as well.  

Especially as Inflation Reduction Act funds and other incentives become more available, there are so many opportunities for win-wins between building owners and occupants and manufacturers and builders to make buildings healthier, more comfortable and energy efficient, and more sustainable.  But there's a lot of work to do to get enough information and examples out there to motivate people to make educated decisions about major equipment, for both retrofits and new construction. 

When I say all about heat pumps, I mean I am all in and Rate It Green is all in, but I don't mean that this email or our content yet contains everything there is to know about heat pumps.  That's where you and your colleagues and our wider network come in.  What can you contribute to inspire and inform others? What are your favorite heat pump installs and stories? Do you have project performance data you can share? What do you wish your customers knew that could help make the sale or save you time? We're all ears, and I look forward to helping you and all of us get the word out together.  

Personally, and speaking of sharing, we are installing VRF (variable refrigerant flow) heat pumps THIS WEEK at my house.  I couldn't be more excited, and I am eager to collect performance data I can share.  In our last newsletter, I talked some about existing buildings.  I would love to start a conversation about how we can make sure there's enough client and building professional interest and a sufficient workforce for all of the retrofitting work there is clearly going to be in the next years, and decades.  The work on older homes has to be rewarding enough, and there have to be enough people to do the job. We know we can't meet critical climate goals without significantly reducing consumption and emissions for all buildings.     

I look forward to continuing to add exciting heat pump information, with your collaboration! 

Thank you,
Allison Friedman
Founder, Rate It Green


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