Heat pumps offer one of the best ways to cut carbon in homes and commercial buildings, energy and climate experts say in a new report.
The , published this month by Columbia University鈥檚 , suggests that heat pumps could significantly reduce the nation鈥檚 fossil fuel emissions if coupled with regulatory policies like carbon taxes.
鈥淎ir source heat pumps (ASHPs) are powered by electricity, using well-established technology to move heat from outdoor air to indoor air,鈥� the report says. 鈥淲hen powered by zero-carbon electricity, ASHPs provide space heating with almost no greenhouse gas emissions.鈥�
According to the EPA, commercial and residential buildings account for roughly in the U.S.
Bruce Nilles, a building electrification expert with the , says heat pumps represent a win-win solution.
鈥淎n air source heat pump is typically three to four times more efficient than the most efficient gas appliance on the market. And that鈥檚 one of the reasons it allows you to save money at the same time you鈥檙e doing right by the environment,鈥� he said.
And they run on electricity, which Nilles points out is getting increasingly cleaner as utilities ditch coal. But Nilles says one of the biggest hurdles to adoption of heat pumps in the U.S. is a lack of consumer awareness and political will.
鈥淢any states are still incentivizing the use of fossil fuels,鈥� he said.
Some entities in the Mountain West, such as the and the , have programs incentivizing the use of air source heat pumps. But those programs remain far and few between.
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