The White House and a coalition of 23 state governors pledged Thursday to quadruple the amount of heat pumps in American homes in the coming years.
Together, the Biden administration and the U.S. Climate Alliance (USCA) seek to increase the number of heat pumps installed in American homes to 20 million by 2030, “with the aim of ensuring at least 40% of benefits flow to disadvantaged communities” and toward a “goal of decarbonizing buildings,” according to a USCA press release issued Thursday. The commitment aligns with a wider push by the Biden administration to reduce emissions generated by buildings and phase out gas-powered appliances.
Heat pumps are devices that use electricity to heat and cool a building without burning fuel, and they tend to be more expensive than gas furnaces in terms of up-front cost, according to Aquarius Home Services. The pledge to quadruple the amount of installations follows the release of data that shows homes heated by natural gas will be half as expensive this coming winter when compared to homes that rely on electricity to stay warm, according to CNN.
The appliances are heavily subsidized by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), President Joe Biden’s signature climate bill, which provides a 30% tax credit for consumers, and some states offer incentives in addition to the IRA credits, according to The Associated Press.
“Thanks to the Biden climate and economic agenda, we have for the first time the resources we need to transition America to a clean energy future and seize the opportunities that come with it,” White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said, according to the USCA press release. “It’s good news for our economy and good news for our climate and energy security.”
The Biden administration has proposed a slew of new energy efficiency standards for multiple appliances, like generators, water heaters and dishwashers. Additionally, the administration is spending big to push state and municipal governments to adopt new building codes to decrease emissions by phasing out gas hookups.
“We are in a climate emergency and the window to act is closing. U.S. Climate Alliance states get that,” Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said, according to USCA. “That’s why we’re taking bold, immediate action by quadrupling heat pump installations by 2030.”
The governors of the USCA represent states that account for about 60% of the U.S. economy and 55% of the U.S. population, according to USCA.
The White House did not respond immediately to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Heat pumps might save energy at the up front. But they break much more often than a natural/propane gas heater. The cost of repairing them should be measured in energy. For commodities, dollars are mostly a measure of the energy used in production. There is also the energy used by the repair tech to come to you house and replace the system components. You pay him in dollars depending on how far he has to travel and the cost of his gasoline. Will the energy cost of repairing a heat pump outweigh the energy savings? My experience is yes it will.
And finally worst of all are the ECM motors in all the newest systems. Which exist because of the claims they will save energy because those motors can run slower. That is – if your system can use a slower running motor. My systems will not function properly when the motor runs slower.
But the big problem is they break tremendously often. Typical ECM motor for your HVAC will cost over 1k$. Typical PSC motor(the old fashion kind of motor) will cost less than$100. The PSC motor will last probably +20 years. The ECM motor will likely break in 4 years. Actually my experience is they break in less than 2 years. Two of my HVACs have ECM motors and both got replaced under warranty twice each before the 5 year warranty expired. It’s expired now and I have to pay for a new one every 3 years or so.