For homeowners, heat pumps go mainstream
If you were tuned into the gas-versus-electric stove debate — there’s another home appliance that’s getting a lot of attention: heat pumps. Here’s a quick primer on the trend.
To keep it simple: A heat pump system works by absorbing heat from one place and sending it to another place. For a decade now, electric heat pumps have become increasingly popular with homeowners. And in the last year, heat pumps outsold gas furnaces in the U.S., according to the New York Times.
Like what you’re reading? Subscribe to Fifth Wall’s newsletter here.
The debate: The primary benefit for homeowners and real estate operators is cost savings, and on top of that heat pumps don’t produce carbon emissions like furnaces and boilers that run on fossil fuels. A common criticism is that heat pumps don’t work in extreme cold, but that narrative isn’t really true.
Even in some of the coldest climates heat pumps still work quite well — in fact, 60 percent of Norway’s buildings are heated with this method. Heat pumps do have to work harder in the cold, and new components like refrigerants and compressors have improved these systems, according to the MIT Technology Review.
The bottom line: Heat pumps are entering the mainstream because they get the job done in a cheaper way, plus they’ll help real estate meet net-zero goals. The rising popularity of heat pumps illustrates the energy transition will be driven by our economic side, not our altruistic one.
