Green heating option gets a cash bonus
By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff
Air source heat pumps pull heat from one air mass and transfer it to another — heating by moving energy into the building and cooling by moving it out. (Frank Carini/ecoRI News)
PROVIDENCE — There’s good news for folks seeking to
electrify their homes and adopt heat pumps this winter: state officials this
week are expected to announce the last of a new incentive program to tackle
home heating emissions.
The program, dubbed Clean Heat RI by the Office of Energy Resources (OER), provides an additional $25 million to the state’s existing suite of heat pump incentives to spur early adoption of the climate-friendly technology in homes and businesses around the state.
At least 40% of the funds,
which are allocated from federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars, are
earmarked for incentives for underserved communities in compliance with federal guidelines set
by the federal Department of Energy.
An OER spokesperson told ecoRI News that a press rollout
was expected this week, and that the agency expected to start accepting
applications after the Labor Day weekend.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Cathy and I have had a heat pump/ductless A/C combo for years and find the heat pump does save us money during the winter. With rebates, tax credits and savings on oil, this is a green option that pays for itself. - Will Collette
Gov. Dan McKee and OER originally announced the program in July 2022, and the agency spent all of August collecting public comment on the program as designed.
As proposed, $23.6 million will be eligible in three
categories: residential incentives for all homeowners currently using fossil
fuel; enhanced incentives toward low-income and disadvantaged customers; and a
community incentive available for small businesses, nonprofits, community
organizations, and public buildings.
The rest of the money, about $1.3 million, will be
allocated for workforce development programs for the heating, ventilation, and
air conditioning (HVAC) industry.
In May, OER awarded a $3.5 million contract to Concord,
Mass.-based Adobe Energy Management LLC, an energy management consulting firm,
as program administrator.
Proponents of heat pumps have long called them the
embodiment of energy efficiency. Fossil fuel energy systems, whether natural
gas or home heating oil furnaces, must burn fuel to generate heat, and then
transfer that heat throughout a building, which loses a lot of potential energy
in the process.
Heat pumps can heat and cool a home using only
electricity, losing less potential energy. The science behind heat pumps
compared to traditional home furnaces is simple: a heat pump generates no heat;
instead, it operates like an air conditioner by removing the warm air from a
home in summer, and adding warm air to a home in winter.
The downside? Switching to a heat pump isn’t as easy as
plug-and-play. It’s pretty technical work and comes with a big price tag.
A 2020 study performed
by National Grid, the then-owner of Rhode Island’s utility company, estimated
switching an existing home to a ductless mini-split heat pump could cost on
average $15,882.
The program will be a shot in the arm to a state that
desperately needs a solution to its fossil fuel addiction. Residential and
commercial heating accounts for 28% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Rhode
Island, according to the latest emissions inventory from
the state Department of Environmental Management.
A 2020 report from
the Acadia Center, an environmental nonprofit dedicated to climate and
renewable energy solutions, estimates switching a home from heating oil to a
heat pump reduces the equivalent emissions of taking dozens of cars off the
road for a year. Over the lifespan of the equipment, a home can reduce its
emissions by 58 metric equivalent tons.
It’s emblematic of a New England state where fossil fuels
are still king — 54% of homes in Rhode Island are heated by natural gas, and
another 32% rely on home heating oil. Only 8% of Rhode Islanders are estimated
to use electricity to heat their homes.
With 73% of the state’s housing stock built before 1980,
Rhode Islanders’ homes are far less likely to be appropriately weatherized to
retain heat.
Meanwhile, fossil fuel addiction comes with a steep price
tag.
Last winter the Public Utilities Commission approved big
increases in electric and natural gas rates for October to this past March.
Customers using natural gas provided by Rhode Island Energy paid, on average,
$89 more a year under the new rate.
Rhode Island Energy raised the natural gas rate again in
March, adding an additional estimated $51 to customers’ bills every year, or a
$140 annual hike over the past 12 months.
Electric customers weren’t immune to the volatile pricing
in natural gas. The bulk of the electricity provided by Rhode Island Energy is
generated at natural gas plants around the region. Utility company officials
cited the global rise in demand for the fuel — and disruption from the war in
Ukraine — as the prime reason behind a historic 47% hike in the electric rates
last fall.
Electric rates saw a slight decrease, around 25%, in the
spring, unlike natural gas, but that’s about to be wiped out. In July, Rhode
Island Energy announced a 24% hike in winter electric rates, putting the cost
of utility bills close to par from last winter.
Meanwhile, the current heat pump incentives distributed
by OER, derived from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)
auction proceeds, are paltry in comparison to the announced new program.
OER committed $2.75 million to a heat pump incentive
program in April 2020. From March 2021 to December 2021, the incentives helped
450 customers convert from fossil fuel systems to heat pumps.
The utility is helping, too. Rhode Island Energy has
awarded $3.1 million in rebates to customers who installed a total of nearly
4,000 central and mini-split heat pump systems.