this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2024
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For anyone like me wondering why NE states like Maine and Massachusetts are pushing them despite their cooler temps (and heat pumps poorer performance in said temps) it's down to the lack of existing Natural Gas infrastructure and that heat pumps are still significantly more efficient and emissions friendly than the region's legacy heating method: oil furnaces.
NGL hating in heat pumps is like hating on EVs because they need charged longer than it takes to fill up a tank of gas. Yes the use case is not exactly 1:1 to the existing system, but it's an improvement for energy use and emissions overall. (Not saying you're hating on heat pumps, just a general observation)
Yep I wasn't hating on heat pumps. I was just curious why those states decided to go with HP rather than two stage gas furnaces, at that latitude band furnaces have a slightly higher efficiency(~3-4%), a much better price point (5-10k difference just for the equipment), and only a little worse emissions (given the local power generation facilities). The lack of existing natural gas infrastructure combined with the required upgrade to the electrical grid to accommodate EVs explains why incentivizing HPs is much more attractive to the state govts in the NE US. There is also the possibility that installing a hydronic system will be better for some of the older boiler system homes and HPs can be used for both hydronic and central air systems.
That said the existing NG system in the midwest means there probably won't be as high a rate of adoption in states like ND, SD, MN, MT, and ID, even before you consider the political landscape.