Heat Pump Double Feature: Best Practices for Co-promoting HPs and Weatherization and “The Struggle is Real – Why are HPs So Complicated?”

For this two-part session, Jeff explores incentive program best practices for co-promoting envelope improvements and heat pumps. Then Courtney presents an in-depth discussion on overcoming real-world barriers to effective heat pump adoption.

FIRST: Many incentive programs for weatherization and heat pumps operate independently despite the benefits of combining them. We’ll discuss challenges, successes, and examples of co-promotion strategies. We’ll then present macro-level program Best Practices for co-promotion efforts based on stakeholder insights.

SECOND: Switching homes from fossil fuel heating to electric heat pumps is easy to say but harder to implement, especially in cold climates. Heat pumps are having their moment with policy mandates and incentives to support a clean energy transition, but it turns out today’s heat pump technology is more complicated, building envelope conditions take on new levels of importance, and uncertain energy rate forecasting confounds efforts to ensure affordable outcomes for homeowners. We’ll get real with what we’ve learned after nearly a decade of building a residential heat pump market in New York State. We’ll explore the challenges faced by practitioners and program administrators as well as the homeowner’s perspective.