U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory NREL researchers make their case that millions of U.S. households would benefit from heat pumps. But the cost of installing the technology needs to come down to make their use a more attractive proposition. The findings, detailed in the journal Joule, quantify the costs and benefits of air-source heat pumps across the United States and consider various climates, heating sources, and types of homes.
” Nationally, the researchers calculated, heat pumps would cut home site energy use by 31% to 47% on average, depending on its efficiency level, and 41% to 52% when combined with building upgrades such as better insulation. The big difference between energy savings and energy cost savings is because natural gas prices are much lower than electricity prices on a Btu basis in many parts of the country.