2023 has officially begun, and if you’re the resolution-making type, you’re taking steps toward achieving your goals. Resolutions and goals are commonly centered around personal health, but many people are taking a broader view and also considering how to improve our planet’s health through sustainability.
Recycling, buying second-hand at thrift stores, and swapping out plastic for paper straws and reusable bags are all great practices. But there’s a technology you can use to achieve a much larger positive impact on your community’s overall carbon emissions and sustainability.
This year, do more than grasp at paper straws — now’s the time to level up with a heat pump! Below we detail three ways heat pumps contribute to a healthier world.
#1 – Minimized Energy Use
In 2022, homeowners felt the costs of energy use. Natural gas prices were volatile, and many Americans with gas-burning furnaces were impacted. Fortunately, all-climate heat pumps break your home’s reliance on fossil fuels and lessen your overall impact on the electrical grid.
Using INVERTER-compressor technology, heat pumps, such as our M- and P-Series systems, use only the precise amount of energy required to reach the set point. Instead of the on/off cycle of conventional systems, heat pump technology fine tunes energy use based on heating and cooling needs. This method lessens your home’s overall energy demand and translates to cost savings! According to the Department of Energy, today’s heat pumps can use up to 50 percent less electricity than electric resistance heating. Even in cold climates, heat pumps designed for extreme weather, such as our Hyper-Heating INVERTER® (H2i®) systems, can be used as a standalone, all-electric solution or coupled with supplemental heat to provide whole-home comfort efficiently.
#2 – Cleaner, Emission-less Air
Many are familiar with the big, clunky furnace in your basement or attic. Maybe you keep up with your system’s maintenance and change out the filters to keep your air clean, but you might be overlooking the carbon emissions. Per the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, residential heating and air conditioning are responsible for over 400 million tons of carbon emissions annually. These emissions affect the planet’s health and your household’s.
All-climate heat pumps are all-electric, so there are no on-site emissions to worry about. And with their zoned configuration, meaning indoor units are installed by zone based on your home’s usage needs, you can achieve multi-zone filtration. Washable, reusable filters make maintenance a breeze, and you can breathe easy knowing you’re helping to reduce emissions in your neighborhood.
#3 – System Longevity
While all-climate heat pumps are designed to last for 15+ years, you'll want to eventually upgrade as the efficiency standards change. If you have an existing furnace, you'll have to consider changing it soon as many cities are driving efforts to reduce and eliminate gas usage in homes. Over the last few years, several cities around the country, including New York City, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, have banned natural gas appliances in new homes or developments. While this may seem isolated to those cities, the all-electric concept is catching on, with the Inflation Reduction Act (Ira) passing in August 2022. The Ira offers many incentives for homeowners to lessen their carbon footprint and adopt technologies such as all-climate heat pumps.
Regional utilities also incentivize homeowners to electrify with rebates and tax credits. A heating or air-conditioning system purchase or replacement is a choice many homeowners only make once or twice in a lifetime. With an all-electric heat pump, your home’s contribution to your community’s sustainability will last far longer than most actively used gym memberships. Also, your system’s environmental impact will shrink as utilities add more renewable energy sources to the grid.
If greater sustainability is among your 2023 resolutions, learn more about our energy-efficient heat pump solutions at MitsubishiComfort.com.
