Heat pumps save Mainers up to 60 percent on energy bills, study finds
By Lori Valigra, Bangor Daily News Staff
Maine residences that have installed heat pumps are seeing up to 60 percent savings compared with fossil fuels on their average yearly energy bills, according to a new study released by a nonprofit energy efficiency group.
Maine is one of the handful of northern U.S. states where average electricity rates are less than natural gas costs, the study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found. Those lower electric prices mean that Maine residents that switch from fuel oil or propane to electrified heat pumps will save on energy costs over a year.
Homeowners who have flat-rate billing, where charges are the same regardless of the time of day or amount of energy used, can save 52 percent by replacing a propane furnace with a heat pump to pay an average of $2,168 annually instead of $4,486, the study found. There is a 40 percent annual savings by replacing their fuel oil furnace with a heat pump for a total $2,137 paid for a year.
Even more savings come from signing up with Central Maine Power or Versant Power for their heat pump rate. Under the discount, the energy bill for the year would be 53 percent less with a heat pump than fuel oil, 60 percent less with propane and 11 percent less with natural gas over the year, according to the study. Adding insulation to a home can bring even more energy savings, the study found.
The council figured the annual average costs of fuel and electricity throughout the state for homes, condominiums and apartments under various price scenarios including flat-rate billing with and without a heat pump. It also included the lower heat pump rate that Central Maine Power and Versant Power offer during the winter heating season. Electricity prices tend to be lower in the winter than the summer, Matt Malinowski, a co-author of the report, said.
The Pine Tree State is ahead of schedule, and ahead of many other states, in heat pump installations, Malinowski said. They are a major part of Maine’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030. The state has already reached its goal of installing 100,000 new heat pumps two years before the target date of 2025. That led Gov. Janet Mills in July to set a new milestone of installing 175,000 additional heat pumps by 2027.
State and federal incentives are pushing up heat pump sales, as is the promise of savings from replacing fossil fuel heating systems. A typical heat pump runs $4,000 or higher, about two-thirds the cost of a furnace replacement, and can save $1,000 or more annually to run compared with burning fossil fuels, according to companies that install them.
Heat pumps also have environmental benefits, including emitting less than half the greenhouse gasses of an average existing oil burner, according to data from Efficiency Maine, which runs the rebate program in Maine. Efficiency Maine provides rebates of up to $8,000 for updates completed by April 5 and up to $9,000 after. On top of that, the federal government offers up to $2,000. Another $600 tax credit is available if people need to upgrade their electricity panel to handle the heat pump.
“Despite being a cold state, Maine is a leader in heat pump deployment and for a good reason, because they generate bill savings,” Malinowski said.
Valigra reports on the environment for the BDN’s Maine Focus investigative team. Reach her at lvaligra@bangordailynews.com. Support for this reporting is provided by the Unity Foundation, a fund at the Maine Community Foundation and donations by BDN readers.