Mainers thinking of switching to heat pumps ahead of the upcoming winter season may want to call an installer soon.
The state set a new goal Friday of adding 175,000 residential and commercial units by 2027.
“In contrast to heating oil, heat pumps are affordable, efficient, available and they serve to heat and cool your home or business,” Gov. Janet Mills said at Kennebec Valley Community College.
The new goal is necessary because the state has already surpassed — two years ahead of schedule — its goal of 100,000 by 2025.
Of those, 13% were commercial installations and the rest were for residential homes, said Michael Stoddard of Efficiency Maine. Moving forward, more emphasis will be placed on helping those with middle and low incomes make the switch, he said.
As it is now, heat pump installer Josh Oxley of SolarLogix in Belfast is six to eight weeks out in scheduling appointments for new installations.
Once a customer calls, they will visit the home, prepare an estimate and work directly with state and federal rebate programs to help the customer find the best deal, he said.
“We typically will educate them on Efficiency Maine and federal incentives,” he said. “It’s fairly confusing.”
The units typically cost $5,000 per indoor zone, he said, but depending on income, rebates are available.
Incentives can total $3,800, which combines a federal tax credit and state rebates, according to the Efficiency Maine website.
The state is slated to receive $70 million in federal funding, some of which will be used to help reach the new goal of adding 175,000 more heat pumps by 2027, Mills said.
The push to switch more Mainers to heat pumps is part of the state’s Maine Won’t Wait climate action plan designed to cut carbon output, create energy with renewable sources and protect communities from climate change.
It comes amid a worsening climate crisis, with record heat and rising and warming seas threatening lives and livelihoods.
Mills said the heat pump push is an attempt to reduce Maine’s dependence on foreign oil, noting that Maine uses more heating oil per capita than any other state.
Sixty percent of Maine homeowners rely on oil to heat their homes, sending $4 billion out of state every year, she said.
“We’ve got to keep fighting to reduce Maine’s reliance and the nation’s reliance on harmful fossil fuels,” she said. “We’ve got to mitigate climate change. We’ve got to save Maine people money and support good paying jobs.”
They held Friday’s event at KVCC to highlight that 558 people have been trained at all seven of Maine’s community colleges to install and maintain heat pumps.
One of those students, Josh Breau, said he hopes to make at least part of his income working in the industry.
“My intention with this is to eventually transition to working for a normal job and then having financial independence to do a side job of running a business doing heat pump installs,” he said.
White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi drove up to Fairfield for the event and said it shows that despite “doom and despair” about climate change, there are things people can do to help.
“Today we see proof that not only can we do something about it, but it’s a story of hope and possibilities for our economy, for our families and for working people all across America,” he said.