Considering a heat pump for your home heating and cooling? Follow these 10 easy steps.
A well-insulated home paired with an all-electric heat pump can improve comfort while saving energy. Ready to bring efficient heat pump technology into your home? Our handy 10-step checklist will help ensure a smooth, successful heat pump installation.
Step 1. Familiarize yourself with how heat pumps work.
A heat pump is a highly energy-efficient way to both heat and cool your home. This unique technology doesn't generate its own heat; instead, it draws heat from the air and moves it from one place to another—into your home in the winter, out of your home in the summer. Want to learn more? The Power Ahead Colorado website is a great source of information. Start with our “Plan and Learn” page.
Step 2. Take note of your existing heating and cooling equipment.
If your furnace or central AC is on the older side, it’s a great time to switch to a heat pump. Having equipment that you’re not ready to part with doesn’t mean you need to put off your heat pump installation. Running both, with one supplementing the other, can still significantly reduce fossil fuel use, saving you energy and money.
Step 3. Tap expert guidance to start understanding your home’s energy use.
The Power Ahead Colorado team can provide valuable guidance customized to your personal needs. Reach out to our energy advisors at 1-844-303-9333 or info@advising.poweraheadcolorado.org. An audit is a good idea, too, helping you understand how your home uses energy and where improvements like insulation and air sealing can help. Xcel Energy provides low-cost energy audits to homeowners. Tell them you’re planning for a heat pump, so their recommendations account for your planned upgrade. Not in Xcel's service territory? Visit your local energy utility’s website to explore their offerings. Rewiring America’s Savings Calculator is another great way to zero in on incentives.
Step 4. Choose the heat pump that best suits your home and your needs.
There are two types of heat pumps to choose from: ducted and ductless. Ducted systems use your home’s existing ductwork to distribute warm or cool air. Ductless “mini-split” systems are wall-mounted units ideal for homes without ductwork. From there, it’s a matter of calculating square footage and selecting a model that can adequately condition your space.
Step 5. Explore money-saving rebates and incentives.
This is where you offset the expense—rebates are a great source of savings. Power Ahead Colorado can save you $1,500 on a cold-climate air-source heat pump. The preapproval process is easy, and you can stack our rebate with incentives from other sources, like your city or local utility. Rewiring America’s Savings Calculator can help you find all the rebates you might qualify for.
Step 6. Find the right contractor.
As you might expect, selecting a partner with heat pump-specific experience is critical. Use the Contractor Finder on our website to find local, qualified professionals and request a quote. While contractors should be familiar with available rebates, it’s still a good idea to understand and confirm incentives for yourself. For example, some programs require that your installer get rebate pre-approval before starting work.
Step 7. Estimate project costs.
Now is the time to determine the cost of your heat pump installation, including any efficiency upgrades recommended in your audit. Remember to account for rebates or tax credits. And don’t forget to consider the yearly energy savings that follow!
Step 8. Get financing.
Financing can help you cover the remaining cost of your project after rebates and incentives are applied. Check out the Colorado Clean Energy Fund, which offers below-market-rate financing for many clean energy projects.
Step 9. Prepare your home.
If your energy audit identified improvements to make before heat pump installation, now is the time to complete them. Air sealing and insulation are common upgrades that can help prevent energy loss and ensure proper ventilation. And if you’ve got an older or lower-capacity electrical panel (<100 amps), you may need an upgrade to support your new equipment.
Step 10. Schedule the installation of your new heat pump.
Congrats! Having selected a system, identified a trusted contractor, estimated costs, and prepped your home, you’re now ready to schedule the installation. Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying the comfort and efficiency of your new heat pump—and doing so for years to come.