2025: The Year of the Heat Pump in Colorado
Just as the mid-January polar vortex sent much of Colorado and the nation into a deep freeze, Xcel Energy announced natural gas prices were going up.
Production and demand for natural gas will drive higher prices, the state’s largest utility said, while declining to estimate the impact on customers.
I felt grateful that thanks to the electric air source heat pump I installed recently, the gas hike won’t spike my bills. Sure, I will use more electricity to keep my home warm, but I won’t be burning more of the polluting and unhealthy methane in a furnace anymore.
In Colorado this may be the year of the heat pump. The efficient appliances that use air to both heat and cool our homes and offices are coming into their own in cold climates like ours. Increasingly, they are recognized as a key tool for lowering emissions and cleaning our air. And several programs are converging to bring the prices down to levels affordable for more and more residents.
The first-ever Xcel Energy Clean Heat Plan, approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission last year, marked a major victory for clean energy advocates. Xcel started out wanting to promote hydrogen blending and other dangerous heating schemes. But regulators sided with advocates who argued heat pumps using much cleaner electricity, are the way to go. The plan allocates $440 million, much of which is being translated into new rebates.
As one of our sponsors Elephant Energy pointed out, Xcel has launched “bonus ‘’ rebates as part of the Clean Heat Plan, effectively tripling the rebates available for Colorado homeowners. Cold climate heat pump rebates are going from $750 per ton to $2,250 per heating ton. Rebates for heat pump water heaters are jumping from $800 to $2,250. Lower income customers can see even bigger rebates. And rebates for other energy efficiency measures are also increasing.
Also coming down the pike is the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG)’s $200 million Decarbonization plan, which is expected to make heat pump rebates available to more residents of metro Denver, and to make the appliances available for little cost to low-income residents as it launches this year.
Additionally, the city of Denver, the state of Colorado and other utilities have their own energy efficiency rebate programs, and the federal government offers tax credits for heat pumps and other energy efficiency measures.
All this can get confusing and complicated quickly. But two upcoming events will help you make sense of it all.
Our partners PSR Colorado – Physicians for Social Responsibility are holding a webinar Jan. 23 explaining “How Colorado Won a REAL Clean Heat Plan.’’ You can learn more about the new rebates on the webinar: PSR Colorado's upcoming webinar "How Colorado Won a REAL Clean Heat Plan"
Then, New Energy Colorado is sponsoring a heat pump panel Sat. Feb. 8 where you can talk to neighbors who installed heat pumps about how they chose a contractor, how they decided what equipment to buy, and other key considerations. See the flyer below for all the details and invite your friends!
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