Heat pumps

Heat pumps

SoCal rejects plan to phase down new gas furnaces and water heaters

After an opposition campaign waged by SoCalGas and others, regulators tanked rules that would’ve encouraged, but not required, a transition to electric heat pumps.

By Alison F. Takemura . 10 June 2025
Heat pumps

Electrifying this affordable housing complex made financial sense

In Sacramento, California, property owner BRIDGE Housing moved ahead with a heat-pump-plus retrofit designed to save both itself and its residents money.

By Alison F. Takemura . 30 May 2025
Heat pumps

Maine is training an army of HVAC pros to meet its heat pump goals

Heat pump installation and other clean energy jobs are growing in the state. Can its workforce development efforts keep up?

By Kristian Moravec . 23 May 2025
Energy efficiency

Has Maine learned how to make heat pumps lower electricity costs for all?

Heat pump adoption in the state has soared. Now a new state energy-efficiency plan aims to accelerate the trend to cut emissions and control power prices.

By Sarah Shemkus . 14 May 2025
Carbon-free buildings

After LA fires, could it be cheaper and faster to rebuild without gas?

The city waived its all-electric building requirement in an effort to fast-track recovery after the January fires. A new report argues that’s the wrong approach.

By Alison F. Takemura . 5 May 2025
Heat pumps

Meet one of NYC’s first housing co-ops to electrify heating and cooling

The 1962 building hit its emissions reduction targets well ahead of Local Law 97's first reporting deadline on May 1. Here’s how.

By Alison F. Takemura . 22 April 2025
Heat pumps

Massachusetts heat pump owners could pay less for electricity next winter

The state’s high electricity prices are a barrier to heat pump adoption, so regulators are working with utilities to reduce rates in winter when demand is lower.

By Sarah Shemkus . 16 April 2025
Heat pumps

SoCal regulators weigh weakened rules for emissions-free appliances

Though the new proposal would still help clean up the region’s smog-filled air, it stops short short of mandating heat pumps and banning appliances that emit NOx.

By Alison F. Takemura . 8 April 2025
Geothermal

Lennar will build 1,500 new Colorado homes with geothermal heat pumps

The homebuilder is partnering with Dandelion Energy to install the tech, which is efficient but expensive — unless it’s built into new homes from the start.

By Jeff St. John . 2 April 2025
Clean energy

Three years into the Ukraine war, is Europe’s energy system cleaner?

In response to the invasion, Europe mostly ditched Russian fossil fuels and built a cleaner grid. But wholesale decarbonization has proven elusive.

By Julian Spector . 19 March 2025