{"id":11313,"date":"2021-03-25T14:54:50","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T21:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11313"},"modified":"2021-03-25T14:54:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T21:54:50","slug":"flipping-the-switch-to-electric-cecs-board-president-is-pumped-about-her-heat-pump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11313","title":{"rendered":"Flipping the Switch to Electric: CEC\u2019s Board President is Pumped About Her Heat Pump"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Barbara<\/a>

This story was originally published on cecsb.org on February 10, 2021.<\/p><\/div>\n

The desire to cool down her house, rather than heat it, was what inspired CEC Board President Barbara Lindemann<\/a> to investigate switching to a heat pump<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The air conditioner in her home in the Santa Barbara foothills was on its last legs and the furnace was more than 30 years old. After getting a bid on replacing the gas-powered furnace, Barbara pondered the purchase. \u201cI began to think, well why am I putting in another gas furnace?\u201d she laughed. \u201cGiven my commitment to getting off of fossil fuels this doesn\u2019t make any sense at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

She asked for advice from a few knowledgeable friends, including green builder and past CEC Board President Dennis Allen<\/a> and architect Dennis Thompson<\/a>, who had done a remodel for the Lindemann\u2019s a few years ago. Both of the experts agreed that heat pumps were a good alternative to another gas furnace. \u201cDennis Thompson pointed out that it\u2019s not going to be long before you\u2019re not allowed to put more gas into homes and new homes won\u2019t be allowed to be built with gas,\u201d said Barbara. \u201cHe said it\u2019s really become the new thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Barbara had also been researching getting backup batteries for her 18-year-old solar panel system. Living in a high fire zone with frequent power outages, and knowing that her solar power system would soon need to be replaced, Barbara realized that installing a heat pump would make even more economic sense when she replaced the solar with a system that included storage batteries.<\/p>\n

Getting the heat pump \u201cis a matter of looking to the future and taking care of our current needs at the same time,\u201d Barbara said. While the initial upfront cost of the heat pump was slightly more than a new furnace might have been, Barbara said her gas bill has gone down and her electricity use is only up a little, \u201cso we\u2019re already saving money on the heat pump, even though it was more expensive to put in \u2014 and I haven\u2019t had a chance to give it a full test with air conditioning yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

When summer comes around, Barbara is looking forward to her new heat pump being able to cool her home just as effectively as a standard air conditioner would, but without relying on fossil fuels to keep her family comfortable.<\/i><\/p>\n

This story was originally published on cecsb.org<\/a> on February 10, 2021.<\/p>\n

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