by John Dowd
As the world starts to take a harder look at climate change, and its impact on natural resources and the natural world, many are looking especially hard at the cost of everything. In recent years, inflation and the cost to go green has driven up the price to live, own and operate our homes. One of the biggest costs is electricity, which people use in almost everything. To combat this, and to raise awareness of alternative energy options, the Bitterroot Climate Action Group (BCAG) has been hosting a program called the Green Home Tours.
These tours visit local homes that are going above, beyond and out of the box, to address change both outdoors, and inside people’s wallets. Jill Davies, a board member with BCAG, led one of these tours last Saturday. The tour took place at Bill Caplins’ 2,000-square-foot home, which is equipped with an interesting heating and air conditioning system. This system was the centerpiece of the tour.
John Anderson, owner of Anderson’s Heating and Air Conditioning, attended the tour, as his company was the one that installed the system. Anderson has been working on air heating and cooling systems for over 50 years, and has found these kinds of systems to be some of the best.
When Anderson spoke on the system, he called it an “Air Source Heat Pump.” According to Anderson, though these systems have been around for over 30 years, they are just starting to become popular. The reasoning comes down to two things. The first being that these systems have come a long way in their development. The second may be the biggest: people are realizing that these systems save homeowners a lot of money.
In essence, according to Caplins, who moved into his new home from a place in Stevensville, he is now paying less than a third of what he was paying to live in his place in Stevensville. This is the case, even though his new place is over twice the size. According to Caplins, his home runs completely on electricity, and that includes all his watering systems, heating, cooling, cooking, lighting and everything else. For the last year alone, his annual bill added up to just $873. His lowest monthly bill during that time was $24, and his highest, during this last year’s cold snap, was $140.
The Mitsubishi air handler Anderson’s installed is capable of operating in temperatures below -15 degrees, and will, even down to that point, operate at 75% rated BTUs. That means the system will continue to function well below that, and will only require aid from an auxiliary heating backup to make up the difference at very low temperatures.
When asked why he wanted to have a home with one of these systems installed, Caplins explained that he moved to Montana from Maryland, where he had a similar system that ran on geo-thermal energy. He knew the savings the system was capable of affording him, and so knew he would want it again.
“I wanted heat and air conditioning, and I wanted air to be run through a filter,” said Caplins. “The payback is pretty significant.” He said that these kinds of systems are so efficient that he cannot see why someone would not install one.
“If you have electric base-board heat, you’re going to make your money back very quickly,” added Caplins.
One concern for several in attendance was the cost to install these systems. To address this, Anderson said Caplins’ system cost roughly $16,000. Pricing is determined by numerous factors, including system size, distance from home and system type. The standard cost of a system like Caplins’ is roughly $21,000 today. There are also cheaper systems available, like so-called “mini-splits,” which Davies is interested in getting for herself. These start at as low as $5,500.
According to Davies, there are even monetary incentives to install these systems, thanks in part to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is being facilitated by Montana DEQ. There are current incentives in place for the installation and maintenance of these systems, but when the IRA takes effect in 2025, more incentives will become available for not only heat pumps, but for things like solar power, induction stoves and more. These incentives will include up-front discounts, tax credits and rebates, some of which will cover the cost up to 100%.
Caplins also raised the point that, theoretically, these systems can also be cheaper to install, given they are a single system that provides both heating and cooling. Otherwise, two separate systems would need to be installed, doubling the cost to do so.
According to Caplins, in the past the problem has come down to trust in the systems. The reason many people do not trust these systems, said Caplins, is because they do not seem to understand them. To answer the first concern posed by Caplins, regarding how far these systems have come and people’s understanding of them, Anderson stated that they are actually incredibly simple in concept. According to Anderson, they work exactly like a refrigerator.
To oversimplify it, outside the home, the system holds a number of coils filled with freon-like material. This material is cycled through the system, from the outside to the inside and then back out again. Just like how a refrigerator takes heat from the inside and captures it in the freon, and cycles it out of the refrigerator, blowing it away with fans, the air pump does so on a greater scale. Tubes cycle through ducts in the house and essentially capture heat and move it outside. The system will then automatically reverse, and do the same thing, but this time pulling the heat from the outside and cycling it inside the home. According to Anderson, what makes the system so efficient and easy on the power bill is that unlike modern heating, the homeowner does not pay to generate heat, only to transfer it from one place to another.
“You’re not paying for heat, you’re paying for the transfer of heat. When the backups kick on, then you’re paying for heat,” said Anderson. That backup system of heating is only there to provide heat at the low points when the system can no longer operate at full capacity. That point is where the systems become more expensive.
According to Anderson, his company does not use the cheapest systems because he believes it does a disservice to the customer. The cheaper systems can be noisy, less efficient and will not last as long, and those last two points are where the systems really save the customer money.
“All this stuff pays you back!” said Anderson.
Anderson’s company has their employees trained to service their systems inside and out, and are certified to test and monitor the output of their systems. When installed correctly, they will run as efficiently as they are intended to and will maximize savings.
These systems can be ductless, or like Caplins’, made with ductwork throughout the home. They are smart systems and can be operated by the homeowner’s phone. Anderson’s mostly does retrofit systems that can be put into any existing home, for any customer interested.
For more information on air pump systems, interested parties can contact Anderson’s Heating and Air Conditioning at (406) 728-8048. To learn more about the Bitterroot Climate Action Group, parties can visit the organization website, bitterrootcag.org.