Efficiency Maine’s heat pump and heat pump water heater initiatives receive ‘Leader of the Pack’ award -Piscataquis Observer

By Best Plumbers On Nov 3, 2024

AUGUSTA – Efficiency Maine's success in accelerating the electrification of home heating was recognized today with the prestigious Leader of the Pack award from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. The award, presented every five years, recognizes outstanding energy efficiency programs in the United States.

Efficiency Maine emerged as the winner in the Home Electrification category with its programs to promote residential heat pumps and heat pump water heaters. The award in this category goes to a “comprehensive program that replaces a home's fossil fuel-powered appliances and appliances with more efficient electric alternatives.” Efficiency Maine's programs have consistently had among the highest rates in the U.S. for installing heat pumps and water heaters per capita. The Efficiency Maine programs include extensive consumer education resources, including tools and tips on the website (https://www.efficiencymaine.com), as well as a tiered system of income-differentiated rebates, pilot programs to test new technologies and similar collaboration with trained heat pump installers, plumbers and electricians throughout Maine.

ACEEE is a nonprofit research organization that develops policies to reduce energy waste and combat climate change and is known for its analyzes and rankings of energy efficiency programs across the country. The awards committee evaluated programs based on several factors, such as: B. ambitious long-term goals, interim metrics to measure progress, effective marketing to reach target audiences, performance evaluation to ensure effectiveness, and community engagement, especially in historically underserved communities. It cited Efficiency Maine's programs as “significant advances in heat pump installation and their significant financial incentives.”

“These exceptional efficiency programs are leading the way to save energy, reduce pollution and lower energy costs,” said Jasmine Mah, senior research analyst at ACEEE and lead researcher for Leaders of the Pack. “Utilities and third-party program administrators looking to establish or improve energy efficiency programs can look to this diverse group of leaders as role models.”

“This award is the result of a great team effort, led by Maine contractors who are marketing and installing heat pumps and heat pump water heaters at record speeds, and supported by the consistent support of Efficiency Maine’s programs from our Board of Trustees and the state.” Legislators and officials,” said Michael Stoddard, executive director of Efficiency Maine.

As an early leader in promoting the use of heat pumps in cold climates, Efficiency Maine has now discounted more than 175,000 heat pumps for space heating. In 2023 alone, more than 25,000 Maine households received Efficiency Maine rebates for heat pumps or heat pump water heaters, representing 4.5 percent of all year-round Maine residences in the state. The quasi-governmental agency's heat pump programs have received national recognition in recent years for succeeding in cold climates, achieving broad geographic distribution throughout the state, improving homes of low- and moderate-income families, and testing new applications in manufactured homes. The programs are also known for supporting a rapidly growing small business sector that includes more than 700 registered trading partners.

The heat pump water heater initiative achieved the best market penetration in the U.S. by providing incentives to achieve price parity with traditional electric water heaters at the point of sale in retail and distribution stores such as Lowe's and Home Depot. Since its inception, the program has reimbursed more than 70,000 heat pump water heaters in Maine, a state with approximately 570,000 year-round households.

“Maine has been a leader in adopting air source heat pumps through the leadership of the Efficiency Maine Trust to establish industry standards, quality control and clear and transparent marketing to customers,” said Patrick Woodcock, President and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. “Furthermore, it would not have been possible without partnering with dozens of Maine companies who recognized the opportunity to reduce energy costs and improve the quality of heating and cooling homes to enable Maine’s nation-leading deployment. Being recognized by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy as a Home Electrification Leader of the Pack is the culmination of over a decade of work by the Efficiency Maine Trust staff and underscores the continued opportunities in market transformation to meet the needs of our state and to meet our nation’s decarbonization goals and requirements.”

“Efficiency Maine’s initiatives enable PHCC contractors to offer their customers valuable incentives that result in a win-win situation for both parties,” said Alice Ames, executive director of the Maine Association of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors. “Our continued positive relationship with Efficiency Maine helps ensure these money-saving incentives reach more Maine homeowners as they adopt new energy-efficient heat pumps and heat pump water heaters.”

“Thanks to the leadership of Gov. Mills and Efficiency Maine Trust, Maine has set an example for the country of how efficient, cost-saving technologies like heat pumps can benefit residents and businesses and significantly reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels,” said Dan Burgess, director of the Maine Governor’s Office of Energy . “I congratulate the Efficiency Maine Trust on this award and look forward to continuing to work with the Trust and other partners to build on our success and achieve greater energy and cost savings for Maine homes and businesses.”

“On behalf of the Efficiency Maine Board of Trustees, we are proud of Efficiency Maine’s accomplishments in successfully promoting and supporting the use of heat pumps and heat pump water heaters in our state,” said Board Chairman Glenn Poole. “These programs support energy-efficient and money-saving technologies that have a tangible, positive impact on the lives of Maine residents and businesses.”

Learn more about Efficiency Maine's heat pump incentives at https://www.efficiencymaine.com/about-heat-pumps/. For heat pump water heater rebates, visit https://www.efficiencymaine.com/at-home/water-heating-solutions/.

For more information about Efficiency Maine honorees and other Leaders of the Pack Awards, visit the ACEEE Awards website. Since the award's inception, ACEEE has evolved its assessment of efficiency programs to include a greater focus on energy equity, electrification with comprehensive weatherization, and carbon emissions reductions.

The Efficiency Maine Trust is the independent, quasi-governmental agency established to plan and implement energy efficiency programs in Maine. Through its series of nationally recognized programs, Efficiency Maine provides consumer information, marketing assistance, demonstration pilots, rebates, rebates, loans and other initiatives to promote high-efficiency equipment and operations that help Maine homes, businesses and institutions reduce their energy costs and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The result is job growth, better grid reliability, improved energy independence, a stronger local economy and critical progress toward achieving the state's climate goals. Efficiency Maine is governed by a board of trustees under the supervision of the Maine Public Utilities Commission. For more information, visit www.efficiencymaine.com.