"ductless heat pumps" could replace baseboard heaters - heat pump unit prices

LYNNWOOD, Wash.
-If you use electric heating, your utility company may pay for your upgrade to a more efficient system.
Their goal is to use an electric baseboard heater to keep about 1 million households comfortable and warm in the northwest.
Hot new things in home heating are called "tube-free heat pump ".
"Never heard of it before? Neither had we.
So we sent the reporter Tom Banse to find out what the tube-free heat pump is.
Emily Watrous and her husband bought their first home last fall.
They fell in love with a story of the 1960s s era on a dead endde-
Sac, a suburb of Lynwood, Washington.
Great House. . .
Except for the winter heating bills.
Emily Watrous: "We have these old funky baseboard heaters that are cracked, hissed and popular all night.
"The new house is much more expensive than the apartment the couple used to live in.
Emily Watrous: "I won't let my husband turn on the heating.
I think, 'don't turn on the heating.
Take a blanket and a coat.
Don't open it here.
Eventually, Emily called her local utility, Snohomish County PUD for advice.
They advised her to replace her baseboard heater with something she had never heard of before, a tube-free heat pump.
What caught her attention was a commitment to save between 25 and 50% on heating costs.
Emily Watrous: "So I was sold.
Then I called my husband and told him I think we found what we needed for our house.
I said, plus the air conditioner in summer.
Well, we can do it, he said.
"The cost of installing a tube-free heat pump is over $4,000.
She estimated that the return period for investment was less than ten years.
As the name implies, there is no pipeline work involved.
This saves installation costs.
Plus the pipeline is considered inefficient these days.
Sound: There are two main parts to the new little invention.
The indoor fan unit is now rising on the wall of the living room.
It looks like a narrow air conditioner.
The tube goes through the wall to the outside and connects it to the box
Large compressor next to the garage.
Kevin Breiwick of blue flame heating and air conditioning is responsible for supervising the installation.
In Asia and Europe, tube-free heat pumps have become the standard for heating and cooling, he said.
This system is only now popular in the United States. S.
Residential market.
Kevin Breiwick: "This house is perfect because you are heated by the baseboard.
This is not a big house.
You have a fan unit located in the city center.
You can heat the living room, dining room, kitchen or push the air into the lobby.
So you don't have heating in every room.
But in many cases, like in this House, you don't have to do that.
"Now, all the big utilities in the northwest are driving small-known product.
They are working through a consortium called the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.
Project manager Alexis Allen says our goal is to transform the market.
Alexis Allen: "We want to install a tube-free heat pump in the main living area of your home to replace most of your electric heating use.
"This is similar to the possibility that someone might use a wooden stove.
Utilities offer up to $1,500 in rebates per customer.
In addition to this, some homeowners may also be eligible for a state or federal energy tax credit.
Still, Allen expects the renovation of home heating to take several years.
Alexis Allen: "We have solved the market barrier.
We have to work with our utilities across the region to build consumer awareness.
We have to make sure we have a complete supply chain that understands these technologies and understands the projects available in the northwest.
"The Tube-free heat pump may not be a thing for everyone.
For some consumers, the size and appearance of the indoor fan unit is a mistake.
Installers say different solutions may work better for large homes or homes with existing plumbing works. Still. . .
Alexis Allen: "We think there are probably millions of homes that this technology applies to in the northwest.
If we can do that, the average savings per megawatt will be 440.
Therefore, this is a huge energy saving for our region.
Almost equal to a medium.
If there are enough people to switch, there are coal mills of the size.