One family's experience with their new heat pump system

Ricard Torres-MateLuna and Christine Hatch became Mass Energy members in 2014. Since then, they've taken numerous steps to reduce their carbon footprint and save money on their energy bills: from replacing the lights in their home with high-efficiency LEDs to purchasing a high-efficiency water heater to getting a no-cost home energy assessment through Mass Save.

Last year they took two even bigger steps towards reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. In the spring, they purchased over 11 kilowatts of solar photovoltaic panels through Mass Solar Connect, a partnership between Mass Energy and Direct Energy Solar led by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. Later that year, Ricard and Christine participated in the first round of Mass Energy's Heat Pump Program, which was open to homeowners in Hampshire, Hampden, and Franklin counties.

After Ricard and Christine signed their contract, it only took Noonan Energy, one of Mass Energy's installation partners for the first round of the Heat Pump Program, two days to install the indoor and outdoor units and get all of the piping connected. Ricard, who described the installation process as "pain-free" and "not intrusive at all," is very pleased with his family's decision to install heat pumps: "They're great, they're not noisy, they're fantastic, and they heat up the rooms really quickly!"

Taking advantage of the ability for heat pumps to provide heating and cooling to different parts of the house, Ricard and Christine had four indoor mini-split heads placed around their home: in the master bedroom, the main family area, the kids' room, and the guest room.

Homeowners around Massachusetts aspire to reduce their energy usage and carbon footprint, but it's not always easy to know where to start -- even for the most dedicated of homeowners, like Ricard and Christine. "I researched my water heater and I got the best one in the market, but it took me around two months of research," Richard says.

Through its energy programs, Mass Energy aims to take on some of the work on behalf of homeowners in order to provide them with what they need to make straightforward but informed decisions on home energy use. Based on his experience with Mass Solar Connect and the Mass Energy Heat Pump Program, Ricard wholeheartedly agrees: "You get all of this information for free, done for you, in a way that makes sense and helps you to make an important decision."

Are you interested in seeing if your home might be a good fit for a heat pump system? Sign up for a no-cost, no-commitment home energy assessment today!

This article was adapted from a previous article on Mass Energy's blog. View the original article here.