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Heat pumps don’t seem to observe that pattern, in line with the info from a 2020 survey on US family power use, which was launched in March 2023 by the US Energy Information Agency.
“I was just shocked when I saw this pattern,” says Lucas Davis, an power economist at University of California, Berkeley, and the creator of a June working paper analyzing the info. According to Davis’s evaluation, roughly 15% of properties throughout earnings ranges use warmth pumps as a main heating supply.
These numbers mirror a big bounce in adoption by households with incomes below $20,000. About 7% of them used warmth pumps in 2015, however 14% did in 2020, in line with the EIA knowledge. The degree of adoption in rich properties stayed about the identical over this era. The causes for this sample aren’t completely clear, although it might need to do with the place new building is happening, Davis says.
Rather than earnings, elements like electrical energy costs and native local weather are more likely to affect whether or not a house has a warmth pump. The home equipment work extra effectively in hotter climate and are extra frequent in states with milder winters, particularly within the southeastern US. About 40% of properties in Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina use warmth pumps.
Lower electrical energy costs—which make warmth pumps inexpensive to function—additionally correlate with greater adoption. While warmth pumps are likely to have a excessive up-front price, the mix of central air con and a heating system will be much more costly, making a mixed system a cheap selection even on the outset.
Ultimately, the evaluation suggests there are some locations the place warmth pumps are merely a cheap choice in the present day, Davis says. “I don’t think this is a choice that’s driven by ideology. I think it’s driven by dollars and cents.”