1 day Ago
For young Mainers like myself, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet. Over the past few years, we’ve seen higher costs reflected at the checkout line, in our monthly rent or mortgage, and especially in the way we heat our homes. To illustrate the last point, the prices of gas and heating oil have shifted wildly in the past few years, forcing many households to make a decision on whether to warm their homes or put food on the table.
Of course, relying on gas and heating oil to heat our homes creates a staggering amount of climate pollution – another issue that is top of mind for young people. Cole Cochrane is the policy director of Maine Youth Action. Fortunately, both issues – rising costs and climate pollution – can be addressed by helping residents upgrade to highly efficient electric equipment such as heat pumps, “climate superheroes” that can provide heating and cooling year-round at a fraction of the energy use, without the planet-warming emissions.
Maine has already seen heat pump adoption surge in recent years, with about 25,000 heat heat pumps deployed annually. Now, thanks to a new $450 million grant from the EPA, our state can further supercharge its efforts to get this state-of-the-art clean energy technology into the hands of even more households. Compared to fossil fuel heating systems, heat pumps are twice as efficient in cold climates and can provide lifesaving cooling while using 29% less electricity during increasingly hotter summer months, stabilizing energy bills in the process.
This air conditioning will be critical in the coming years, as Maine is already experiencing hotter summers that once seemed hard to believe. The EPA’s grant also allows Maine to create a hub that trains contractors on how to install heat pumps and more clean energy jobs in the HVAC industry – a critical need, as Maine needs more technicians to install and repair electric heat pumps. These workers will be at the forefront of a clean energy revolution, making sure our homes are equipped with the latest 21st-century electric technology that enhances climate resiliency as extreme weather, including scorching temperatures, affects us all.
With money pouring into Maine to accelerate heat pump adoption, there’s no time like the present to upgrade. Fossil fuel heating equipment is not only bad for our wallets, but also bad for our climate. Furthermore, burning oil and heating gas emits health-harming pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx).
NOx reacts with sunlight to form ozone pollution, commonly known as smog, which aggravates respiratory illnesses like asthma, leading to costly visits to the emergency room. Heat pumps offer the pollution-free heating and cooling that is urgently needed to deliver cleaner air to Maine’s communities. The EPA’s grant ensures that funding flows to help heat pump adoption among Maine’s low- and moderate-income households, who disproportionately face the health impacts stemming from poor air quality.
Aside from slashing air pollution, heat pumps also displace the use of fossil fuels that are driving climate emissions, helping us secure a more sustainable climate future. When it comes to installing heat pumps, Maine is a success story. We’re showing the rest of the nation that heat pumps can be an efficient heating and cooling solution, even as temperatures swing from below freezing in the winter to scorching in the summer.
This story still needs a resounding conclusion. We can’t rest until all households in Maine are able to access this clean energy technology that lowers energy costs, improves air quality and cuts pollution. As money arrives from this EPA grant, Maine leaders should do everything to quickly upgrade households and keep housing costs low for residents, including young people like me.
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