It started with freezing rooms. Then an oil tank leak. Then countless contractors who said heat pumps won’t work (and boy, were they wrong).
Breaking Up With Fossil Fuels
Tim, a high school math teacher, and Amelia, a public health researcher at Boston University, purchased their home in 2017. The house, which “hadn’t had a lot of love recently,” was a fixer-upper, and the couple, with the help of Tim’s handy dad, tackled various DIY projects. However, it wasn’t until things started breaking down that they seriously considered updating in a bigger way.
“Our oil tank started leaking,” Tim recalls. “That was the impetus to change.” The couple decided to take a leap and fully electrify their home, starting with the installation of a heat pump in mid-2023.
When Tim and Amelia contacted their local contractors and HVAC professionals about installing heat pumps, they were met with serious doubt about heat pumps even working in Boston (and cold climates in general). Luckily, we were there to swoop in and show them the magic of heat pumps – through rain, shine, snow, and ice.
The Heat Pump Effect
After working with Elephant Energy to install their heat pump, Tim and Amelia immediately noticed the perks of breaking up with fossil fuels – both in comfort and efficiency. “The precision of control is something that has been super nice,” Tim explains. “When we were on our oil furnace, there were rooms that were freezing and rooms that were boiling. It felt like you had to change clothes just to move to a different part of the house. Now, each room is exactly the temperature you want it to be.”
What can we say, heat pumps make quite the impression! Shortly after the couple installed their heat pump, they decided to fully electrify their home. They started by replacing their broken water heater with a heat pump water heater, followed by an EV charger and an induction stove.
The Elephant Difference
In Massachusetts, incentives and rebates play a key role in making home electrification affordable and accessible. Tim and Amelia were able to save $10,000 upfront and $2,000 in tax credits, thanks to Mass Save® and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
“The help with the incentives was key. When buying our EV, it felt like there were incentives we were missing out on and we would have to find them ourselves. With Elephant, they worked with us to make sure we got all the Mass Save money”.
Tim and Amelia’s electrification journey is a great example of how switching to sustainable home energy solutions is possible even in cold climates like Boston. Their journey shows that with the right support, you can enjoy a comfortable, efficient, and climate-friendly home.
Interested in starting your home electrification journey?