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Tag: electric home upgrades

Heat Pump for the Holidays: Celebrating our 1,000th Install!

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climate-friendly homeelectric home upgradesheat pumphome electrification

We’re officially in the comma club (best Christmas ever). 

DR Richardson, Co-founder of Elephant Energy, shaking hands with Justin Bailey, Lafayette Homeowner, who just received the gift of a cold-climate Mitsubishi Heat Pump. Photo creds: Bri Adair

This week, Elephant Energy celebrated a milestone we’ve dreamt about since day one: our 1,000th heat pump installation. 

It took us 15 months to install our first 100 heat pumps. Today, we’re installing 100 heat pumps every month. Reaching 1,000 installations is a huge milestone – not just for Elephant Energy, but for the climate. Homes contribute 20% of climate-related emissions annually, and heating and cooling are the biggest culprits. Thanks to these 1,000 installations, our homeowners have collectively prevented more than 4,000 tons of carbon emissions that would have come from gas-powered furnaces (that’s equivalent to the emissions from driving more than 17 million miles in a gas-powered car). 

At Elephant, supporting our communities is at the heart of what we do, and it was a no-brainer to celebrate this 1,000th milestone by giving back to our community during the holiday season.

We were thrilled to donate a brand new cold-climate Mitsubishi Heat Pump to a deserving family in Lafayette, Colorado – an upgrade that will bring them year-round comfort, lower energy bills, and a smaller carbon footprint. For us, this wasn’t just about hitting a number. It was about showing what’s possible when we prioritize accessibility and affordability in electrification.

Colorado homeowner Justin Bailey had been living without central cooling, and hoped to switch to a heat pump to reduce his fossil fuel use, but was waiting for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) rebates to roll out in Colorado. Here at Elephant, we know that electrification has been inaccessible or unaffordable for far too many people for far too long, and we have made it our mission to change that. That’s why we stepped in to make his heat pump dream a reality.

Justin Bailey, Lafayette Homeowner, cutting the ribbon to his holiday gift: a brand new cold-climate Mitsubishi Heat Pump. Photo creds: Claire Duncombe, Boulder County’s Office of Sustainability, Climate Action and Resilience

“I’m a huge believer in electrification – for the climate, for your health, and for the comfort and efficiency it brings. A year ago, I started looking into getting a heat pump, but quickly realized I couldn’t afford it. I explored all the rebate programs out there, and then this amazing surprise opportunity came along from Elephant Energy. My heat pump has only been running since yesterday afternoon, but it’s completely silent, and I couldn’t be happier.” says Justin.

You know we love ribbon cuttings, so in true Elephant fashion we grabbed our Elephant-sized scissors and gathered with our local partners from the City of Lafayette, Xcel Energy, Go Electric Colorado, Rewiring America, Sierra Club, and Boulder County to celebrate this milestone and hear from the leaders on the important role they’re all playing in the home electrification movement.

We’ll continue to shout it from the rooftops: Electrification is a collective movement. This milestone is a testament to what can be achieved when people and organizations come together to make electrification a reality. Big thank you to our valued partners, Treehouse and Mitsubishi, who generously covered the cost of electrical work and equipment to help make this installation a reality.

“We’re thrilled to be working with our partners at Elephant Energy to make the implementation of clean energy technology, like heat pumps, more accessible. Through our joint efforts, we hope to make the home electrification process simpler and enable homeowners to embrace sustainable technologies with greater ease and affordability.” says Eric Owski, Founder and CEO of Treehouse.

As we look ahead to our next 1,000 installations, we’re inspired by the collaboration and shared vision that got us here. Here’s to a future where every family has access to the benefits of clean, efficient technology – and to building it together.

Happy Heat Pump for the Holidays. ❤️🎀

How Much Should Your Heat Pump Really Cost?

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climate-friendly homeelectric home upgradesheat pumphome electrification

We’ve seen it – and been through it – countless times. You want a heat pump, contact eight different contractors, half of them won’t install heat pumps, and the other half give you quotes that vary by thousands of dollars, likely without the rebates or incentives factored in that can substantially reduce the cost. It’s overwhelming, and leaves you feeling uncertain about what to do next.

We’re here to change that, and make transitioning to a climate-friendly home easy. That’s why we built a new tool: a free calculator that estimates the upfront and operating costs of installing a heat pump or heat pump water heater in minutes. It’s designed to take the guesswork out of the process, giving you clear, straightforward pricing to help you budget for electrifying your home and understand what to expect – no surprises, just transparency.

How It Works

Our calculator simplifies what would otherwise be a long, complicated process. Instead of asking you for tons of technical details, we ask you a few simple questions like your square footage, ductwork, and weather sealing and take over with our expertise in heat pumps from there.

How We Built It

We didn’t just guess at the numbers. Our team drew from the extensive database of heat pump installations we’ve completed in Colorado and Massachusetts over the last two years. We use real data from homes similar to yours – factoring in house size, heating needs, and even local temperature history to provide the most accurate estimate possible without talking to you first.

Let’s break it down:

  1. Sizing Your Home: We’ve built the calculator using our expertise in building science and system sizing. Your home is matched to one of our 800+ completed installs, with careful attention paid to square footage and heating needs.
  2. Energy Usage: We use a simplified home heating model to estimate how much energy is needed to keep your home comfortable at last year’s daily temperatures, and then to get accurate costs for energy usage. Our tool integrates with local weather data and adjusts based on specific conditions, like whether you’re at a higher elevation or experiencing extreme temperatures.
  3. Rebates and Incentives: The calculator also pulls in all available rebates and incentives for you – including tax credits and income-based incentives. We make sure to show you the maximum savings you may qualify for, taking the hassle out of finding these benefits yourself.
  4. Assumptions: While we’d love to give you an error-free quote down to the dollar without talking to you, technology isn’t quite there yet. The calculator was built on standard assumptions like your floor height, insulation quality, how many windows you have, and the efficiency rating of your existing furnace.

Let’s be real. Heat pumps aren’t cheap, and neither is your time. That’s why we built this calculator: to save you hours of research and back-and-forth with contractors, so you can have a general understanding of what home electrification should cost you.

Ready to start your home electrification journey?

Get Started With an Instant Quote

Boston Homeowners Go Fully Electric, Starting With a Heat Pump

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climate-friendly homeelectric home upgradesheat pumphome electrification

Ayla and Otto Maher, enjoying their newly-installed Mitsubishi cold climate heat pump.

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?

Get Started With an Instant Quote

5 Ways to Hard Launch your Relationship (With your Heat Pump)

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climate-friendly homecold climate heat pumpselectric home upgradesenergy savingsheat pumpshome electrification

Valentine’s Day is a time of public declarations – when even those of us that typically refrain from PDA find the courage to tell the world, “hey, just in case it wasn’t clear, I really love this person!”. This can take many shapes and forms–engagement, marriage–and even the “hard launch”, which often happens on our social media feeds.

We’re here with a hot take: if you have a heat pump, it’s time to hard launch your relationship with it this Valentine’s Day.

Why? Well, put simply, personal climate action is contagious – in a good way! Research on solar panel adoption (replicated many times, in many geographies) shows that the biggest predictor of whether you will purchase solar panels is whether your neighbor has already done so! Why? As Katherine Hayhoe so eloquently explains, this lowers “the ‘cost’ of information”. Knowing that you can go down the street and ask who installed the equipment and how it went is, well, comforting.

This isn’t the only research that underscores the importance of social proof when it comes to home electrification, though. A study recently published in the journal Energy Policy about household energy decision-making and technology adoption in the U.S. found that the top two information sources homeowners sought after during their consideration process were (1) their own friends and family (~42% survey respondents), and (2) online reviews (~36% of survey respondents).

Here’s the tricky thing about heat pumps and heat pump water heaters though, though. These HVAC systems are hidden away in our basements, utility closets, and backyards – entirely out of sight from the neighbors, typically. Remember the old conundrum, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it does it even make a sound?” Feels pretty relevant here!

The point is, taking a public stand for personal climate action can dramatically accelerate the pace of progress in your orbit. By taking a few minutes to  “hard launch” your home electrification efforts, you have the opportunity to create a ripple effect of decarbonization far beyond the four walls of your own home.

How to “Hard Launch” your heat pump (on social)

Social media is a great place to share your story! We created these love notes to make it easy. What is an example of a hard launched relationship? Sending ’em a Valentine, of course!

They are yours to save, use, and share! You can tag us on any of these platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok).

 

How to Hard Launch your heat pump without social media

No social media? No problem! When should you hard launch a relationship? Well, we’re taking advice from our friends at VeryWellMind on hard launching your relationship without social media, and translating that to heat pumps.

  • Send a group text to your friends or family members. This can include the name and a photo of your partner. Yes this works great! “Heat Pump” has entered the chat.
  • Call your friends and family individually to discuss your relationship. Another strong option – share your reasons for why you went electric in a good ol’ fashioned phone call
  • Bring your partner out with you to meet your friends. Ehh, this one’s a little trickier…but snapping a selfie with your heat pump to share with friends might just do the trick!
  • Take your partner home to meet your family. This one’s even harder. Then again, dropping off information about a heat pump might be the move
  • Plan a gathering at which you’ll introduce your new partner to your social circle. This one is a gem! Throw a “meet my heat pump” party (and be sure to send us photos)!

So yes, make the cheesy post about your partner (seriously, always make the cheesy post), but don’t forget to also affirm your commitment to a cause that also needs your support now more than ever – the climate.

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Ready to get started? Join us in building a brighter future by electrifying everything, starting with homes. Your choice today shapes our collective tomorrow!

Colorado State Heat Pump Rebate Tax Credit Filing Instructions

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2024 taxescold climate heat pumpscolorado tax creditelectric home upgradesheat pumpsstate tax credit

Does Colorado have a rebate for heat pumps? No – but we do have a new Colorado State tax credit for heat pumps and heat pump water heaters that went into effect on January 1, 2023. This guide is only for heat pumps installed in the state of Colorado in 2023.

  • The tax credit is an income tax reduction based on 10% of the price of the equipment, not including installation charges. 
  • The 10% tax credit also extends to electrical panel upgrades (if needed for the heat pump or heat pump water heater installation) and energy storage systems.
  • Inclusive Definition: “Building owners” encompass lessees with lessor-approved installations.

How to Claim / File for the Income Tax Credit:

What is the Colorado energy tax credit for 2024? Simply fill out Form DR 1322 to take advantage of your 2023 heat pump install. This must accompany the building owner’s Colorado income tax return. This is how you will receive the Colorado heat pump tax credit. Instructions below.
Note: If you are an Elephant Energy customer, download and use this Form DR 1322 as it is signed by us.

Disclaimer: While we provide guidance, it’s crucial to seek advice from a tax professional regarding individual tax situations. Our presentation doesn’t assume liability for your specific tax circumstances.

  1. PART 1 – Eligibility Certification
    • Building Owner Information: Fill in your name, Social Security number, and address. Include your spouse’s details only if filing jointly. If the building owner is a business, provide its name and Federal Employer Identification number.
      Screenshot of tax form for building owner information
    • Contractor: 
      1. Business Name: Elephant Energy, Inc.
      2. FEIN: 61-1992874
      3. Mailing Address: 1390 Yellow Pine Avenue
      4. City: Boulder
      5. State & Zip Code: CO 80304
        Contractor information on a tax form
    • Line 1 Installation Address and Date: List the street address of the building where the heat pump or heat pump water heater was installed.
      Installation address and date
    • Line 2 Purchase Type, Building Type, and Installation Standard 
      1. For purchase type, select the relevant purchase made from one of the highlighted products that Elephant Energy supplies below (with star).
      2. For building type, choose “Residential”.
      3. For Installation Standard, check “Licensed Contractor with Specialized Technicians”
    • Line 3 Purchase Information: provide the purchase date, serial numbers of the main components of the heat pump or water heater, along with their make and model details. This information is in your invoice from Elephant Energy.
    • Line 4 Certification of System Requirements and Installation Standards: Elephant Energy can confirm that its installations meet all 6 criteria.
      Purchase information tax form for energy creditPurchase Information
    • Line 5 Amount of Income Tax Credit
      1. On Line 5a, input the equipment-only cost (do not include labor cost). Please refer to your invoice for this breakdown.
      2. On Line 5b, calculate your heat pump system or water heater credit by multiplying the amount from Line 5a by 10% (0.10). This resulting figure represents your eligible credit. If you’re not assigning the credit, transfer this amount to the appropriate credit schedule (DR 0104CR, DR 0106CR, or DR 0112CR).
        Amount of Income Tax Credit
  2. PART 2 – Contractor Certification Sales Tax Exemption – Elephant Energy installations have already taken the sales tax exemption so there is nothing for you to do here.
  3. PART 3 – Election Statement for Assignment of Income Tax Credit – Elephant Energy systems are not eligible for assignment back to Elephant Energy.

And once again, thank you for being a part of the Elephant Energy Herd!! You know that heat pumps are a good option for Colorado residents, and we couldn’t be where we are without wonderful customers like yourselves. We’re here for you – before, during, and after your Climate-Friendly Home upgrade.

Do heat pumps qualify for federal tax credit? Yes! Check out our guide here.

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