Myth No. 1: Heat pumps do not work well in the winter, so turn them off.

Wrong. Michael Stoddard of the state agency Efficiency Maine said that was true 10 years ago, but today’s high-efficiency heat pumps work well, even in the dead of winter. “Let them run as much as possible, providing as much heat for your home,” Stoddard said. “It is the cheapest source of heat.”

Myth No. 2: A heat pump is a supplemental heating system.

No. “That conveys it is used as a backup,” Stoddard said. “The economics work best when heat pumps are the primary source of heat and (homeowners) use the existing boiler as backup.” The best way to achieve that is to set the heat pump thermostat at the temperature you want your home to be and set your furnace’s thermostat a few degrees colder. If both are set at the same temperature, the central boiler is stronger and will come on and heat the house, and the heat pump won’t run because it will sense the heat, according to Stoddard. “Fill as much of the house as you can with the heat pump (heat),” he said.

Myth No. 3: I can’t afford it to install a heat pump.

Depends. Maybe you can with an energy loan. If you don’t have $3,000 to $4,000 for a heat pump, an energy loan is a potentially good way to pay for it. It’s possible your savings will be great enough to pay off all or much of the monthly loan payments with the savings. Once it is paid, you pocket the yearly savings. For more information on a variety of available loans, go to www.efficiencymaine.com

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