Heat pumps cool efficiently (and heat efficiently).
Next time you need to change out your AC, consider installing a heat pump!
Replacing central ACs with heat pumps in New York State’s single-family homes
Original publication by Urban Green Council • October 30, 2024
Replacing central air conditioners (ACs) with heat pumps is a sleeper electrification opportunity for many New York State homes.
About 45 percent of the state’s 5.3 million single-family homes have a central AC distributing cold air through ducts. When an AC fails in those homes, replacing it with a new central heat pump will deliver both cooling and heating through the same ductwork. That new heat pump provides more efficient cooling and can also displace oil, propane or gas used for heating—a win for homeowners and the climate alike.
This “cool switch”—replacing an AC with a cold-climate central heat pump—can be straightforward and strategic. California and Colorado are already pursuing policies to drive central-AC-to-heat-pump swaps. Around 120,000 central ACs capable of cooling single-family homes are sold each year in New York State. Every new AC installed is a missed chance to decarbonize, locking in outdated equipment for 15 years or more. The benefits and barriers in New York State depend on a range of factors, like the climate, the condition of the home, the size of the heat pump and more. But if every New York homeowner replaced their central AC with a heat pump, electrifying winter heating could cut on-site residential sector emissions by up to 30 percent annually.
New York’s Scoping Plan outlines ambitious steps to cut building sector emissions through electrification. The state’s vision to quadruple heat pump sales and achieve two million climate-friendly homes by 2030 is a call to action. In this report, we examine the opportunity, retrofit considerations and costs associated with AC-to-heat-pump swaps. We also detail the policy steps needed to advance this electrification pathway in New York homes so that as all central ACs age or fail, they are replaced with cold-climate heat pumps.
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