The Nanaimo Climate Action Hub is campaigning to ensure that heat pump installations will be affordable and available to everyone, thereby reducing energy consumption, combatting climate change, and making homes more comfortable in both summer and winter.
To begin, we ran a short, five-minute survey that asked about heat pump experience. The results of the survey are detailed below.
To begin, we ran a short, five-minute survey that asked about heat pump experience. The results of the survey are detailed below.
Heat Pump Affordability Survey
People with heat pumps are 40.5% of respondents
- 55.4% say their energy consumption was reduced as a result of installing a heat pump while 6.5% say it increased. 18.5% haven’t noticed a change.
- 79.3% rated their level of satisfaction with having a heat pump at 8 out of 10 or higher. 38% rate it 10 out of 10.
- Before February 2022 of all survey respondents with installed heat pumps almost one third (29.4%) cost less than $6000. After February 2022 only 17.8% cost less than $6000
- 64% of single indoor air handler heat pumps installed before February 2022 cost less than $6000. After February 2022 only 47% of the same type of units cost less than $6000.
- 14% of all heat pumps installed before Feb 2022 cost more than $15,000. After that date 27.5% of installs cost more than $15,000.
- According to survey respondents who have a heat pump the overall average cost of installing a heat pump before February 2022 was $8,173.85, while the overall average cost after February 2022 was $11,352.59.
- The average cost of installing a heat pump with one indoor head was $6,281 before February 2022. It was $7,580 after that date.
- 71.7% of people with heat pumps say their pre-purchase estimates either did not list labour separately from equipment (30.4%) or they don’t know if it did (41.3%) while 28.3% say that it did.
- 64.1% would support a system like the one in PEI. There the government hires and pays contractors to supply and install heat pumps in qualified homes while 27.2% might support such a system and just 5.4% would oppose it.
- 86.7% have considered installing a heat pump. 7.4% say they have not. The remaining 5.9% gave a reason for not installing one.
- 50.4% say that cost is the reason they do not have a heat pump now. Other reasons are condo prohibition, renting, bad experience with older systems, and misinformation (or lack of).
- 45.2% say the requirement for using CleanBC listed contractors should be removed from the rebate program, while 37.8% don’t know and 13.3% say it should continue.
- 92.6% believe contractors should be required to provide itemised estimates while 5.9% are not sure and 1.5% say they should not. This compares with 87% of those who have a heat pump now and believe the same.
- 68.9% say a system like the one in PEI would increase the likelihood of them having a heat pump installed and another 19.3% say it might. 11.9% say it would not.
- 36.3% would support the creation of a government corporation to build and install heat pumps while 45.9% are not sure and just 9.1% would be opposed. This compares with 40.2% of those who have a heat pump now and say they would support a government corporation to build and install heat pumps.
