Reducing Emissions in Home Heating and AC
Consultation has concluded
Project Update, October 2021: Results of the survey are now available! Click here for more information and to access the survey report .
The City of New Westminster has committed to bold climate action by 2030. In 2019, New Westminster City Council declared a Climate Emergency, which commits the City to reducing GHG emissions across the community in alignment with the targets set out by the International Panel on Climate Change.
To support its climate action objectives, the City is considering undertaking a heat pump pilot program to help make it easier for residents to install heat pumps in their homes. This would help reduce emissions from residential homes in New Westminster.
What’s a heat pump?
A heat pump is part of a heating and cooling system and is installed outside your home. Like an air conditioner, it can cool your home, but it’s also capable of providing heat. In cooler months, a heat pump pulls heat from the cold outdoor air and transfers it indoors, and in warmer months, it pulls heat out of indoor air to cool your home. Heat pumps are powered by electricity and transfer heat using refrigerant to provide comfortable indoor temperatures all year round. Because they handle both cooling and heating, homeowners may not need to install separate systems to heat their homes. Heat pumps do not burn fossil fuel like some furnaces do, which also makes them more environmentally friendly.
Aren’t heat pumps only possible / practical for single detached homes?
Heat pumps aren't just for single detached homes. Just like with air conditioners, there are various types of heat pumps out there. You can definitely use a heat pump for heating and cooling in your apartment, townhouse, or condo. If you're a renter, in most cases you will require permission from your landlord / property owner to install a heat pump. Likewise, if you are a townhouse or condo owner you likely require permission from your strata council.
Objective of pilot program
This initiative will trial the effectiveness of a potential heat pump program that will be delivered by the City’s Energy Save New West program and help address barriers to heat pump adoption in our community.
Community Engagement
The City is seeking to develop a deeper understanding of local residents’ perspectives when it comes to home retrofits and climate change, to inform effective implementation of a potential heat pump program. Obtaining a shared understanding of homeowners’ attitudes towards air conditioning will enable us to campaign sensitively and respond to our residents’ needs as we work towards increasing heat pump adoption. Information collected through this engagement will also help inform potential scaling-up of the heat pump pilot over the long run.
A community survey was open from September 1 - 13, 2021. Survey results are now available here.