Heat Pump Coaches at the “General”

The coaches are residents of Harvard and have knowledge and personal experience with air source (mini-split or ducted) systems, ground source (aka geothermal) systems and water heating systems. Here is a fantastic opportunity to find out if this might be right for you!

Multiple Harvard resident coaches will be available to help you:

• Learn how cost-effective and efficient they are for cooling and heating

• Determine how they should be sized to meet your needs

• Learn what financial incentives are currently available

• Find sellers/installers (list of those used by residents)

• Evaluate multiple seller/installer quotes

• Snacks and drinks will be available

The presentation on heat pump water heaters will take place at the start of the meeting.

You can sign up for a personal coach at the event if you decide to proceed with examining any one of these systems or by scrolling down on this page to fill out a request.

Contact: Ellen Sachs Leicher

Quotes from interactions with the heat pump coaches:

“Earlier this year our heating system failed on one of the coldest days!  We met with an amazing heat pump coach who jumped into action, helping us evaluate and understand our situation by analyzing our consumption and energy use and then evaluating our proposals. We were able to get the Mass Save Rebate to cover one third of the cost!”  S 

“We would not be on the cusp of installing the heat pump if it weren’t for the work the Climate Committee is doing. It seemed like a very daunting project. Having a coach gave us the confidence to go ahead with the project. He provided us with some charts that helped us understand how the heat pump would work at various temperatures – this was really helpful. Our coach was very responsive to our emails and we met with him twice via Zoom as we got towards the end of the process.”  K & B 

Quotes about heat pumps from town residents: 

“We replaced our aging oil furnace with a geothermal heat pump system last summer, and it’s kept our 18th century house perfectly comfortable through extraordinarily cold and hot days these last twelve months (even during the -14F, -46F wind chill weekend this past February). The system is extremely quiet and requires little maintenance other than changing air filters every few months.” E 

“Had 2 mini splits installed at the end of August 2022, and so far, I love them. Even produced heat when it was -15 degrees Fahrenheit during that brief but brutal cold snap. I have a backup propane boiler, but haven’t needed it. In the winter you do need to get the snow off the units pretty regularly. They have their own defrost cycle, but when there’s ice build-up efficiency drops. A/C and dehumidifier capabilities are also stellar. And the electric costs were very reasonable.” K