heat pumps

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s symbolic motion calling for more carbon tax carveouts was defeated, but this won’t end the polarizing debate that centres on equity.

The federal government wants to get more heat pumps installed in homes across Canada, especially in vote-rich Atlantic Canada. Not surprisingly, Conservatives are already trying to confuse Canadians about their costs and benefits.

By expanding the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program, the federal government acknowledges energy efficiency's role in reducing costs for Canadians struggling with high bills. 

Tensions from the war in Gaza could help accelerate the move away from planet-warming fossil fuels like oil and gas and toward renewable energy, electric cars and heat pumps — similar to how sharp increases in the price of oil during the 1970s unleashed efforts to conserve fuel, the head of the International Energy Agency said.

Parents want to do something about climate change. But figuring it out isn't easy.

The report released Tuesday says the worldwide rollout of key technologies such as renewable power, electric vehicles and heat pumps is happening so quickly that demand for coal, oil and natural gas is set to peak within the next 10 years.

A new online calculator shows how much money households in Canada’s largest cities could save by transitioning their homes from gas heat and air conditioning to a heat pump.

Incentives provided through the province’s CleanBC’s Better Homes program jumped from $3.6 million in 2020 to about $33.5 million in 2022. Those figures include money for air source heat pumps, upgrades to electricity services, insulation and more. That information isn’t publicly available and was provided to Canada’s National Observer by Ecotrust Canada, which received them through a FOI.

Published Monday in the scientific journal Joule, the research found that heat pumps are two to three times more efficient than their oil and gas counterparts, specifically in temperatures ranging from 10 C to -20 C.

Ryan Kelly was already a heat pump advocate when he installed one in his almost century-old home a couple of years ago, but even he was surprised at how well it performed during a cold snap last winter.

Nathan Collett helps make sensible government climate policy. As a policy analyst in the Privy Council Office, this 23-year-old works with a team of social and behavioural scientists to inform Canada’s decision-making so it resonates with the people.

If the entire supply of new central air conditioners was replaced with heat pumps starting in 2025, it would mean cumulative energy bill savings of $10.4 billion across Canada by 2035.

The International Energy Agency finds that heat pumps still reduce GHGs by at least 20 per cent compared to gas, even with emissions‐intensive electricity.

The reduction of GHG emissions achieved when switching from a natural gas water heater to a thermal storage system over a 20-year period is equivalent to the emissions generated driving a Honda Accord over 300,000 kilometres.

Canada's push for a zero-emission electricity grid will get a significant funding boost in the federal budget on March 28, 2023, including with new tax credits expected to encourage the development of renewable power sources like wind and solar.