This is the eighth in a series of posts on our journey to navigate government grants and loans available for home energy retrofits and to replace our natural gas furnace with a cold-climate heat pump. Click here to see all articles in the series .

I want to share our first experience with our heat pump now working as an air conditioner. In a word, FANTASTIC!

Once the weather gets consistently milder my habit has been to turn off the furnace and open the windows to bring in some fresh air. This year we were able to do that in early May. I have typically only turned the A/C on when we experience hot weather over multiple days.

So the heat pump was off when we went away on a cycling trip for a couple of weeks in June. You may recall that was when the heat dome settled over southern Ontario with daytime temperatures in the mid-30s accompanied by high humidity. I’m sure most of you have experienced what it’s like to walk into a house that has been closed up for a few hot, humid summer days. When we returned the inside of our house felt like a sauna.

Last summer, before we installed the heat pump, our old air conditioner would have required at least a day to get the main floor to a comfortable temperature. The basement would have been freezing. And the upstairs, barely cool enough to sleep with an auxiliary fan still needed beside our bed. This time we moved the portable thermostat sensor upstairs to our bedroom, set the temperature on the main floor to 24.5 degrees, and programmed the fan to run continuously during the day.

Within minutes of turning our heat pump to cooling mode, I could feel the difference throughout the house. Basement, main and second floor were all comfortable within an hour of the unit being turned on. When Dayle and I leave the house for a while, the thermostat automatically detects that we are away and puts the unit on an “eco” setting to save electricity.

Not only can heat pumps make people feel more comfortable while reducing carbon emissions, they can also help save lives. In 2021, British Columbia experienced a heat dome event in which over 600 people died as a result of heat stroke. The folks at 350.org recently produced a 6-minute documentary video about a Vancouver housing co-operative that banded together to install heat pumps in all 100 units just a few months ahead the 2021 heat dome. Residents there say that the co-op Board’s decisive action saved lives in their community. Watch the video here.

Based on our experience so far, heat pumps are definitely the way to go. And, with the frequency of heat dome patterns expected to increase in frequency due to climate change, it’s important this technology is accessible to more people. 350.org has a petition going to demand governments of all stripes across Canada to champion a Universal Heat Pump Program, overseen by a new publicly-owned entity that produces, distributes, and installs heat pumps in homes across the country. With built-in tenant protections, this program would save lives, cut our bills, and protect the planet. Please consider adding your name to the petition.