More to come with Inflation Reduction Act incentives
By Chloe Bennett
A year ago this month, the U.S. passed what is considered the most significant climate change policy in the country’s history. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) gave $369 billion to energy security and climate change efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through tax incentives. Although tax credits through the package are available now, buyer rebates are coming later.
Last month, the Department of Energy began accepting applications from states to receive IRA dollars for home improvement rebates, which could come through up-front discounts on electric appliance or vehicle purchases.
Many New York residents are already eligible for home energy savings. Some state-funded rebates could be combined with federal tax credits and dollars from the IRA.
Dwight Stevenson, a Saranac Lake High School teacher, plans to use the federal act’s tax credit on an electric vehicle bought in January. Through the IRA incentive, his family could receive up to $7,500 in tax credit on the car’s purchase. He also used the state’s electric vehicle rebate, he said, which cut $500 from the total cost.
“Being able to deliver our personal transportation needs, and not using fossil fuels to do so, played a major role in our decision making,” Stevenson said. So far, he hasn’t faced challenges with charging the car’s battery or the Adirondacks’ cold weather.
He’s expanding his electric investment with heat pumps, he said, which were installed by Saranac Lake-based ADK Solar. Stevenson said his family will receive a $9,000 rebate for the project through the state. He plans to keep his traditional heating systems, including a wood pellet stove, in case he needs them in cold weather.
Heat pump sales in the Adirondacks are increasing at Cornerstone Services, based in St. Lawrence County, salesperson Tom Sochia said. The technology warms or cools homes using outside air that is transferred through a compressor. The installations on average cost around $30,000 for a mid-sized home, he said. State incentives such as the Clean Heat program give rebates between $100 and $3,000 and the IRA offers a tax credit of 30% of the cost, up to $2,000 per year.
A proposal from Gov. Kathy Hochul calls for ending natural gas hookups in new homes and buildings seven stories or less by the end of 2026. The ban was part of the state’s $229 billion budget, passed in May. Taller builds will be prohibited from using gas in 2029. The proposal does not apply to existing homes.
According to data analysis by nonprofit Canary Media, Americans bought more heat pumps than gas-powered furnaces in 2022.
In the hamlet of Paul Smiths, Jenn Lieb and her family began researching heat pumps for their home a couple of years ago and recently switched after her furnace quit in November. She has two of the devices with blowers, which distribute the air, on both levels of her home. She said she still used her wood stove in the winter for extra heat.
“We’re definitely following the news and trying to make decisions in our life that will do our part, so to say,” Lieb said. “We knew that this was the way that energy and heating was going, so it just made sense.”
Although her monthly electric bill increased, Lieb said she’s saving money by not paying for kerosene. During the installation process, she filed for the state’s rebate program and received $6,000 for the project. The home does have a propane monitoring system as a backup when cold temperatures decrease the heat pumps’ effectiveness, she said.
State applications for IRA rebate funding are due in January 2025. Still, it’s possible that the money will arrive in New York before then, according to information from the State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA.) It’s also unclear whether the money will create new rebate programs or increase amounts in the state’s existing programs, said Erin Griffin, director of the Adirondack North Country Association’s Clean Energy Hub.
Note: This story was updated with the formal title of the energy hub.
A friend of mine who has a Tesla drove it on a colder winter day from NYC to his home in the finger lakes- normally a 4 hour trip. He almost never made it home with all the charging stops he had to make since it was just dying with the power needed for heat. I hope someone in SL is just using this for short commutes, or maybe we will be okay if thigs stay mild in the winter… You definitely want to consider a heated garage for an electric car in SL. Unless you are just using in the warmer months and have enough money for another gas powered car for the winter.
I am getting one soon but it will be an added car. I can afford multiple cars.
Just like heat pumps, electric cars work for most of the year just fine, but suffer significantly at very cold temperatures (0F and below). Our car works fine, but really need to stay plugged in over night or in modestly heated garage to have a chance of success beyond around-town use. In doing to it heats the battery all night “wasting” a lot of energy.
Same with heat pumps — they are no better than resistance heaters at these temperatures and why each person mentioned has an alternative source for cold weather. It’s a double dipping problem — they output less heat while consuming more power — just when you need the more BTUs than any other time of the year. Our heat pumps will run for multiple days straight in the winter without ever turning off once! Several cold nights can cost more than the entire remainder of the month — sapping any perceived savings over propane.
The real challenge is decreased cold weather range with the lack of DC fast chargers in the Adirondacks. A trip across the Blue Line and back may not be physically possible in winter at all for certain regions — especially in the western half of the Adirondacks.
Heat pump technology has come a very long way in the past few years! It is true that most brands cannot handle our cold climates but a select few absolutely can. The brand we have handles temps down to -22 and continues to run without issue beyond that even though it is reduced efficiency. Mind you, electric resistance heaters are 100% efficient whereas heat pumps are closer to 220% efficient. So there is certainly some efficiency to spare when we hit those cold nights. Having a properly insulated home is the key. We have been using heat pumps in our home (1890s build) for the past 4 winters now and not required any backup source (we still have it in case of equipment failure or power outage though). So far, on average, we have saved close to $1300 in heating costs per year. We anticipate that to increase significantly now that we have paired with solar. Heat pumps are a fantastic option but there is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation out there unfortunately.