When a Juneau family retrofitted their airport neighborhood home in 2014, they explained that “saving money was the primary reason, as oil was over $4 per gallon. Using a renewable energy source was a secondary consideration.”

The family hired a local contractor to install a Dalkin mini-split heat pump, with a single outdoor unit and three indoor units, allowing for multiple zone temperature control. The outdoor unit had 32,000 BTU capacity, and the indoor units included two rated at 7,000 BTU and one rated at 15,000 BTU. The cost was $9,710 for the heat pump and $1,987 for labor. This system took over for an oil-burning furnace with baseboard radiators, now used for backup heat. The changeover provided significant savings: annual oil use dropped from 744 to 153 gallons, equating to an approximate savings of $2500 at 2015 prices, or about $1670 at 2017 prices. Electricity use increased by 35%, from an annual average of 11,147 kwh to 14,970 kwh, equating to an approximate cost increase of $475 per year.

WL and MD, West Juneau