DoE Study Finds New Way To Slash Energy Use in U.S. Homes

U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers make their case that millions of U.S. households would benefit from heat pumps. But the cost of installing the technology needs to come down to make their use a more attractive proposition. The findings, detailed in the journal Joule, quantify the costs and benefits of air-source heat pumps across the United States and consider various climates, heating sources, and types of homes.

The researchers based their conclusions on simulations of 550,000 statistically…