Now eligible for the Clean Heat rebate: air-to-water heat pumps

We’re excited about air-to-water heat pumps becoming eligible for the NYS Clean Heat rebate – and you should be, too!

First, you may already be familiar with this rebate, but to recap: The NYS Clean Heat Program is part of a statewide investment and coordinated effort delivered by The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), utilities, and a network of contractors, to incentivize the adoption of heat pumps in buildings. NYS Clean Heat offers a significant rebate for the installation of eligible, energy-efficient heat pump equipment and, prior to 2024, only applied to geothermal, air-to-air, and heat pump water heaters. Added in March 2024, air-to-water heat pump technology is the newest addition to that list.

To be eligible for the program, your heat pump system must be installed by a NYS Clean Heat qualified contractor (woah, that’s us).

How your rebate is determined:

The rebate is based on the heating capacity of the equipment installed at 5°F, allocating $800 per 10000 Btu/hr of system output. For every project that includes eligible equipment, we calculate the rebate amount prior to installation and include it in the project proposal. The value of the rebate typically ranges from $1,500-$5400 (the larger the system, the larger the rebate), which is distributed as a lump sum payment from your local utility company and deducted directly from the overall cost of the project. This makes the process easy and stress-free – and unlike with tax credit incentives, you don’t need to wait to get your money back!

How to apply:

The only action our customers are required to complete to apply for the Clean Heat rebate is submitting a signed customer acknowledgment form from their utility service provider. We’ll provide the form pre-filled with the relevant installation details and allow the customer to enter their personal information and signature.

Here’s why we love air-to-water.

Air-to-water technology is highly versatile and efficient, which is why for years our company has been recommending air-to-water as a solution for home and business owners who are interested in or have existing hydronic distribution heating and cooling systems.

Air-to-water heat pumps can achieve similar results as geothermal at significantly less cost (for one, they don’t require a massive trench to be dug in your backyard). Air-to-water heat pumps are also one of the only ways to efficiently heat water carbon-free in the quantities needed to heat or cool a space. They enable customers to heat or cool a space using radiative heat transfer, which is widely regarded as being optimal for comfort.

The benefits don’t stop there:

They’re an all-in-one solution. A “monobloc” air-to-water heat pump can be configured to take care of 100% of domestic hot water in addition to heating and cooling.

They’re extremely efficient. Air-to-water heat pumps are around 30% more efficient than traditional air-source heat pumps, and modern air-to-water heat pumps with inverter technology can modulate their heating output. This means that they only produce as much heat as your space currently needs, which reduces the amount of electricity consumed by the heat pump and lowers your energy costs. They also use up to 70% less electricity than electric baseboard heating.

They’re effective at low temperatures. For example, a Spacepak Monobloc air-to-water system is capable of high performance heating operation in outdoor temperatures as low as -22°F and can deliver reliable water temperatures as high as 130°F.

They have flexible applications. Hydronic systems can utilize a diverse set of distribution options. A single system can heat a radiant floor and provide cooling via wall-mounted air-handlers or centralized duct-work. Also, if you’re interested in an energy self-sufficient home, pairing them with solar energy makes them an affordable approach to net-zero energy builds.

Whether you’re looking to renovate your current home heating and cooling system or planning a new build, you should consider an air-to-water heat pump as a solution. This innovative technology has proven itself several times over and is now more affordable than ever!

How does an air-to-water heat pump work?

Like all air source heat pumps, air-to-water systems only need electricity to produce heat and do not require any fuel, such as gas, oil or wood (making them climate-friendly). A standard air source heat pump takes heat from outside air using a refrigerant. Air-to-water heat pumps use this same process, then exchange the heat to a fluid – typically water or a mix of water and glycol – and transport this fluid into a home to provide space heating through hydronic distribution (e.g., radiant floor, radiators, or baseboard water circulation systems). These systems can also be used in a cooling mode, creating chilled fluid and running it through an air coil to distribute air conditioning.

What equipment qualifies for the rebate?

To be eligible for incentives in the NYS Clean Heat Program, air-to-water heat pumps must meet all the following standards:

• Must be an air source heat pump

• Has refrigerant to water or water/glycol heat exchange

• Can feed into building space heating hydronic distribution system

• Meets the following performance criteria: COP of 1.7 or greater at A5W110 (Ambient air 5°F, Leaving Water Temperature 110°F) o Nominal Cooling Capacity ≤ 72,000 btu/h

Interested in an air-to-water install? Fill out our contact form to get the conversation started!

An interview with our first customer

After nearly two decades in business, we recently had the opportunity to sit down with The Radiant Store’s very first customer and discuss their journey transitioning off of fossil fuels to a fully net-zero residence. Anna M. has pursued multiple home energy projects over the last two decades, and the approach she has taken is exemplary of the ways that the average homeowner can meet their home energy needs in a clean and self-sufficient manner without breaking the bank. Anna’s home features a combination of highly efficient heating and cooling appliances and on-site energy generation, including:

• Ducted Geothermal Heat Pump: While air-source heat pumps are an accessible and affordable clean heating and cooling solution, geothermal heat pumps remain the kings of efficiency. By taking advantage of the stable temperatures underground, Geothermal systems can passively absorb more heat during the winter months and expel a greater amount of heat during the summer. However, these systems require sufficient yard space to bury the large heat exchange loop. Whether you opt for Geothermal or an Air-source heat pump, both systems will consume a fraction of the energy of a non-heat pump system and their energy consumption can be easily covered by an array of solar-photovoltaic panels. This has enabled Anna to heat and cool her house year round while completely eliminating her fuel deliveries and utility bills.

• Rooftop Solar-Thermal Panels: These roof-mounted solar panels were the very first system installed by The Radiant Store. Dating back to 2005, these panels still cover all of Anna’s daily hot water use 18 years later. Solar PV panels can convert roughly 30% of the energy from sunlight into a usable form. Solar thermal panels on the other hand have a nearly 100% thermal efficiency making them an excellent option for domestic hot water and space heating when properly designed, even here in the northern hemisphere. We are thrilled that our very first install continues to provide value all these years later.

• Solar Assisted Heat Pump Water Heater: This system is a unique variation on the traditional heat pump water heater. This hybrid of a heat pump water heater and small scale solar thermal panel utilizes a split system design by routing refrigerant through a lightweight panel located on the home’s exterior. This system is integrated seamlessly with the roof-mounted solar system to act as a supplemental source of hot water during the winter months.

• Ground-Mount Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Array: High-efficiency heating and cooling technologies work synergistically with electricity generating solar panels. The less electricity your heating & cooling system requires to operate, the smaller the array you will need to install. Opting for a hyper efficient heating system like a heat pump in conjunction with solar may enable you to eliminate your energy bills entirely.

As an installer, it is incumbent on us to make the clean energy technologies we sell as accessible as possible. This is why we collaborate with large scale utilities and organizations like NYSERDA (New York Energy Research and Development Authority) to design and finance home energy projects that will deliver immediate value to our customers. Through a combination of direct rebates, tax credits and low interest financing that we offer as a NYS Clean Heat contractor we are able to engineer home energy upgrades such that the upfront cost of the project will be quickly eclipsed by the savings our customers realize on their energy costs. We are proud to share Anna’s story as a clear example of the possibility of achieving energy independence without a massive upfront investment. As Anna attests in the following interview, using a low-cost lending option like NYSERDA’s Smart Energy Loan might allow you to make a major upgrade to your home while saving you money by replacing your monthly energy bills with a smaller loan payment.

We are grateful to Anna for being our first customer and being willing to share their knowledge and experience many years later.

The transcript of our conversation has been edited and condensed.

What inspired you to transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy?

Well, I will tell you that even as a teenager, I cared a lot about the environment, and even more now that I have my children and family’s future to consider. I have nieces who tell me that their environmental ideologies were very much influenced by me when they were growing up.

What was the first project completed for you by The Radiant Store?

You did the solar hot water on the roof around 15 years ago. That was one of your dad's first solar thermal systems installed, and it paid back like boom!

What was your pre-existing home HVAC system?

We were using oil for a long, long time and we had that furnace replaced with a gas furnace.

What is the biggest advantage you have noticed since your new systems were installed?

Definitely the payback I have. At this present time I have no electric bill. It's zero. Every time I get a national grid bill it's zero and I have no fossil fuel bill. Not only that, but I’m producing excess solar energy that goes back to the grid, so I'm helping beyond my property with what I produce.

Did you encounter any challenges along the way?

I had a geothermal system installed and later realized I did not have enough solar power to cover it. So that's when I had the PV array in the back put in. My back neighbor gave me a lot of trouble; they said it's gonna be like having a solar community solar in their backyard. They didn’t want to see it. So we had to put in trees and landscaping.

It also took a while to get the approval from the Town Planning Board to add the ground mounted panels. I had to go through all this procedure. I was kind of forging a path they didn’t have at the time. They required me to have a certified landscape architect come in and assess the property. I was only the third person to add ground mounted solar PV in town.

How was your experience accessing energy rebates? Did they make these projects possible?

I mean, your company did it for me, so I didn't have to do anything! They definitely made this all possible. Almost every year I've had something that I've been able to get some tax credit on.

Is there anything new you’re considering adding to your current setup?

I’d like to add battery storage for my solar system so I can store some of the excess energy that I’m producing. That way if there’s a power outage in my neighborhood I’ll have plenty of backup and my lights won’t go out.

What would your advice be to someone who wants to pursue energy independence but may be hesitant?

I’d encourage them to think about their grandchildren or the children that are coming into the world and persist. And to call other people who will be supportive. I talked to people in my community, told them I was experiencing some challenges and asked them if they would write to the Town Planning Board in support of my project. By talking to people I was able to rally a support system.

How would you recommend someone get started?

I like to tell people that if they can't lay out the money out upfront, get a loan! Then the savings you make on your energy bill will go to pay the loan. Let's say you pay $120 on average every month to National Grid. In a year you've paid $1,440, but it leaves you with nothing – nothing, except you've had power. But if you laid out that amount of money and paid back your loan, you now own something of value. I believe getting off fossil fuels is worth it even if you have to borrow the money, which for many people is the only way they could. To me that just makes so much sense. Borrow the money, get clean energy and let it pay you. And at the end when your loan is paid up, you own something. You do not own anything with National Grid. You can pay the same amount of money to National Grid for the same amount of time it would take to pay off the loan, but you don't own anything after you get to that point.

Also, everybody can tap into solar. If you have an apartment, you can buy solar panels on a community solar farm and that's almost as good as what I've got. All it requires is an annual fee. I know some friends of mine have done that because they belong to a Homeowners Association that will not allow them to put it on the roof. And so they bought them remotely and have to pay $100 a year for the management of those panels, but they get the same kind of benefit otherwise that I do because they own a section of a community. So it doesn't matter where you live, as long as you live somewhere, you can buy those and then they are inheritable too. You can pass them on to your family. You can put it in your will that my solar panels will go to my such and such.

Do you think you being one of the first people in your community to go through the approval process with the town has made it easier for future homeowners near you who want to pursue similar projects?

Absolutely. Yeah, I think there were some things that came about from the struggle that I went through that definitely will make it easier for other people in the future. Hopefully the more people who do it, the smoother the road will be for other people.

Do you think you inspired others to install clean home energy after talking to them about the process and results?

Yeah, I definitely think I've influenced some people to get going. I plan to talk to more of my neighbors and help them find out if their houses are eligible. I want to show them the savings! I like to share the fact that I don't have to pay anything to National Grid or for fossil fuel anymore, even though the initial outlay was fairly significant.