@drewtozer.bsky.social made one of the best videos on heat pumps I’ve seen so far youtu.be/4Hq1dAoKZsQ?...

And the risk of duct pressure issues because of the larger fan.

@kerry99.bsky.social Hi! How can I help?

Why is commissioning the answer? Because it's sticky.

If rebates are based on objective commissioning metrics.
Contractors are forced to learn & use best practices.
And that'll lead to fewer callbacks and issues.

💡 Do you think "commissioning" is the path to better rebate programs?

We shoehorn the wrong equipment "because it's eligible".
And we get a sugar rush of quick and cheap installs.
Contractors are pro-HP for the free money.

But they stop installing heat pumps when the program ends.

That's what happened with Canada Greener Homes grants. 🫠

I.e. “it takes time to heat stuff up.”

What’s the ELI5 answer for why?

It happens on a daily basis too, right? Peak solar is noon but the hottest time of day is early afternoon.

Eligibility should depend on high-quality installation, proven by objective metrics. Existing programs should add "commissioning" as a separate measure with a juicy rebate.

For loans, the reduced risk of properly installed equipment should earn a reduced interest rate.

3. Objective commissioning (with real-time measurements).

Performance and reliability depends as much on installation quality as the equipment. Like triple-pane windows, a premium heat pump that's installed poorly will perform poorly and fail early. But rebate programs only look at equipment specs.

2. Heat loads on thermostats (zero-effort heat loads).

Every house has heating and cooling loads, and every house has a smart thermostat—it's just a software update to close that loop. On the coldest week of the year, how often did the furnace run? If it's 30 minutes per hour, it's 200% oversized.

1. ACs to heat pumps (stop manufacturing one-way ACs).

This has broad appeal. It means less equipment to manufacture, ship, store, sell, and install. Electrification will happen naturally with every AC replacement—without a conversation about electrification or carbon savings.

Link to the full interview.

Tell me more about "central ownership". What does that mean?

Standardization is always great, but I'm not sure how much it'd help on this one. The risk is that you don't know what the other contractor did wrong, how many corners were cut, etc.

➡️ Because we treat HVAC as a commodity, we think cheaper contractors are better because it's the same product for less—but we ignore the downside risk of cheap materials, poor installation quality, and no long-term service.

If there aren't any issues with your new system, you win! You got the same product for less. You bought a high-yield bond and it didn't default.

But if the system breaks, cheap contractors are more likely to ghost you than fix it. You get nothing.