Environmental groups and advocates for reducing fossil fuel use are frustrated the New York HEAT Act is not finding its way into state budget talks.
The New York HEAT act basically went one for three. Only the state assembly included the proposal in its version of this year’s state budget – the Senate and Governor Hochul did not – with budget negotiations expected to wrap up by the end of the month. The HEAT act includes provisions to limit energy costs for low-income households, while helping wean the state off of fossil fuel use. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Ian Shapiro is an Associate Director at the Syracuse Center of Excellence for Environmental and Energy systems. He supports not only getting off fossil fuels for heating, but also incentives to do so.
“The benefit that we’re seeking to share here is a community benefit, and that benefit is avoiding the planet overheating," said Shapiro. "That important benefit is a … shared benefit and it needs to be a shared investment, just as we invest in our roads because they’re a common, shared resource.”
The HEAT act would help in several ways – providing incentives for people to change gas and oil burning furnaces to electric heat pumps; it also would end the current practice of having utilities pay for gas lines into many houses – a cost that gets passed onto ratepayers, and acts as a subsidy for continuing to burn gas.
“That means every single-family house, in Manlius, Fayetteville, everywhere, a McMansion, getting a new 99-foot (or less) gas line … gets it for free. Who pays for that? Well the people, including inner-city folks, (also including those) who are living in apartment buildings are paying for for this infrastructure. That is entirely unfair,” argued Shapiro.
Shapiro also says the shift would spur jobs.
“We need more installers. Our demand for installing heat pumps is outstripping the supply. We need more contractors; we need a trained workforce.”
The group New Yorkers for Clean Power reports more than 240 climate, faith and community groups support the HEAT Act. Shapiro ads the act would play a major role in helping New York reach the climate goals already adopted to reduce emissions and encourage sustainability. Lobbying for the proposal will continue until a spending plan is finalized … but it faces an uphill battle.
Heat Pumps Still Face Misunderstanding
Heat pumps are increasingly being used in new construction, and heating contractors are increasingly offering them as alternatives to replace existing gas or oil furnaces. But Shapiro finds many people don’t think they’re a viable option in colder climates, such as ours.
“In 40 years, heat pump technology has totally changed," Shapiro explained. "We now have certified cold-climate heat pumps that have variable speed motors that speed up. We have literally thousands of … installations that have no problem heating homes at not only zero, but at minus 10 degrees or colder. We need to overcome that consumer resistance.”
The federal Inflation Reduction Act includes tax credits up to 30% of the cost of heat pum installations, as well as other energy upgrades. New York State and local utilities also have incentives.
You can hear more from Professor Shapiro about the HEAT Act and how Heat Pump technology has advanced on our Deeper Shade of Green podcast – Go to WAER-dot-org and click on podcasts.
