Heat pump (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

HEAT PUMPS

Even with promises of free heat pumps, hybrid model works best for Kamloops climate

Nov 7, 2023 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — While a heat pump may be all one needs in Victoria or Vancouver, in Kamloops it alone will not be effective in the cold depths of winter. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be looking at moving towards the environmentally-friendly heating source, according to a local contractor.

“What we call hybrid heat, so a gas furnace in conjunction with a heat pump — then you get the best of both worlds,” said Rapid Cool Mechanical owner Steve Warner. “A heat pump working during the warmer temperatures, and then the gas furnace kicking in when it gets really cold.”

Heat pumps work best before the mercury falls below -20C. That means a full electric home in Kamloops is still uncommon.

“With changes in the building code, we are starting to see that happen with a fully-electric house. Most of the existing houses today that hybrid heat system works very well,” stated Warner.

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With carbon tax being hotly debated in Ottawa, B.C. is pushing a number of rebates — along with the federal and local governments — for people to make the switch. Even just last week, the federal Liberals announced a move to attempt to make heat pumps free.

“There was a previous program where we actually provided $10,000 grants, and what we have done is added to that and asked provinces and territories to partner with us to make heat pumps free, both the cost of the pump and the installation,” said Federal Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson on Friday.

Along with helping to cool and heat ones home, the units have been getting more efficient in recent years, leading to additional savings on energy bills. With homes in Kamloops already using air conditioning for the hot summers, heat pumps could become the norm by next decade.

“I can definitely see the transition for manufactures to just producing a straight heat pump line instead of having separate skews for cooling or air conditioners only and then heat pumps. By 2030, I’m sure everything will come out of the box as a heat pump,” said Warner.

Currently in B.C. approximately 40,000 customers use home heating oil, while almost 1 million utilize natural gas.