Twenty years ago, gas furnaces powered by dirty energy sources were the most common type of heating system sold in the U.S. But nowadays, innovative heat pumps — which heat and cool homes more efficiently, often with savings of up to $1,000 per year — are the most common HVAC system sold.
And yet, just because heat pumps are the best new tech out there doesn't mean the process of installing one can't feel complicated.
"It feels like there's a lot of gotchas. And if you don't know what you're doing and what the process looks like, it can be really intimidating," Emily Moder, Director of New Products at EnergySage, told The Cool Down. "You just feel like you have to know all of these secrets in order to not mess something up."
Founded in 2009, EnergySage got its start in rooftop solar, offering customers a free, guided tool to compare fully vetted providers with pricing information and tools for narrowing down options.
"We have one of the most used solar shopping tools in the country, but we've always wanted to help people with their whole home electrification journey," Moder said.
"What else could we help people with?" she wondered. "There's a lot of the same pain points shopping for heat pumps as you find shopping for solar — and a lot of the same kind of solutions can be really valuable."
So the company has launched a free heat pump marketplace similar to its solar offerings, where users can compare installers and rates just as easily as you'd book a flight on Expedia or Kayak.
The kicker? Users aren't going through the process alone: EnergySage offers "energy advisers" (real people, not bots) who are available to be a sounding board as you go through the process.
"Their only job is to try and help you," Moder told us, "and that can be a real lifesaver."
🗣️ What is stopping you from upgrading to a heat pump system?
🔘 The cost of installation 💵
🔘 I live in a cold area 🥶
🔘 I don't know enough about it 🤷
🔘 I already have one 😎
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
In an exclusive conversation, Moder walked us through how customers can take advantage of EnergySage's free heat pump marketplace to upgrade their HVAC tech — lowering their energy bills and helping the planet in the process.
💸 How much can I save by switching to a heat pump?
Despite the naming, heat pumps actually heat and cool your home by transferring heat into or out of the house to maintain the temperature. This makes them more energy-efficient than traditional heating and cooling units.
And that means lower energy bills.
For example, switching to a heat pump could reduce your heating bill by up to 50% this winter, according to the Department of Energy. All in all, that can add up to savings of $1,000 per year on energy bills.
While there are lots of variables given your location and what your current HVAC setup is, "for a lot of people, you'll save money on your bills by switching to a heat pump," Moder explained.
⚒️ How does EnergySage's heat pump marketplace work in real time?
Step 1: "We always want to provide info — unbiased, accurate information — as a starting point," Moder said. Once you create a free EnergySage account and answer a few questions about your home (ex: square footage, duct work, current heating), "the first thing you'll see is a cost estimate."
"We'll show you an estimated cost range based on the data that we've seen in our marketplace," Moder continued. That way "you can actually get a sense of what this might cost you."
"You can do that online in minutes, without talking to anybody," Moder said.
Step 2: Once you're ready to start shopping for specific heat pumps, EnergySage will provide a list of fully vetted contractors in your area. Installers go through a rigorous process to make the cut, because even if an HVAC company is, for example, really good at installing oil boilers, "if they aren't experienced and they don't really know what they're doing with heat pumps, you can get really bad results," said Moder.
You'll be able to see heat pump-specific reviews for each HVAC company, and "you can see what the experience that other heat pump shoppers have had with that contractor before you choose to talk with them."
Step 3: After you've decided which contractors you want to talk with and you've gone through site visits with them, EnergySage will collate the various quotes into one standardized format so you get an accurate apples-to-apples comparison.
That standard formatting is "something we've really prioritized getting into the heat pump marketplace early," Moder told us. It's super important that EnergySage is "able to ingest those quotes and standardize them so that you have that convenient comparison point."
🤩 What tax incentives do heat pumps qualify for?
As of now, all Americans are eligible for up to a $2,000 federal tax credit for purchasing a heat pump, while lower-income households may qualify for federal rebates up to $8,000.
But there are a ton of other tax incentives you may be eligible for — again depending on where you live, your income level, and what exact system you're installing. For example, Moder explained that "if you are upgrading your electrical service in conjunction with a heat pump, you qualify for additional tax incentives," typically around $600 in that case.
That's where EnergySage's "energy advisers" really come in handy. Since incentives are constantly changing and there's no perfect national database of all heat pump tax credits, having an adviser help you through the process is highly beneficial. "Questions on what rebates are available, what you have to qualify — those are all things you can talk through with the energy adviser to make sure that you're not missing anything," Moder said.
💡 Tell me more about these 'energy advisers' …
EnergySage's marketplace operates as an objective source of information — they don't get paid differently based on whether you choose one contractor over another. And the same unbiased stance goes for the free "energy advisers" every user gets paired with.
"I think for most people, the process is so complicated that you almost always are just going to want to have even just a sounding board," Moder said. "For me, it's about peace of mind. It just makes the whole process feel less overwhelming and more manageable."
You can call on your adviser at any point in the process — from broad-level questions to get a sense of the steps to more specific questions like what to do if you hear conflicting things from different contractors.
Energy advisers are extremely knowledgeable about heat pumps (and rebates) — after all, that's what they do all day — and by default, "you're always going to talk to the same person no matter how many times you call in; they're assigned to you specifically," Moder added.
"The contractors that we work with are fantastic. They're knowledgeable. They'll give great information. But sometimes you just want to hear it from someone who isn't being paid to tell you," she said.
❄️ When's the best time to switch to a heat pump?
"The best time to switch is when your current system is getting old, but before it dies completely," Moder recommended.
"Heat pumps are not cheap. They are a real investment. … So it doesn't typically make sense for most people to invest in a heat pump if they have a brand new heating and cooling system. … But if you wait too long, then you're in kind of this 'emergency shopper' situation — if your heat goes out in the middle of the winter, you are not going to be in a great position to switch to a heat pump; you're going to want to fix the problem as quick as you possibly can."
In a situation like that, when you're in a rush to move as quickly as possible to warm your house, "it's really hard to qualify for the rebates [and] make sure that you're taking advantage of all of the different financial incentives that exist," Moder said. Plus, she mentioned you may get charged upward of 20% more for emergency jobs.
As a first step, Moder recommended just figuring out how old your current heating system is. If it's over 15 years old, it's a good time to start getting your ducks in a row so that when it does break down, you have a stress-free game plan for how to swap in a cost-effective, energy-efficient replacement.
And it may be easy for many of us to forget about the cooling aspects of a heat pump right now, but "heat" pumps also work to keep homes cool in the summer. So knowing how old your current AC unit is will be another good first step as you're looking to upgrade your system. Bonus: The heating and cooling capabilities of a single heat pump can be a game-changer if you're looking to upgrade from window units or install AC altogether.
🌎 Why are heat pumps so much better for the planet?
"Heat pumps run on electricity, and they are … three to five times more efficient than more traditional systems. And so those two things combined [will] reduce your carbon footprint by a significant amount," said Moder, adding that exactly how much will depend on how your electricity is generated (ex: coal versus solar).
The better operational efficiency of heat pumps means your home will make a smaller impact on the planet. In fact, the independent nonprofit organization RMI estimates that in all 48 continental states, replacing a gas furnace with a heat pump will reduce emissions pollution from the very first year of installation.
🔒 Is my information secure when I use EnergySage's heat pump marketplace?
"We don't share contact information with installers unless you specifically indicate that you want to talk to that installer," Moder told us. "When you put in your email address and or phone number, that's just so that if you want, for example, to book a call with an energy adviser, that we can do that."
Think of it like the Bumble approach: You get to make the first move to talk to installers — which prevents robocalls and spammy emails.
"We never, absolutely never, sell information, and you will specifically give consent for any time that your information is shared with any other party," Moder added.
📈 Is EnergySage planning to expand its marketplace coverage?
Interest in heat pumps is taking off — for example, EnergySage reports that traffic to its heat pump webpages has tripled from 2023 to 2024 alone.
And right now, users can take advantage of EnergySage's heat pump marketplace IRL in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and the Washington, D.C., area.
"Next up, we are launching in Arizona and Washington [state]," Moder told us.
The company has also doubled the size of its contractor network this year alone and expects to exceed that level of growth in 2025.
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