Norbert Cunningham: Heat pump wait still worth it

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What can we conclude from news people eligible for government assistance in retrofitting their homes to energy efficient heat pumps from electric baseboard or oil heating systems have a long wait time because the supply of heating and cooling technicians is limited, and every firm approved by government is working ‘full tilt’?

Energy Minister Mike Holland told a legislature standing committee last week more money won’t help without qualified installers available. Currently, about 15,000 applicants are waiting and tens of thousands more qualify but haven’t applied.

I praised this program. There was a much more limited rebate program when I had a mini-split installed, but the conditions were too strict for my needs and there was a long wait just to determine if I qualified. Nor was I guaranteed after effort and costs to receive any rebate. I researched it myself, got quotes, free immediate contractor assessments and had the work done at a fraction of the cost NB Power would have insisted upon. I didn’t need a full retrofit, just, ‘out with the furnace, in with the mini-split.’ From signing to installation was two weeks.

It’s positive the program today is more income-based, and generous, because lower income people, who need energy savings the most, couldn’t hope to afford the older program. And the devices are a huge saving in the long run for NB Power too, as they cut demand and need for more generation capacity, most costing in the billions, not the $189 million spent on this.

Most firms say heat pumps will cut your cost by “at least” 30 per cent. My experience is that’s a low estimate. My annual energy savings are closer to 60 per cent even with power rate increases. But be aware every home is different, and it can matter immensely.

Also, by the numbers Holland provided, the amount of completed work expected by this time next year is significantly higher on average from what was done the past 18 months – 161 more retrofits in 12 instead of 18 months. Full tilt works.

Still, NB Power limits the number of contractors it deals with, some of those left out are complaining. That suggests the waits could be shorter despite similar high demand and wait times existing nation-wide.

Industry experts suggest more emphasis on trades training in schools (a slower future help) and increasing numbers of tradespeople in needed areas among immigrants. We don’t target immigrant tradespeople as much as professions, but they matter too. My mini-split was installed by an apprenticing eastern European immigrant. His work was incredibly impressive. He’d been fully tested, the apprenticeship primarily for some upgrading him on Canadian standards and newer emerging models. That’s our best hope.

Norbert Cunningham is a Brunswick News columnist and a retired editorial page editor of the Times & Transcript