The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) found that one in four U.S. homes is all-electric. Approximately 13% of households in 2020 used a heat pump that can heat or cool a space using electricity. While EIA compiles 2024 data for its latest inquiry, hints of all-electric growth are clear in the adoption rates of heat pumps and electric appliances.
Wayne Beals is the managing broker for The Beals Group at EXIT Strategy Realty serving greater Chicagoland. He is also a board member for the Chicago Association of Realtors and broker for Greenline Homes, a Chicago-based builder of “high-performance all-electric solar urban homes.” He calls electric power the “new fuel.”
“Over the next 20 years, electrification will be the next-generation fuel for our houses,” Beals said. “Electrical contractors should embrace that transition. It is an incredible business opportunity. All-electric homes will need new service panels and require extensive rewiring for each electric appliance. Builders will require electricians with expertise in wiring these homes. There’s a huge competitive advantage in knowing what goes into powering all-electric home equipment (e.g., heat pumps, energy recovery ventilators, heat pump water heaters and heat pump clothes dryers). If you are looking to grow your business and looking to be doing this [work] for the next 20 years, this is absolutely something you should be engaged with early.”
All at once or one piece at a time?
The road to today’s all-electric home can be a gradual journey or an all-in endeavor. Owners may want to reduce their home energy load. Others may want to quit natural gas. Some may need to improve indoor air quality.
Induction appliances can be a first step for homeowners looking to transition to all-electric. Such appliances include portable induction cooktops (a fast-growing appliance according to MarkWide Research), built-in induction cooktops, heat pump clothes dryers and heat pump water heaters. MarkWide explained that unlike traditional cooktops, which rely on thermal conduction, induction cooktops generate a magnetic field, inducing an electric current in the cookware for fast and efficient heating.
Another advancement is the residential heat pump clothes dryer. Verified Market Reports found the heat pump clothes dryer market in 2023 is valued at $1.4 billion. It is expected to reach $2.5 billion by the end of 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5%.
Finally, Fortune Business Insights saw U.S. sales of heat pump water heaters double from 2016–2020. Considered three times more energy-effective than traditional electric-resistance water heaters, the U.S. market for heat pump water heaters stood at $468.22 million in 2022 with projected growth at a CAGR of 5.9% through 2030.
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| An outdoor heat pump is a central component of the Gavin's home heating and cooling system. | The indoor component of a heat pump rests where a gas furnace once stood. |
Residential heat pumps
A key feature of all-electric homes is the heat pump. Though these have been efficiently cooling homes in Southern states for decades, improved performance in wintry weather has made them more attractive to homeowners. Heat pumps made the MIT Technology Review’s 2024 list of 10 breakthrough technologies. The residential segment may be its largest market through 2029, according to Market and Markets, a market research firm. MIT Technology Review reported that in 2022, Americans bought more heat pumps than gas furnaces. Though 2023 saw a 17% decline, it was less than that of gas furnaces. Heat pump sales beat out gas furnaces for the second year in a row and saw their overall market share increase compared to furnaces, according to the MIT Technology Review.
Global Market Insights found the U.S. residential heat pump market valued at $5.8 billion in 2023 with growth at a CAGR of 9.6% through 2032.
Christopher Muhammad is owner and lead trainer for Going Green Home Solutions, LLC serving Chicago and its neighboring suburbs. Introduced to heat pumps in trade school in the 1990s, he found the technology rare in northern climates due to poor performance in colder weather. As cold-weather heat pumps got significantly better, so did the market. Today, a sizable percentage of Going Green’s overall sales and installation is residential heat pumps.
Sometimes described as an air conditioner in reverse, heat pump designers succeeded in manipulating the pressures of a pump’s refrigerants to best absorb heat in ambient air, even in the coldest temperatures.
“What’s really changed is inverted technology that ramps a heat pump’s compressor up and down depending on the outside temperature,” Muhammad said. “The result is a much more efficient heat pump delivering an accurate amount of heat, and a unit that works well in colder climates.”
When you move up the temperature on your thermostat, a heat pump’s fan and compressor speed up and the refrigerant starts moving faster to transfer more heat from outside to inside, switching between liquid and gas.
“People ask, ‘How do you get heat out of cold air?’ If you understand heat in its purest scientific concept, –10° is much warmer than –90°, there’s heat there,” Muhammad said, adding that “manufacturers had to figure out a way to get a heat pump’s refrigerant to a low boiling point and temperature where you could absorb heat from those extremely low temperatures and then transfer that heat to the inside of the house.”
There are several types of residential heat pumps, too. You are likely to find either hybrid (split system) heat pumps supporting an existing gas furnace or boiler, or stand-alone (single packaged) air-source heat pumps. Some heat pumps support existing ducting and others are ductless. All must meet current seasonal energy-efficiency ratio standards.
| In an effort to tighten the Gavin home, AeroBarrier (a 20/80 mix of sealant and water) was pressurized, sealing any remaining air leakages. The tighter the home, the better sizing of mechanicals—important information for the electrician making power decisions, including wiring. |
The cart behind the horse
While heat pump technology betters gas furnace efficiency, producing two to four times more heat energy using fewer kilowatts, a whole-house efficiency effort will help heat pumps achieve maximum performance. That is important for electrical contractors to recognize.
Heat pump ratings are based on the British thermal units (BTUs) of heat they produce. Accordingly sized, a 36,000-BTU heat pump equates to a 3-ton unit. Muhammad runs a calculation based on room square footage to best size a heat pump. BTU load and heat pump size information should be shared with the electrician. The insulation contractor who is working to tighten a house and lower its electric load is also a key player.
| An upgrade to a 200A service is suggested for transitioning homes to all-electric. |
“The tighter the house, the smaller the circuit breaker needed, the smaller the gauge of wire for heating and cooling equipment,” said Craig Matteson, engineering specialist for ARC Insulation, Romeoville, Ill. ARC provides insulation
services for existing and new residential constructions including multifamily. The firm also provides “energy modeling” to maximize energy savings and meet the International Energy Conservation Code.
“Load calculations for the circuit breakers are going to be driven based upon the size of the heat pump and the heating resistance, the resistors inside that heat pump, and backup electric heat, if needed,” Matteson said.
He added that by insulating and sealing the house envelope well, you are reducing the number of air exchanges a heating system needs to run. You are also adding comfort with a house able to hold more tempered air.
“Going all-electric is a big puzzle,” Matteson said. “Every piece must be properly sized and factored into the calculation each contractor needs. The HVAC contractor is waiting to see what the insulator has accomplished, revealed through blower door tests. The electrician wants the piece from the HVAC contractor regarding equipment size needed to meet heating and cooling loads. Go after an all-electric home project and get your feet wet. There’s nothing to fear and a lot to gain. This market is growing.”
A Firsthand All-Electric Revolution
Last year, I experienced a series of firsts. I purchased a house and collaborated with a green broker and a crew of talented contractors (that were also featured in this story) to transform the 1957 brick-veneered frame house into a super energy-efficient, all-electric home.
Wayne Beals of The Beals Group at EXIT Strategy Realty created a step-by-step guide. This house transformation included an energy audit and blower door test to measure the amount of air passing through the house, including infiltration through the walls and windows; a complete replacement of old windows; new fire-retardant cellulose (R-49) attic insulation, sealing penetrations in the attic and adding cellulose insulation behind the walls. In addition, leaky air ducts were sealed (Aeroseal); a heat pump water heater (Rheem) and a ventless heat pump clothes dryer (Whirlpool) were installed; a cold-weather performance Mitsubishi heat pump and air handler and backup heating coil (separate lines for each) replaced a gas furnace and air conditioner; electric appliances were added (e.g., Bosch induction stovetop); and a 200A electrical service and circuit box was installed. The electrician ran new wire runs for the heat pump, a Honeywell ERV, heating coil and induction stove, and a new humidifier (Aprilaire) joined the family.
One last masterstroke raised house performance to a remarkable level. Craig Matteson of ARC Insulation oversaw the application of AeroBarrier. His company and AeroBarrier technicians applied a pressurized 80/20 mix of water and sealant that was misted through the house, finding and sealing any remaining air leakages.
“The house initially was extremely leaky, needing 8.53 air changes per hour (ACH),” Matteson said. “After all our work, including AeroBarrier, we reduced the ACH to a remarkable 0.86. The heat pump now heats and cools about 25,000 cubic feet of air versus the former HVAC handling 200,000 cubic feet of air every hour [a 2,400-square-foot space including first floor and finished basement].”
To heat and cool an office space (a converted garage), Chris Muhammad of Going Green Home Solutions added a second, small outdoor heat pump delivering tempered air through a cassette (a wall-mounted ductless unit).
In the end, the home qualified for incentives through the local utility, ComEd, and various federal tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. Living in an all-electric house that is comfortable with even-tempered air and high energy efficiency has been an adventure and its own reward.
To learn more, tune into Better House Chicago here.
Jeff Gavin, HNKz / stock.adobe.com
About The Author
GAVIN, Gavo Communications, is a LEED Green Associate providing marketing services for the energy, construction and urban planning industries. He can be reached at [email protected].
