This is in regard to the Sept. 14 article “Maine’s energy efficiency agency is bullish on electric heat pump installation.” Actually, the agency has become bullheaded about only giving rebates for whole house heat pumps, without any backup. We received no rebate from Efficiency Maine last year when we had our heat pumps installed because we still had a working furnace. Do these people even live in Maine?

We had three heat pumps installed in our home for about the same cost as a System 2000 forced hot water furnace (which we had installed in our last two homes and were very efficient). The electric bills were very high during January, February and March. I don’t believe they are a less expensive form of heat, but by adding solar to our roof, we have cut that cost considerably. We considered it “paying for our heat and lights in advance.”

That being said, we would have been uncomfortably cold when the outside temperature got down below 20. We happily turned on our furnace for the few times it was needed. I wonder how many people can’t afford heat pumps without some kind of incentive, and forcing people to buy the more expensive and less trustworthy whole house system is a bad plan. Between the up-front costs and the already exorbitant CMP bills (which will only keep going up), the state of Maine has now set an impossible goal.

Beth Anne King
Durham