Two more Juneau families now enjoying warm, dry, money-saving renewable-energy heat!
The Coronell family in the Juneau Indian Village and the Dunivan family in the valley are the newest recipients of Juneau Carbon Offset Fund’s air source heat pumps! An estimated 1000 gallons of heating oil will be eliminated annually from the addition of these two projects, a volume representing 11 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
And, both families can expect at least a 50% reduction in their home heating bills.
The Coronells have been working hard to maintain an aging oil furnace with Chris keeping the thirsty burner chugging along, but costing too much money to operate. The Dunivans have heated their entire living space with a Toyo stove and are thrilled to soon be setting it to around 60 degrees in hopes that it doesn’t have to turn on at all.
Now, both of these families will have ‘local heat’, heat pump derived heat from just outside the walls of their homes. Hence our post title, ‘Heat Locally.’ Oil, on the other hand, travels nearly 3000 miles to reach Juneau and has a massive carbon footprint as it makes that journey, a fuel-intensive trip that heat pumps show us is just not necessary. A bit of hydro electricity from 40 miles south of town is all that is needed to borrow heat from right in the back yard!
That reasoning alone is often all that it takes to convince homeowners that a heat pump is the new norm, while oil is the old and tired horse. And, aside from the common sense of heating with a heat pump, the money saved makes them a no-brainer.
Save half on my heating bill? Pays for itself in just a few years? I’m in!
These two families are the third and fourth to put carbon offset purchase money to work from the so many ‘customers’ of the Juneau Carbon Offset Fund. While the majority or our offsets have been purchased by locals here in Juneau, the Fund is seeing a higher and higher percentage of carbon-footprint reducers from across Alaska and the lower 48, 25% of sales now coming from outside of town.
And, with the recent flood of cash from the new and powerful 100 Juneau Women Who Care organization here in town, the Juneau Carbon Offset Fund is gearing up for at least another 4 lower-income home heat pump projects.
