JCOF partners with THRHA to make home safer, slash heating bills, eliminate emissions

Twenty homes, twenty heat pumps, 23 months. These numbers bring smiles to the faces of all those who have been involved with the Juneau Carbon Offset Fund, including the families receiving the heat pumps! The success to date of JCOF and its carbon reducing projects is a testament to the many busy bodies involved, from offset purchasers, to supporting businesses, to energy advisors, to community advisors, and other behind-the-scenes heat pump advocates. For the Boyd home in Juneau, JCOF’s 20th carbon-reducing installation, we were able to join forces with the Tlingit and Haida Regional Housing Authority (THRHA).

THRHA is a regional leader in home energy efficiency and heat pump installation. Their mission ‘is to connect Southeast Alaskans with sustainable housing opportunities and innovative financial solutions’. These two mission goals may very well have placed THRHA at the top of the emissions-reducing podium. Though leading this charge is not their primary intent, THRHA’s focus on ‘healthy homes’ that are safe, efficient, and warm, has indirectly eliminated many tons of carbon emissions across the southeast Alaska. I’m quite certain that THRHA has installed more heat pumps than any other organization in Alaska and they deserve a huge round of applause, not only the tremendous assistance they have provided to so many Alaskans, but for indirectly being a carbon-cutting champion!

We project that the joint efforts of JCOF and the THRHA on JCOF’s 20th carbon-reducing project will save the Boyd family over $1000 annually. This is undoubtedly a welcome level of savings to the Boyds. Their oil boiler is old, failing, and leaking water, threatening its function and creating the potential for electrical issues and even fire. The Boyds are only eligible for enough THRHA aid to finance a partial replacement of their troubled home heating system. Warming all rooms of an entire home with one air source heat pump is often not possible, even though this one unit can often provide heat for nearly 1/2 to 3/4 of a home’s livable space. A back up pellet stove sits in their main living area, but with its proximity to the heat pump, buying and burning pellets may only be practical on the coldest of winter days.

On top of the need for a source of new source of primary heat, the home needs an electric hot water heater to replace the boiler’s water heating function. So, add up the loads from a new heat pump, a new water heater, and new infrared ‘comfort cove’ heaters in the back bedrooms and what do you have? In this case, you have a recipe for an entire new electrical panel! THRHA has covered the panel, the heaters, the water heater, and the electrical connection of the pump’s compressor. JCOF has provided a 15K btu Daikin heat pump and the labor to install it. All together, the Boyd family now has an oil-free home with cleaner and drier air, virtually no emissions, and a greatly lowered overall annual heating bill.

Let the Juneau Carbon Offset Fund assist you with your carbon footprint! The easiest way is to use a monthly subscription that spreads your offsetting across the year. Use our calculator to determine your annual carbon output and then choose the proper subscription amount. Join nearly 30 others who have chosen this easy and convenient option!