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About Heat Pumps
The short version is that a heat pump works by transferring heat from one location to another, using a refrigerant. (The refrigerator in your home does this all the time to keep your food cold.) A heat pump can do it in reverse as well, so you can heat and cool your home with one device.Heat pumps move refrigerants around a closed loop. When the refrigerant transitions from a liquid to a gas, it pulls in heat from the surrounding air. When the refrigerant changes from a gas to a liquid, it releases heat. Your outdoor and indoor units are part of that loop. So, in the winter, your outdoor unit provides access to outside air for the refrigerant to pull in heat as it transitions from liquid to gas. As refrigerant travels around the loop to the indoor unit, it releases heat when it turns from a gas to a liquid - providing warm air for its occupants! The process can be done in reverse to keep the house nice and cool on a summer day.We’re keeping it brief here, so if you want a more detailed explanation of how heat pumps work, see here.
Yes, as with any piece of equipment, there are differences between brands. However, Pearl only uses brands that have a long-standing history of performance and warranty support. Each piece of equipment that Pearl uses is AHRI rated and meets the requirements necessary to claim federal tax credits (25C) and product rebates (like the upcoming Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates that many states will implement in 2024).
It really depends on the situation in your unique home. There are cases where we’ll strongly recommend this, cases where we’ll strongly recommend against this, and cases where we’ll leave it up to you. If you want to keep your existing system, let us know. We'll give you a straightforward answer about whether it is possible and what the tradeoffs are.
A “ducted” heat pump uses ducts within your home to distribute hot and cold air (similar to a central furnace). A “ducted” system has an outdoor unit (a compressor that circulates refrigerant) and an indoor unit (an air handler that circulates air to heat or cool your home). Together, they move cold air from outside to inside, or vice versa. This air is delivered throughout your home via ducts to ensure your space is comfortable throughout! A “ducted” system is often a great fit for homes that have existing ductwork that can be reused as this lowers the cost to install a new system.
A “ductless” heat pump system, also known as a mini-split system, uses a separate piece of equipment to distribute hot and cold air to each “zone” in your home. (Typically, a “zone” refers to either room or a couple of adjacent open rooms.) This configuration gives you superior control, room by room. A “ductless” system has an outdoor unit (a compressor) with multiple ports that connect a refrigerant line to an indoor unit, which circulates air to heat or cool the room. These indoor units are typically mounted on walls and ceilings, and they are usually controlled with a remote (unless you have a thermostat just for the room).A “ductless” system can be great for homes that want individualized temperature control for specific zones / rooms, or in instances where it would be too expensive to install new ductwork. Ductless systems can also be great if you just need to heat and cool a new section of your home - for example, after a renovation or addition.
A heat pump is a device that transfers heat energy, typically for the purpose of heating or cooling indoor spaces. By extracting heat from the air, a heat pump can provide both heating in the winter and cooling in the summer via the same piece of equipment - so it’s effectively a replacement for both your furnace and your air conditioner!A heat pump moves heat from one place to another rather than generating heat, which makes it a more efficient option for heating and cooling homes. In many cases, this means homeowners see reduced bills while reducing their climate impact.
A heat pump is a viable option for any home when the system is properly designed. Most people get excited about improved home comfort, saving money, reducing their energy usage, and/or reducing their climate impact (if not all of the above). Pearl aims to share the benefits of a heat pump in just 10 minutes! Get started today.
First off, Pearl always makes sure that your equipment will meet your needs. But, if you want to do your own research or show off for friends and family, we’d recommend paying attention to the five specifications below: Heating and Cooling Capacity (btu / hour or “tons”): This indicates the amount of heat (measured in BTUs) a heat pump can provide in heating mode and the amount of heat it can remove in cooling mode. (Effectively, this is the maximum amount of heat that your equipment can deliver.) Bigger isn’t better - we help you “size” the capacity of your system based on what you actually need, so you don’t overpay.COP (Coefficient of Performance): This ratio measures the efficiency of a heat pump by comparing the amount of heat delivered to the amount of energy consumed. A heat pump with a COP of 3.5 is “350% efficient” - which is amazing! Anything above this is pretty good. HSPF2 (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor): The efficiency of a heat pump varies by temperature. So, this is a measure of a heat pump's efficiency during heating season. The higher the HSPF, the more efficient the heat pump is at converting electricity into heat when it’s really cold outside. Anything greater than 9.0 is pretty good. SEER2 (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio): Likewise, this measures the efficiency of a heat pump during cooling season. A higher SEER indicates greater efficiency in cooling mode. Anything higher than 15.0 is pretty good. EER2 (Energy Efficiency Ratio): EER is similar to SEER but specifically measures efficiency at a given thermostat setpoint. It's used to evaluate performance in cooling mode under specific conditions. This is a good metric to compare between units. Reach out if you want to dive deeper! We are nerds and love talking about this.
Pearl exists to help homeowners answer this question! The best step you can take to get specific information for your home is to generate an instant estimate. It’s hard to generalize, but whole-home air-source heat pump retrofits typically range from $8,000-$30,000 depending on the size of your home, existing infrastructure in your home, and supporting measures that are needed to deliver you comfort.
Yes, a properly sized air-source heat pump will keep you warm in the winter! Thanks to new technology advancements, air source heat pumps are a good choice for any cold weather climate. If someone tells you otherwise, they’re probably going on old information. The heat pumps that were deployed in the 1980s and 1990s didn't perform in cold weather. There has been a ton of product innovation since then (in order of importance: higher-performing refrigerants, fan motors, compressors, and coils). Today, air-source heat pumps perform in the cold. For example, there has been a ton of cold-weather deployment already from Norway to Minnesota.
Almost always. (But again, it depends.) The fuel that you currently use for heating / cooling (e.g., electricity, natural gas, propane, fuel oil) and your electric utility’s “generation mix” (the mix of fuel they burn to generate power) will determine how much your emissions are reduced.
The unsatisfying but true answer is that “it depends.” However, for the vast majority of our homeowners, a heat pump retrofit with weatherization will result in a monthly bill savings. The amount that you save will ultimately be influenced by the efficiency of your new system (compared to your old), your old fuel type, the cost of your old fuel type, the cost of electricity, weather, and your usage patterns in your home. It is complex! Pearl will provide you with a savings estimate using our CONCIERGE tool after you provide inputs about your home with a separate module to refine your estimate.To learn more about how we help you evaluate potential savings, see here.
About Home Assessments
We believe strongly in the role that a human expert plays in the design of your system to deliver optimal comfort. A home assessment allows us to confirm the scope of work for your unique home - and ensure our vetted contractor partners are well-prepared to install it for you.
Our BPI certified assessor focuses on the following during your assessment:some text
- Verify the information used to provide your instant estimate
- Confirm (or adjust) the system designs that we recommended in our instant estimate
- Enhance the scope of work - as needed - to ensure that your new system delivers comfort
- Answer any questions that you have based on our recommendation
In the case that we find something that adjusts your estimate significantly (e.g., service panel upgrade, major ductwork modification), we’ll discuss it with you before departure or immediately after reviewing it with our full team.
A home assessment typically take 60-90 minutes.
Please make sure that pets are put away and key areas of the house area accessible, such as the areas around your existing system(s) and electric service panel, your attic, and your basement.
About Pearl Edison
Yes! Please reach out for information on past installations.
Yes, the equipment used in your installation comes with a Manufacturer’s Warranty. The specific details of this warranty will be included in your formal quote. Pearl also has a one-year Workmanship Warranty that covers the quality of the work performed and ensures that installation labor meets installation standards outlined by your local jurisdiction. Pearl will rectify any defects that arise from the quality of work of the installation for the Workmanship Warranty period, excluding damage caused by acts of nature, vandalism, or improper usage once the system is installed.
Pearl prices your system based on the design that we generate for your unique home. Each component of the design has an associated price that we use to finalize your quote with our proprietary software. Our main focus is on “value engineering” a system that will meet your needs - if you don’t need it (or want it), then we won’t try to sell it to you. Our mission is to ensure that you receive a fair, transparent price for a system that benefits you for a long time.You can learn more about how we price your system here.
Pearl’s proprietary software uses your responses and third-party data about your home to design your system. If you provide accurate responses, we can get most of the way there to a design that is install-ready. Then, we use either the photos that you submit or a home visit to finalize the design based on your unique home. Our software was built in close partnership with building science experts who have been designing and installing whole home air-source heat pump retrofits for over two decades. Our recommendation reflects their insight. You can learn more about how we design your system here.
Contractors are our partners! We use contractors on our platform to complete the installation based on the design that we scoped for your unique home and refined after your home assessment. They are licensed, vetted, and have great homeowner reviews from prior work. This alleviates the challenge of searching for contractors on your own, which we know can be overwhelming and time consuming! Our role is to ensure a seamless experience from start to finish, and the Workmanship Warranty for your system is guaranteed by Pearl. Our platform has multiple contractors on it to keep pricing fair. We want all of our contractors to succeed by allowing them to focus on completing projects - what they are awesome at! - rather than sales, system design, homeowner education, and other administrative tasks.
Pearl’s process has three simple steps: Get an instant estimate. You complete our online onboarding flow to generate an initial design for your system, based on your responses and third-party data we review about your home. We share a system design, cost estimate, and a list of rebates/incentives that you are eligibile for.Finalize your quote. Pearl finalizes your design via photo submission and/or a home assessment. You will have an opportunity to provide input, and at the end of this step - your project will be installation ready!Electrify. When you are ready to move forward, you can sign a contract online! At this point, we’ll prepare for installation (e.g., order equipment, obtain permits) and reach out to schedule the start date. By the time you are done with the process, you'll have the right system, at the right price, ready to be installed by the right pro - right away!
Pearl provides an instant estimate in ~10 minutes, is available to schedule a home assessment in as soon as 24 hours (but typically less than a week), and can start installation right afterwards! We know that we need to act quickly if you are in an emergency situation. Losing heat in the cold is miserable, and more importantly dangerous! That said, we have many homeowners who receive an instant estimate, schedule a home assessment at their convenience, and move forward with their installation when the time is right. No pressure. The process can be extremely quick, but we go at your pace.
Here are a couple of questions that we think about every day that will cause variation between quotes: Did you complete a load calculation for my home? If so, what load are you designing to? Did you consider recommending anything to reduce the load? What equipment do you recommend? Why do you like this brand? Does it meet your the technical specifications to be eligible for all applicable rebates? Do I need an electrical panel upgrade? Why or why not? Do you recommend any weatherization - for instance, air sealing or duct sealing and duct insulation? If so, what will my return on investment be? Are there any ductwork modifications necessary for my home to ensure that the system works well? Are there any portions of my home that won't be well-served by my new system? How will my energy usage change? How will my energy bills change based on my specific equipment? Do I have any existing code violations at my home? If so, are you dealing with them? How long do you expect my installation to take? If you share a quote with us, we are happy to give you unbiased feedback on it.
We do everything we can to lower the quote after our home assessment. Value-engineering design is something that we take extremely seriously because we know that it builds trust with you - and because it’s what we'd want as homeowners! If your price went down, it’s because we found a cheaper way to meet your comfort needs.
Our estimate is based on our design of the right system for your unique home, using the answers you provided and third-party data about your home. We strive to get it right the first time, but sometimes we need to make tweaks when we review your photos or complete your home assessment. If the cost of your system went up, then one of three things probably happened - You need a bigger system - or more weatherization - than we thought. (This can be the case if we learn that your home is “leaky” - e.g., if you have less insulation in the walls than we thought.) We find something unexpected in the home. For example - that you need more capacity on your electrical panel, that you need work done to bring the system up to code, or that you need to take care of a safety issue like asbestos. The information you provided was incorrect or incomplete. Hey, it happens - this stuff is complicated. That is why we finalize your quote with photos or a home assessment.
Your estimate includes everything that we think will be essential to your heat pump installation based on your inputs and available third-party data about your home. With this data, we use our model and our experience from past installations to scope the project and give you a price. However, there are some things that we cannot see (e.g., the insulation in your walls), so we request photos or a home assessment to finalize your estimate. Learn more about how we design and price your system here.
Your final quote covers all essential aspects of your heat pump installation, including equipment, labor, electrical upgrades, and any additional materials required to deliver heating/cooling comfort to your home. It also incentives and rebates for which you are eligible. Pearl will support you in getting all of the money that is available to you from federal government, state and local entities, and utilities.
Pearl exists to make home electrification easy, starting with home heating and cooling. We know firsthand - it can be difficult to evaluate what to buy, what’s reasonable to pay, and who to trust to install it. Figuring this out involves navigating a ton of bad information and complexity. Today, the homeowners that get the best outcomes conduct lots of independent research on a very technical product they don’t know much about and run a competitive bid process with multiple contractors. Most people don’t have the time for that! So, we built a software platform to allow homeowners to instantly generate the “right” system design for their unique home and priorities, get a fixed-price quote, and connect with a vetted, qualified contractor to complete the install. This helps good contractors, too - the time they spend on home assessments, system design, bid preparation, and homeowner education adds cost for everyone. One of our core values is transparency. What is more transparent than a scoped project in 10 minutes? We aim to provide instant and transparent information to enable installations that improve heating and cooling comfort for homeowners - the right system, at the right price, from the right pro, right away.
We take pride in designing the right system for your unique home. When we make a recommendation, we've completed and verified a load calculation, then selected equipment and included any additional measures (e.g., an electrical upgrade or weatherization) that are necessary to ensure that the system delivers comfort and energy savings. When our quote is higher, we often find that one of three things is true: Your quote is from an installer that we’d consider unqualified. We have a very high bar for our contractor partners, and only work with the best.A competitor is “cutting corners” - for instance, by leaving things out of the scope of work that should be included. If we think it’s important, we won’t install a system without it. Necessary ductwork modifications is the biggest thing that find is left out.A competitor is underestimating what it takes to complete the job at a standard of excellence. The last thing you want is a surprise upcharge when you get a bill! Unfortunately, this is pretty common. We don’t do this. We're happy to discuss specific differences with you if you have questions!