Lower Bills, Cleaner Air: Heat Pump Benefits for Homes Relying on Delivered Fuels

The document details the methodology and assumptions for a comparative analysis of heat pumps versus delivered fuels in US homes. It specifies the use of 2020 EIA RECS microdata for building archetypes, 2024 state-average energy prices, and specific efficiency ratings (HSPF2, SEER2, and UEF) for air source heat pumps (ASHP) and heat pump water heaters (HPWH) across different climate zones. Hourly energy load profiles were sourced from NREL's ResStock, with ASHP performance curves based on TMY3 temperature data and the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships' database.

• The analysis uses building stock archetypes based on 2020 US Energy Information Administration (EIA) Residential Energy Consumption (RECS) microdata, accounting for building type, year, heating fuel, AC type, and household income across state climate zones.
• Energy price assumptions are based on 2024 state-average volumetric prices for electricity and delivered fuels, with electric prices derived by subtracting utility fixed charge revenue from total revenue and dividing by residential sales.
• Heat pump efficiency assumptions vary by equipment type and climate zone: ducted ASHPs have an HSPF2 of 8 and SEER2 of 17 in zones 1–4, and HSPF2 of 9 and SEER2 of 16 in zones 5 and above; ductless ASHPs have an HSPF2 of 8.5 and SEER2 of 19 in zones 1–4, and HSPF2 of 9.5 and SEER2 of 18 in zones 5 and above. Heat pump water heaters (HPWH) are assigned a uniform energy factor (UEF) of 3.7.
• Hourly energy load profiles were sourced from NREL's ResStock, while cold climate ASHP performance curves were derived from an average subset of 100 common models in the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships' database.

APA

RMI (n.d.). Lower Bills, Cleaner Air: Heat Pump Benefits for Homes Relying on Delivered Fuels. https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Heat-Pump-vs-Delivered-Fuel-Analysis-Assumptions.pdf

Chicago

RMI. Lower Bills, Cleaner Air: Heat Pump Benefits for Homes Relying on Delivered Fuels. n.d. https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Heat-Pump-vs-Delivered-Fuel-Analysis-Assumptions.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Lower Bills, Cleaner Air: Heat Pump Benefits for Homes Relying on Delivered Fuels |url=https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Heat-Pump-vs-Delivered-Fuel-Analysis-Assumptions.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmindlower, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Lower Bills, Cleaner Air: Heat Pump Benefits for Homes Relying on Delivered Fuels}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Heat-Pump-vs-Delivered-Fuel-Analysis-Assumptions.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }