Search Climate Insights Directory
45 results
Batteries and demand flexibility are ready to scale across the EU
The report analyzes the potential for batteries and demand flexibility from electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps to replace fossil-based grid balancing in the EU by 2030. It projects a significant increase in battery capacity and the ability of smart charging and heating to reduce peak demand and grid strain, provided that regulatory barriers are removed and smart meter rollout is accelerated.
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Document type: Report
Residential Clean Technologies Still Make Sense — Even Without Tax Credits
An RMI analysis evaluates the viability of residential clean technologies—electric vehicles (EVs), air-source heat pumps (ASHPs), and rooftop solar—in the US following the expiration of federal tax credits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. The report finds that these technologies still provide significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions and household cost savings, though the most effective technology varies by region and household archetype.
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Document type: Report
Designing Better Rates for Heat Pump Customers
This case study by RMI examines how electric rate design can reduce financial barriers to heat pump adoption by aligning utility tariffs with the actual costs of service. By analyzing four different approaches in the United States, the document demonstrates that electrification-friendly rates can lower energy bills for heat pump users and improve grid efficiency by recognizing that heat pumps primarily increase demand during winter months, often utilizing existing capacity in summer-peaking systems.
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Document type: Case study
Lower Bills, Better Grids: Heat Pump Benefits for Electric Resistance-Heated Homes
This report by RMI analyzes the benefits of replacing electric resistance heating and water heating systems with heat pumps in US homes. It quantifies the potential for significant household energy bill savings, reductions in peak electric demand on the grid, and decreases in carbon pollution, while providing policy and program design recommendations to accelerate adoption.
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Document type: Report
Lower Bills, Better Grids
This RMI fact sheet outlines the economic, grid, and environmental benefits of replacing electric resistance heating and water heating systems with heat pumps in US households.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Five policies to lower heating bills and accelerate heat pump adoption in Illinois
This policy brief by RMI outlines five strategic policies to increase the adoption of air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) and heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) in Illinois to lower household energy bills and meet state decarbonization goals. The document analyzes the techno-economic viability of electrification for single-family homes, highlighting that while heat pumps can reduce operational costs—particularly for those switching from propane or electric resistance heating—high up-front cost premiums remain a primary barrier. RMI recommends a combination of increased targeted incentives, zero-interest financing, rate design reforms, AC-to-heat pump replacement policies, and electric-friendly building standards for new construction.
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Document type: Policy brief
Plugging heat in: smart policy can help electrify household heating in Europe
This report by Ember analyzes how electricity pricing structures in the European Union act as a barrier to the adoption of heat pumps. It argues that while heat pumps are significantly more efficient than gas boilers, high electricity prices—often inflated by policy-related levies—make them less cost-competitive. The report evaluates various policy interventions, such as removing levies or shifting them to gas, to lower the electricity-to-gas price ratio and accelerate the electrification of household heating to meet REPowerEU 2030 goals.
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Document type: Report
Service Line NPAs: Unlocking Savings and Driving Electrification
This policy brief by RMI proposes a framework for service line non-pipeline alternatives (NPAs) to reduce the high costs of replacing aging gas service lines in the United States. While most NPAs focus on larger gas mains, RMI suggests that targeting the smaller lines connecting buildings to the system can save ratepayers money and accelerate electrification by providing financial incentives for customers to disconnect from the gas grid.
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Document type: Policy brief
Upgrading Canada’s Homes
This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) outlines a strategy for decarbonizing Canada's building sector to reach net-zero emissions. It emphasizes the need for deep energy retrofits of the existing residential housing stock, the adoption of higher building code standards, and the implementation of innovative financing to address high upfront costs and energy poverty.
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Document type: Policy brief
Lower Bills, Cleaner Air: Heat Pump Benefits for Homes Relying on Delivered Fuels
This briefing by RMI outlines the economic, health, and environmental benefits of transitioning over 10 million US homes that rely on delivered fuels (oil and propane) to electric heat pumps. It provides data on potential energy savings, carbon pollution reduction, and recommends specific policy interventions and outreach strategies to accelerate this transition.
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Document type: Briefing
Multifunction Mechanical Systems
This RMI briefing evaluates three 'retrofit-ready' multifunction mechanical system approaches—fully packaged, partially packaged, and distributed—designed to reduce the cost and disruption of decarbonizing multifamily buildings in California by integrating heating, cooling, ventilation, and hot water systems.
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Document type: Briefing
Reforming Energy Efficiency Programs to Increase Heat Pump Adoption
This report by RMI provides best practices for reforming energy efficiency incentive programs to accelerate the adoption of heat pumps. It argues that current programs are often too complex, deterring participation—particularly among low-to-moderate income (LMI) households—and recommends streamlining applications, aligning equipment specifications, and tailoring incentives to local climates to better support decarbonization goals.
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Document type: Report
Heat Pumps Reduce Smog in Southern California. Available Incentives Mean They Can Also Cost Less Than Gas Equipment.
RMI's briefing analyzes the cost-effectiveness of transitioning from gas-burning heating and water heating equipment to electric heat pumps in Southern California. The analysis finds that current and upcoming state, local, and utility incentives can make heat pumps cheaper than conventional gas equipment, even without federal funding, though fragmented application processes and limited funding levels hinder widespread adoption.
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Document type: Briefing
Electric Rates Can Help or Hinder Heat Pump Progress
This policy brief by RMI argues that current electricity rate designs in the United States often overcharge heat pump users, creating a financial barrier to home electrification. The document explains that because many utility costs are driven by summer peak demand, customers who add electricity demand in the winter (via heat pumps) may pay more than the actual cost of service. RMI proposes several rate reform strategies—including seasonal heating rates, time-varying rates, and separate customer classes—to align electricity pricing with actual system costs and support decarbonization goals.
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Document type: Policy brief
Electrify Your Community
The "Electrify Your Community" guide by RMI provides a five-step framework for local governments and community-based organizations to implement residential heat pump deployment programs. The guide focuses on scaling air-source and ground-source heat pumps and heat pump water heaters to reduce residential greenhouse gas emissions, leveraging federal incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
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Document type: Guide
The UK can enhance energy security through clean electrification
This report by Ember analyzes how clean electrification—the transition to low-carbon electricity for heating and transport—improves the UK's energy security by reducing reliance on fossil fuel imports and increasing overall energy efficiency.
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Document type: Report
Seizing the clean tech opportunity in Germany
This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics examines the economic opportunity for Germany to rejuvenate its economy by expanding its manufacturing of clean technologies, specifically batteries and heat pumps, amidst global competition from China and the US.
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Document type: Briefing
Zero-Carbon Home Heating in China’s Yangtze River Delta Region: Heat Pumps as a Core Solution
This report by RMI examines the potential for zero-carbon home heating in China's Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, identifying heat pumps as an energy-efficient, low-emissions solution to address the lack of heating facilities in southern China.
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Document type: Report
Electrification Data Methodology 2024 Overview
The 'Electrification Data Methodology 2024 Overview' by Ember describes the technical framework used to quantify the impact of electrification in the road transport and residential heating sectors. The methodology focuses on calculating electricity demand, primary fossil fuel displacement, and emissions displaced, utilizing real-world data on vehicle stocks, heat pump deployment, and energy efficiency factors.
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Document type: Guide
An Opportunity to Make Home Retrofits More Affordable
This briefing by RMI discusses how state energy offices in the United States can optimize the deployment of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds by enabling 'stacking'—the ability for households to combine multiple federal, state, and utility incentives for whole-home retrofits.
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This summary is written by a language model reading the source document. It is not the publisher's words and is not a substitute for the original.
Document type: Briefing