February 14, 2023

Source: Lissa Harris, Empire of Dirt

I got heat pumps installed last March: a five-unit air source mini-split system, big enough to take over the task of heating my 2,300-square-foot three-story Victorian from my old propane furnace. 

The week the heat pumps went in, nighttime temperatures in Margaretville got down to 10 degrees. My new heating system did just fine — and the heat pumps’ performance did a lot to reassure me that I hadn’t made an insane decision in my personal quest to decarbonize. But a 10-degree night is hardly the worst thing Catskills weather can throw at you. 

Read more: I switched to heat pumps. Then the polar vortex hit.