Straight-Cool Air Conditioners, Not Furnaces, Are the Real Barrier to Residential Heat Pump Adoption
Nate Adams argues that the 4 to 5 million straight-cool ACs shipped annually in the U.S. lock homes out of heat pump heating for 10 to 20 years each. A hybrid approach—keeping the furnace and adding a heat pump—adds only $300 to $1,000 in wholesale equipment cost and under an hour of labor, while an October 2026 RMI analysis shows such mixes could fit roughly 65% more heat pumps into spare winter grid capacity and cut residential electricity rates by an average of 13%.
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