Practical, Scalable Solutions to Heat Pump Adoption Barriers

This is part 3 in a series about accelerating heat pump adoption in America. If you missed the first and second issues, check them out!

Now that we’ve covered challenges to heat pump adoption, we turn to solutions. 

The good news is that none of these barriers are insurmountable. In fact, a growing number of HVAC pros, startups, nonprofits, and policymakers are already rolling up their sleeves and making real progress.

What follows are practical, scalable ways to move the needle—solutions that close the information gap for homeowners, address the workforce bottleneck, and rewire the systems that shape how heating and cooling decisions get made.

Solution: Consumer Education and Guidance

Many homeowners are in the dark (or worse, misinformed) about heat pumps. They’ve heard myths that heat pumps “don’t work in cold weather” or will jack up their electric bill. They might not know about incentives or how to find a quality installer. 

This knowledge gap leads to hesitancy and sticker shock, and it lets low-cost, low-quality contractors win jobs that end in disappointment. 

In short, uninformed consumers = slow heat pump adoption.

Heat Pumps, Meet the Neighborhood

One of the most effective ways to combat misinformation is through peer-to-peer education. When someone hears about a heat pump from a friend, neighbor or local homeowner they trust, it makes the idea more tangible and less intimidating. The key is meeting people where they are: usually overwhelmed, confused, and looking for reassurance. 

Go Electric Colorado is a nonprofit community organization helping homeowners make sense of home electrification. Founded by local residents motivated to decarbonize their lifestyles, the organization guides fellow residents through the maze of incentives, technologies, and decisions through community events, one-on-one coaching, and educational campaigns.

That kind of peer-to-peer model can make a huge impact:

Major Programs Leading The Charge

While grassroots efforts are crucial, large organizations are also stepping up to educate consumers and streamline the path to electrification. These major players are developing tools, programs, and resources to make heat pump adoption more accessible and understandable.

Rewiring America is a nonprofit focused on electrifying homes and communities across the U.S. They offer a suite of tools to demystify the process:

• Incentive Calculator: A user-friendly tool that helps homeowners identify available tax credits and rebates for electrification projects, including heat pumps.

• Personal Electrification Planner: This planner provides tailored recommendations based on a homeowner's specific circumstances, outlining steps to transition to electric appliances and systems.

• Electric Coaches Program: A training initiative that equips community members with the knowledge to guide others through electrification decisions, fostering peer-to-peer support networks.

The Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) is working to shift the cultural narrative around electrification by making clean electric homes feel desirable, not just responsible.

• Consumer Inspiration Initiative: Uses storytelling, visual design, and lifestyle branding to make home electrification relatable and aspirational.

• Switch is On Campaign: Offers videos, homeowner guides, and simple explanations to help everyday people understand the benefits of heat pumps and other electric upgrades.

• Ambassador Program: Trains homeowners, contractors, and community leaders to serve as local electrification advocates—answering questions, sharing personal stories, and helping others get started.

Mass Save, a collaborative initiative by Massachusetts' electric and gas utilities, offers comprehensive programs to guide homeowners through energy-efficient upgrades.

• No-Cost Home Energy Assessments: Homeowners can schedule in-person or virtual assessments where Energy Specialists evaluate energy usage, identify inefficiencies, and provide personalized recommendations. These assessments often include the installation of energy-saving products at no cost.

• Rebates and Incentives: Mass Save offers substantial rebates for heat pump installations—up to $10,000 for whole-home systems and up to $16,000 for income-eligible customers.

• 0% Interest HEAT Loans: Through the HEAT Loan Program, homeowners may qualify for 0% financing up to $25,000 for energy-efficient upgrades, including heat pumps.

Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) is a regional nonprofit that works to accelerate energy efficiency in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

• Consumer Resources: Provides guides and tools to help homeowners understand and select appropriate heat pump systems for their needs.

• Cold Climate Air Source Heat Pump (ccASHP) Specification: Develops and maintains a product list to ensure consumers and contractors have access to high-performing heat pump models suitable for colder climates.

• Market Transformation Strategies: Collaborates with stakeholders to promote policies and programs that support the adoption of energy-efficient technologies.

  

Contractors Educating Homeowners

Arguably the most powerful teachable moment is the sales visit in a customer’s home. The contractor’s comfort advisor or salesperson has a prime opportunity to enlighten (or unfortunately, to confuse or mislead) the homeowner. 

Part of the solution is training contractors how to educate customers as part of their process. This benefits both the customer and the contractor. The customer gets a better understanding of their home and how the right equipment can maximize its performance. The contractor gets to sell on value rather than on price and avoid the “race to the bottom” trap: 

By educating the client, the contractor builds trust and often justifies a higher price because it comes with real solutions, not just swapping out like-for-like equipment. In doing so, he can sidestep the “race to the bottom” that plagues most legacy contractors.

Unfortunately, many contractors will decline to do this—opting instead for the easy, reliable path of swapping out like-for-like equipment, thus perpetuating the cycle of poor performance, continued fossil fuel use, and the “race to the bottom.”

But those that do will have a powerful lever to differentiate their businesses while shifting the conversation from cost to outcomes. This builds long-term customer loyalty and stronger word-of-mouth—an invaluable advantage in a commoditized industry that will also result in more high-performance, decarbonized homes. 

Consumer Education Solutions Summary

Educated customers are more likely to be satisfied customers, which means better word-of-mouth for heat pumps overall. Informed homeowners make smarter decisions, prioritize quality over price, and often become vocal ambassadors for the technology. 

Just as the EV adoption curve went through a period of misinformation, skepticism, and growing pains before reaching mainstream acceptance, heat pumps are on a similar path. The more we equip consumers with knowledge, the faster we move through that curve—turning early adopters into educators and accelerating the transition for everyone.

Solution: Training and Workforce Development

As we’ve discussed, one of the biggest obstacles to heat pump adoption is a shortage of contractors who are comfortable installing them. Even among experienced HVAC techs, many haven’t had the chance to get hands-on training with modern heat pump systems.

That’s a problem—not just because it slows adoption, but because a poorly installed heat pump can perform worse than a fossil fuel system. And when that happens, people talk. It erodes trust and reinforces outdated myths.

Fortunately, there are a slew of solutions coming from both inside and outside the industry.

Forge: Training The Next-Gen Heat Pump Pro

Some forward-thinking contractors are making training a core part of their company DNA. Forge, based outside Boston, is tackling the labor shortage head-on by recruiting young talent and training them quickly on heat pumps.

Forge is one of a number of young “heat pump concierge” companies (a business model we’ll discuss further in a bit) that aim to make transitioning to a heat pump an easy choice for homeowners. But Forge stands out—they’re vertically integrated and have built their own internal training academy with the express mission of expanding the skilled trades workforce.

The urgency is real. The average HVAC professional is 54 years old, and many are expected to retire within the next decade. There are simply not enough “bodies in trucks”—and there will be even fewer if nothing changes.

That’s why Forge is investing in the next generation. By focusing on bringing Gen Z into the trades, they’re not only bridging the heat pump knowledge gap that plagues legacy contractors, they’re also rebuilding the pipeline of skilled labor from the ground up:

Forge doesn’t charge for training, and aims to hire everyone who goes through their training program. The results speak for themselves: in just 18 months, this venture-backed startup went from zero to over 10 installation crews in Massachusetts, all while maintaining high quality results.

If that kind of rapid scaling sounds unusual in HVAC, that’s because it is. It’s the kind of growth typically associated with software startups, not construction companies.

Building Training Capacity Through Policy

As heat pump adoption surges, a nationwide public policy push is on to train an army of HVAC pros who can install and service these systems. From New England to the Pacific Northwest, initiatives are springing up to bridge the skills gap.

Efficiency Maine and the Rural Heat Pump Boom

Tiny Maine has become a big inspiration for heat pump adoption and a case study in how workforce development can keep up with policy ambition. Back in 2019, Maine set a goal of 100,000 new heat pump installations by 2025. Surprise: they hit the mark two years early, prompting Governor Janet Mills to up the target by another 175,000 heat pumps by 2027.

A flagship effort is the heat pump training lab at Kennebec Valley Community College, launched in 2021, which has already trained over 300 students in installation and maintenance. Meanwhile, Efficiency Maine – the quasi-state agency overseeing efficiency programs – has poured over $400,000 into heat pump and weatherization training at KVCC and supports 29 similar programs at other Maine institutions each year. 

The Governor’s Energy Office, through a Clean Energy Partnership, has also awarded nearly $5 million in grants for clean energy training since 2022, reaching 3,500+ participants statewide. This is all in service of Maine’s larger goal of training 30,000 clean energy workers by 2030.

Denver’s Building Decarbonization Program

In mid-2024, the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) won a $199 million EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant to fund a comprehensive building decarbonization program across the region. A big chunk of this grant will fuel coordinated initiatives that reduce building emissions, foster workforce development, and provide rebates for electric appliances like heat pumps and efficient water heaters. 

The program is projected to train over 4,800 workers in clean electrification trades – including upskilling 1,000 existing workers into new specialties. Additional resources include programs to scale small heat pump focused businesses and a “heat pump agent” program that will provide free administrative support to assist businesses in navigating rebates and other paperwork. 

Finally, DRCOG will support a number of equity-driven programs, including training currently incarcerated individuals with a pathway to direct placement post-incarceration, programs taught entirely in Spanish with placement in language-aligned firms and homes, and youth programs with afterschool mentorship opportunities. 

Oregon’s Energy Workforce Training Program

Out West, Oregon is tackling the talent gap head-on with a new $2 million Energy Workforce Training Program. Rolled out by the Oregon Department of Energy in late 2024, this initiative aims to prepare both new and existing tradespeople for the state’s aggressive building decarbonization goals – 500,000 heat pumps to be installed by 2030.

The program funds community colleges, technical high school programs, trade unions and more to provide training in four key areas: HVAC systems, home energy auditing, contractor business development, and efficient home upgrades. This training will help contractors properly size equipment and deliver quality installations.

New England Heat Pump Accelerator

Launched with a massive $450 million EPA grant in 2024, the New England Heat Pump Accelerator is a five-state coalition (MA, CT, RI, NH, ME) designed to “supercharge” the move from oil and gas furnaces to electric heat pumps. 

The program’s to-do list is ambitious: incentivize manufacturers to bulk up heat pump supply, help low- and middle-income households afford installations, and set up a central resource hub to share data and best practices in adoption and workforce training. Notably, at least 40% of the funding is earmarked for disadvantaged communities, including support for workforce training and community-based heat pump programs. 

Along with additional funds and workforce development programs from Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), the region is well-situated to make a sizeable dent in residential decarbonization over the next decade.

The Industry Is Stepping Up

As heat pump adoption gains ground, the HVAC industry is stepping up with better training, more peer support, and accessible education. A new wave of platforms and events is helping contractors stay ahead of the curve—not just technically, but also in how they run their businesses.

HVAC School has become a go-to resource for technicians nationwide. With a mix of podcasts, how-to videos, and hands-on content, it’s one of the few platforms offering free, practical education for working techs. The annual HVACR Training Symposium offers presentations on a number of topics in HVAC and building science, including an increasing number of heat pump-related discussions.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Heat Pump Summit, now in its third iteration, is creating space for contractors to learn from one another. The event offers both technical and business training in an environment focused specifically on heat pump adoption. Editor’s note: if you missed it, check out my interview with Brent Davidson, the founder of the Heat Pump Summit on the Heat Pumped Podcast!

Also contractor-focused, Amply Energy’s Heat Pump Podcast shares interviews with forward-thinking professionals across the country—from high-performance builders to small business owners. The podcast is a living library of best practices, hard-won lessons, and business models that work. 

A big component of these resources involves getting HVAC contractors up to speed on basic building science—an area historically siloed from the HVAC trades but increasingly essential to high-performance installations.

Workforce Solutions Summary

With more training programs, better resources, and community support, the contractor base can grow in both size and competence. The bottom line is that heat pumps should become a standard part of every HVAC professional’s skill set, not a niche specialty. 

This is part 3 in a series about accelerating heat pump adoption in America. If you missed the first and second issues, check them out. Thank you to Climate Drift for letting us share this piece with the Heat Pumped community!