So when she set out to replace a gas furnace with a heat pump in her Denver home, she took her time to find the right person for the job, including hours of internet research and requesting bids. The five contractors ultimately delivered five “wildly different” bids.
“They ranged from absolutely clueless to really knowing their stuff,” says Cary. “There was no correlation between price and how good they were.”
Home upgrades are rarely easy, but home electrification projects present a novel challenge. The technology inside modern appliances such as heat pumps, water heaters, induction stoves and EV chargers advances quickly. Devices may talk to the electrical grid and each other. Not everyone is prepared to treat the home as a digital, interconnected system, especially for homes that were designed for the fossil-fuel era.
But contractors must if the United States is going to reach its climate goals. Efficiency retrofits, including installing millions of electric heat pumps for space heating and water heating, are one of the linchpins to reach net zero by 2050, according to an analysis by Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental nonprofit.
“Things are getting more complicated,” says Stephen Yurek, president and CEO of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, another trade association. “But a lot of guys just wanted to work with their hands. Now you’ve got to be an IT specialist.”
Whether you’re installing an induction stove, solar panels or a heat pump, I asked more than a dozen experts and contractors about how to avoid an electrification contractor debacle.
Here are the questions you should be asking.
What’s the state of your home?
For a few hundred dollars, a technician can identify leaks and give you a road map of how to make your home more efficient and comfortable. An energy audit may be a tough sell, but it could be the best money you spend, by saving you thousands of dollars down the line. You also get a tax credit. Or you can DIY audit as well.
“A leaky house is like a leaky boat,” says Nate Adams, a home performance expert. “You need to fix the leaks. You can go fairly far and make no difference at all. It’s still sinking.”
For Cary, the energy audit convinced her to hire a handyman to close up poorly sealed corners in her Denver house without which her new HVAC system would have been needlessly working overtime.
1/2
What do you want to electrify?
With a road map from the energy audit in hand, figure out the home electrification projects you want to do. You don’t need a professional for this, says Edward Louie, an energy efficiency engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: “No contractor knows your home and all the pain points as well as you do because they don’t live in it.” Doing this before something breaks — unlike the vast majority of appliance upgrades — is essential.
I decided to install an induction stove, EV charger, heat pump, water heater and a new electrical panel in my house. By ensuring they were in the right order, I’ve been able to save money (and headaches). By rewiring the house for all future appliances, not just what I needed that year, it eliminated the need to call back an electrician.
You can get a personalized decarbonization plan at Rewiring America’s electrification planner, then drill deeper with RMI’s green upgrade calculator to estimate lifetime costs, savings and climate impact based on your Zip code and home.
Now you’re ready to call a contractor.
Do you need a second opinion?
I like researching the latest home electrification technologies — but independent professional advice can be invaluable, especially for more complex jobs.
An engineering professional can give you a clear set of recommendations about the right equipment and wiring for your project, says Patrick Kitto, a civil engineer who has worked with general contractors.
“A design professional, usually a mechanical or electrical engineer, prides themself on knowing everything that’s out there and they’ll pick what’s best for you,” says Kitto. “And as soon as a contractor has some degree of oversight and accountability built in, they’re going to treat you differently.”
While the $2,000 to $5,000 price tag for this plan is a hard sell for some, it can more than pay for itself in equipment and energy efficiency savings.
Will the contractor give you options?
Many contractors will push to simply swap out an old system with a similar one because that’s what they know. “The most dangerous line in the English language is: ‘We’ve always done it this way,’” says Adams.
While that’s not always wrong, it’s often out of laziness or unfamiliarity with today’s technology. For example, homeowners are often told that heat pumps don’t work in cold climates. That’s a myth derived from the limitations of models from the 1970s. Today’s technology will continue working down to minus-25 degrees, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
“The state of the art is that there are electric solutions for all homes in all parts of the country today,” says Cooper Marcus, CEO of QuitCarbon, a company helping homeowners electrify their homes and connect with vetted contractors. “The right contractor will say, ‘Absolutely, yes, we can find a solution for your home that is electric.’ The wrong contractor will hem and haw, and say, ‘I may not find an electric solution.’”
Be wary, too, of contractors who say yes to what you want too quickly. For the last two years, Philipp Krinner, the founder of Arch, a start-up helping home electrification contractors, has been riding along with HVAC installers during house calls from coast to coast. Some installed whatever models homeowners requested, preferring to close a deal, even though they knew better options existed.
“Don’t take yes for an answer,” Krinner advises. “An experienced contractor won’t just push back, but explain why another solution is better. They have strong opinions but loosely held.”
To do that, you’ll have to do some research yourself. After scouring the internet, Cary could ask bidding contractors detailed questions. She settled on the one who could best explain the technology and the rebates, and had personal experience installing the systems. Here’s a guide to asking the right HVAC questions.
How can you tell if your contractor is qualified?
Licensing requirements vary by state — if they exist at all. Electricians and plumbers may have to pass rigorous testing, but for HVAC installation “it’s the wild west,” says Barton James, CEO of Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), an industry association that estimates only 17 states have licensing requirements. “Sadly, most of those are more a tax than a test of competency.”
What you can do to protect yourself? Find lists of contractors verified by third parties. State and local governments, as well as appliance manufacturers, offer vetted lists by region. National lists such as EPA-recognized contractor directories, testing organizations such as North American Technician Excellence and industry trade associations such as ACCA provide other options.
Credentials and certifications are also widely available for contractors who want to specialize and build their skills. Some may have engineering degrees, or pass tests.
Not having those credentials doesn’t mean contractors are necessarily unskilled. Many gain expertise and experience on the job and through formal apprenticeships. But for big projects, the real test is speaking with recent clients and seeing active projects, says Jeff Thorman, a general contractor with more than 25 years of experience, and host of the popular YouTube show Home RenoVision DIY.
“I teach people: Go and visit them on their current worksite,” he says, since you’re more likely to get an honest review, and issues with their work should become more evident. “If a guy won’t let you visit them on their current site and let you talk to their homeowner, that’s all you need to know right there.”
Does managing a project sound like too much work?
Many contractors may only work on electrical systems. Others may only do heating and cooling. That means several contractors may be needed to finish the job.
If managing a project like this feels overwhelming, consider one of the many one-stop electrification shops popping up across the United States. Each one is different, but they act as general contractors who can analyze a home, draft a custom electrification plan, offer guidance on equipment and costs, and find or facilitate contractors to execute it. Some even manage rebates and financing.
Elephant Energy, BlocPower, Sealed, QuitCarbon and Zero are among them, although each typically operates in specific regions of the country.
In Cary’s case, she did all the heavy lifting — and it paid off in a well-running heating and cooling system. “There’s been no problems whatsoever,” she said.
