South Burlington, VT – VGS today announced it is launching a new program to install highly-efficient electric heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) beginning in 2022, expanding thermal options for Vermonters who want to reduce their carbon footprint. The launch is part of VGS’s continued effort to align its product offerings with the needs of customers and emerging statewide energy policy, including the Vermont Climate Council’s recently released Climate Action Plan, which identifies HPWHs as a top strategy to achieve Vermont’s legal requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“At VGS, our goal is to help current and future customers identify the most energy efficient heating systems for their homes,” said Ashley Wainer, Vice President of Customer & Energy Innovation for VGS. “As the Climate Council has made clear, transitioning to more efficient and lower carbon technologies like HPWHs is a key pathway to achieve the state’s energy goals and cut greenhouse gas emissions. HPWHs are an efficient solution to heat water that can be installed in place of an existing gas, oil, propane, or electric appliances. VGS is embracing this innovation, and our well-trained workforce of experienced technicians stands ready to help Vermonters install HPWHs in their homes.”VGS has decades of experience installing gas-powered water heating appliances. As part of its ongoing effort to increase energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions, VGS will offer HPWHs as a lower carbon alternative to its 55,000 customers in Northwest Vermont and to qualifying neighboring households.

At scale, HPWHs provide a significant net benefit of carbon emissions reduction. Modeling used by the Vermont Climate Council estimated approximately 5,000 HPWHs had been installed in Vermont as of their baseline year for analysis. The model further identified approximately 136,000 HPWHs need to be installed by 2030 to keep pace with the state’s targets. VGS is poised to offer its expertise in rental, sales, installation, and service of water heating equipment, which will help promote HPWH adoption at the scale needed to reach the state’s goals.

“Many of our customers are looking to permanently shrink their carbon footprint,” said Richard Donnelly, Director of Energy Innovation for VGS. “HPWHs represent a clear choice when it comes to carbon reduction. On top of that, they are state-of-the-art, extraordinarily efficient, and web-enabled for user controls and alerts.”

VGS will incorporate the generous rebates for HPWHs available from Efficiency Vermont and electric utilities into their sales and leasing prices. Vermonters can learn more by emailing [email protected].

VGS serves more than 55,000 families and businesses in Franklin, Chittenden, and Addison counties. In 2019, VGS launched a Climate Plan to get to NetZero by 2050, with an immediate goal of reducing emissions for its customers in line with Vermont’s ambitious Global Warming Solutions Act targets over the next decade. Expanding energy efficiency offerings is one of the pathways to achieve these milestones, and VGS is making major strides as it helps customers decarbonize.