NEEA and its partners recently launched a ductless heat pump pilot program to determine cost and energy savings potential of inverter driven ductless heat pumps in single family units across the region. While the regional savings potential is yet to be determined, Garrett's story provides a personal look at the benefits one customer is experiencing from her ductless heat pump.

For Dorothy Garrett teaching comes naturally. As an English language arts consultant for the Long Beach educational system for the majority of her professional life, she helped build curriculum and instruct educators on how to educate the masses. Garrett’s been retired for more than 25 years now, but that hasn’t stopped her from teaching herself and those around her—not on educational best practices, but rather on energy-efficient ones.

In November of 2007 Garrett was in her words, “tired of being cold.” Her single-floor, 1600 square-foot home had a radiant heating system, which employed ceiling heaters that restricted the flow of heat in her home. According to Garrett, she was perpetually cold and frustrated.

“I had ceiling heat, which was so inefficient,” Garrett said. “Anyone who has been to school knows that heat rises.”

The heat wasn’t the only thing that was rising. As energy demand and gas prices continued to increase, so were her electric bills. It wasn’t until her son encouraged her to install a ductless heat pump in late 2007 that this changed. Within days of speaking with her son, who owns three ductless heat pumps for his three-level house, Garrett was working with NEEA contractor and ductless heat pump advocate Jeff Pratt to purchase and install a ductless heat pump in her own home.

Since installing her ductless heat pump in November of 2007 not only has her monthly kilowatt hours (kwh) significantly decreased, but so has her electricity bills. Garrett knows this because she’s been documenting her monthly kwh and electricity costs since 2005. According to Garrett’s records, the results are staggering. In 2008 her kilowatt usage went down by 10,114 kwh from the previous year. In November 2007 alone, Garrett used 956 kwh less energy and saved $49.75 from November 2006.

According to Garrett, the economic incentive was huge, especially for someone who is retired and living on a tight budget. However, economic incentive wasn’t the primary source of her satisfaction with her ductless heat pump.

“Since I’ve had this my bills have gone down and for the first time I’ve been warm, and that’s the biggest thing for me.”

Garrett, has been impressed with her system’s ability to single-handedly heat her entire home as well as its aesthetics and low noise.

“[My unit] is extremely quiet,” Garrett said. “You can hear regular heat pumps all throughout the neighborhood and I don’t hear a thing from this one. I have not turned it off night or day since early December and it’s still going."

Since installing her system, Garrett has encouraged and helped her neighbor and three friends install ductless heat pump units in their homes. To her, ductless heat pumps represent progress.

“This is the world we now live in,” Garrett said. “When I was a child we didn’t have TVs and look how much they are a part of our lives now. This is a part of moving on, a good part.”