Logo courtesy of Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) – Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and its customers have achieved a major clean-energy milestone for the Sacramento region.

Through SMUD’s Advanced Home Solutions program, more than 20,000 gas-fired space and water heating systems were replaced with high-efficiency electric heat pumps. These upgrades are equivalent to converting 10,000 homes to all-electric living and cutting 20,000 tons of carbon emissions each year, the same as taking 8,000 gas-powered cars off local roads.

Households that switched from gas to electric using heat pump technology are saving an average of $500 per year on utility bills. Together, customers are keeping a total of $5 million annually in their pockets.

"Once my old gas water heater started having issues, I decided to take advantage of SMUD’s rebate for a heat pump," said SMUD customer George El-Chemali. "Switching over has been nothing but amazing; it works better, it’s more affordable and it feels good knowing the change is better for the environment."

More families are discovering that heat pumps can heat and cool their homes more affordably while helping keep the air cleaner, according to SMUD Distributed Energy Solutions director Rachel Huang.

"SMUD continues to show that clean energy isn't just good for the environment; it's good for family budgets, too,” Huang said.

Heat pumps work like a two-way air conditioner, heating in the winter and cooling in the summer, powered by electricity instead of gas. Heat-pump water heaters use the same technology to deliver hot water while using up to 80-percent less energy than traditional models.

SMUD offers rebates to help more customers make the switch to heat pump technologies, including up to $2,500 rebate for a heat pump HVAC system and up to $3,000 rebate for a heat-pump water heater. These rebates can be combined with federal tax credits of up to $2,000, (expiring Dec. 31,) as well as state and federal incentives.

Beyond heat pumps, SMUD offers rebates for induction cooktops and home EV charging. So far, residential customers have installed 8,000-plus chargers and 2,300-plus induction cooktops with SMUD support.

For more information, visit smud.org/GoElectric.