We installed heat pumps over 7 years ago and our oil burner back-up has  gone on less than five times total over that timespan. On the coldest cloudy days, we do burn a small amount of wood (1/4 to 1/2 of a cord) in a fireplace insert. We love the clean and comfortable heat, and that we also have cooling on the increasing number of hot and humid days.

We built a net zero house in 2008 and opted for a ground source heat pump. This is a different system than many homes who opt to retrofit and install a heat pump. The big advantage over an air-to-air heat pump is that it provides heat no matter how cold outdoor temperatures get--it draws heat from water in a deep well, which has a constant temperature. The big disadvantage is that our system does not provide air conditioning. It has functioned perfectly for 16 years and provides even heat at much lower cost than a fossil fuel system--most of the energy is produced from our own solar panels, and the system is emissions-free.

We would never go back to our old internal combustion engine car! We have been driving electric since 2015 and exclusively electric since 2021. In that time access to charging stations has improved a great deal. The networks are expanding more rapidly now, and soon most new cars will have access to the extensive Tesla Supercharger network. EVs are fun to drive, very quiet, almost maintenance-free, and low cost to fuel. The manufacturing of EVs does create more emissions than the manufacture of traditional vehicles, but in about two years of operation the extra emissions caused by EV manufacture (mostly the battery) are outweighed by the totally emissions-free operation.

We love our net zero, super insulated, solar powered house! The extra expense for the solar and weatherization measures added less than 10% to the construction cost, and we estimate that this premium was paid off in about 12 years through vastly reduced operating costs. It is an all-electric, grid-connected house, and the cost of the energy needed to run the home is very modest--mostly connection fees to the local utility. The extra insulation, high quality windows, and lack of noisy appliances make this a very quiet home.

We replaced our oil furnace water heater (heats the house and water) with a Bradford White heat pump water heater for our 6 bedroom B&B. It has saved us $$ on oil and, along with other steps, (adding 2 mini split heat pumps) resulted in 50% reduction in oil usage over the last year.