Heat Pumps and Solar in Cold Climates for WAP
Dates: October 21, 2025
Meets: Tu from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Location: Montana Weatherization Training Center – Bozeman
Cost: $300.00
Weatherization programs are mainly concerned with shell work on homes and making sure there is safe and adequate heat and acceptable indoor air quality. In cold climates, A/C was not a common installation in homes, and if it was installed, it was deemed unnecessary to install one with heat pump ability as it could only be used for a short time in the shoulder seasons. Weatherization clients in cold weather climates did not use heat pumps to heat their homes, and helping clients with cooling was not the program’s purpose. For this reason, A/C and heat pump installation have been completely ignored by most cold climate weatherization programs.
As technology marches forward, recent advances have made heat pump technology a viable solution to heating in cold climates. Additionally, due to increased temperatures in the summer and the increased frequency and severity of forest fires, there is a health and safety need to close homes in the summer and be able to cool them with A/C. There is also a steady movement by society to move away from fossil fuels and electrify homes. There are now several reasons for weatherization programs in cold climates to understand heat pump technology and how, when, and where it can be utilized as a heat and cooling source. This portion of the class will be an introduction to the topic with a focus on the basics of refrigeration, site assessment, and what types of systems could be utilized in cold climates. We will have a lab demonstration of several heat pump technologies.
Installing solar PV has not historically been part of WAP programs. Recent federal legislation is unleashing funding for solar panel installation on low-to-moderate-income homes, making much of this money accessible to the income population that WAP serves. There are many avenues by which this money could fall into the hands of weatherization programs, but one way or another, WAP clients will likely have solar panels installed at their homes and Weatherization personnel will be involved at some capacity. This class aims to introduce the topic of solar in WAP with a focus on the basics of solar panels, site assessment, obstacles to installation, and what types of systems can be installed. We will have a lab demonstration of a roof installed system.
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