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Committee plans heat-pump outreach after Nextdoor pushback; member cites $7,500 case study
Summary
A committee member presented a heat-pump water-heater case study that cost about $7,500; members discussed rebates, messaging for skeptical audiences on Nextdoor, an Acterra webinar and using the town newsletter and website to track engagement.
A presenter at the Los Altos Hills EIC outlined outreach plans to promote heat-pump water heaters and other electrification measures, stressing practical case studies and clear numbers to counter skepticism in local forums.
Speaker 3 described a turnkey installation completed through a contractor (Emerald Eco) and said, “I paid $7,500” for the heat-pump water-heater work; they said available rebates from Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) and local city programs—along with occasional state incentives—previously reduced net costs by several thousand dollars. Speaker 3 urged the committee to emphasize real homeowner examples rather than debating cost on Nextdoor, where some posts claimed conversions cost “two to three times” more.
Committee members pressed for concrete numbers to post when engaging skeptical audiences. Speaker 2 said, “We need numbers there,” and requested links to PG&E and SVCE reports; Speaker 4 later confirmed they had emailed links to relevant utility and rebate guidance. Speaker 3 and others noted that rebate levels and tax incentives have shifted over time, so outreach should present current net-cost estimates and explain differences for households with solar or electric vehicles.
On logistics, the committee agreed to place short explainers in the weekly town email and on a new website; staff (speaker 6) said click tracking and simple A/B testing are feasible to determine which messages perform better. The group also agreed to promote an Acterra webinar on heat pumps, where Speaker 3 will give a brief case-study presentation, and to use newsletter links to measure engagement.
Next steps: Speaker 3 will finalize slides for the Acterra webinar and provide a concise write-up of the case-study numbers for the committee’s newsletter and Nextdoor outreach; staff will coordinate click tracking and report back on performance metrics.
