Mission

Alaska Heat Smart (AHS) grew from several related efforts that came together in 2019. In 2015 the Juneau Commission on Sustainability began developing the Juneau Renewable Energy Strategy to help implement the City and Borough of Juneau’s (CBJ) 2011 climate action plan. One of its major recommendations was to replace oil with electricity for heating. In 2016, local nonprofit Renewable Juneau formed and began educating the community about air-source heat pumps.  

These groups banded together in 2017 joining Alaska Electric Light & Power (AEL&P), area builders, and community climate action groups through the Juneau Economic Development Council ‘Renewable Energy Cluster’ working group to explore opportunities to advance the electrification of home heating.

This collaboration benefited from the assistance of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) in evaluating approaches that had worked elsewhere. It also benefited from the experience of participants in a Rocky Mountain Institute ‘e-lab accelerator’ during the spring of 2018 that AEL&P organized.   

The working group identified three major barriers standing between Juneau homeowners and heat pumps: a lack of reliable information; high upfront costs; and a limited contractor pool.

AHS was founded in 2019 to tackle these issues. With 2020 seed funding from the CBJ, AHS started providing independent, no-cost home energy advice so homeowners could evaluate heat pumps with confidence and compare contractor bids. From there, AHS initiated a low-interest financing program for heat pumps with True North Federal Credit Union and partnered with Cold Climate Housing Research Center, National Lab of the Rockies, Environmental and Energy Study Institute, and Rocky Mountain Institute to obtain DOE funding for the ‘Thermalize Juneau‘ discount heat pump purchase program. AHS also assisted in implementing Renewable Juneau’s Carbon Offset Fund (now the Alaska Carbon Reduction Fund), which raises private donations to install heat pumps in lower-income homes. AHS obtained funding for its first lower-income household heat pump rebates through a Congressional Directed Spending grant in 2022.  

Today, that same partnership-driven approach continues to grow with reliable home energy advice, financing and incentives, contractor development, and diverse programs that reach beyond Juneau. What hasn’t changed is the goal of helping Alaska communities address pressing issues of affordability while capturing the savings, comfort, and climate benefits of efficient, electric-heated homes.