Tag: Carbon Reduction

ACRF Supporter Spotlight: Hansen Gress

Posted by on in Alaska Carbon Reduction Fund, heat pumps, Partnerships, renewable energyLeave a comment
Modern waterfront building with blue and gray exterior, situated on stilts above the water, surrounded by trees and residential homes on a hillside.
Hansen Gress ‘Harbor Lights’ Office Building

The Alaska Carbon Reduction Fund (ACRF) is excited to continue our ‘Supporter Spotlight’ series by introducing you to Hansen Gress, a Juneau-based Managed IT Services firm that proves “Trust your tech” can also mean trusting in a cleaner future. While their business focuses on keeping local infrastructure running smoothly, their commitment to the environment is baked into the very foundation of the company.

Sustainability in the DNA

For Hansen Gress, environmental stewardship isn’t a recent trend; it’s part of their DNA. Over a decade ago, the company’s forward-thinking approach was featured as a case study in “The Green Gazelle,” a Leeds Beckett University doctoral research project. The study highlighted Hansen Gress as an example of a company that prioritizes measurable stewardship even while scaling its operations. Today, that philosophy continues to guide their culture. “Success isn’t just about what you accomplish, but the positive impact you create along the way,” is a core principle for the team.

Leading by Example: The Harbor Lights Building Remodel

Hansen Gress walks the talk when it comes to infrastructure. The company recently completed a massive, three-year full remodel of their 1960s-era building overlooking Harris Harbor. This wasn’t just a face-lift; it was a total energy transformation:

  • Decarbonization: They removed all petroleum-based heating systems.
  • Electrification: They installed high-efficiency air source heat pumps and modern infrared heating.
  • Efficiency: The team added modern windows, updated insulation, and installed LED lighting throughout the facility to slash energy demand.
Illustration of an air source heat pump system, featuring an outdoor unit, indoor unit, radiator, and components for hot water and underfloor heating within a stylized house.
Getty Images

Driving the Change

The company is also a leader in the transition to electric transportation. Hansen Gress maintains 3 EVs for staff use and their total fleet logs an impressive 120,000 EV miles annually. To help their team make the switch at home, they offer a $2,000 credit for personal EV purchases and provide free charging at the office.

Thinking Locally, Acting Locally

Hansen Gress has a long track record of carbon responsibility, having offset over 550mT in recent years. For 2025, they reached a major milestone by shifting their strategy to support local projects. By purchasing 98 tons of carbon reduction specifically through the Alaska Carbon Reduction Fund, Hansen Gress ensures their environmental investment stays right here in Southeast Alaska. This 98-ton offset covers the entirety of their carbon footprint—including building operations, company electric vehicle use, employee household offsets, and inventory shipping—rendering the company carbon negative for the year.

“Hansen Gress EV cars in Juneau run on clean hydro,” the company notes, highlighting the synergy between local energy and global responsibility.

A Legacy of Stewardship

The company’s impact is visible in other ways, too. Over the last 20 years, they have diverted an estimated 100,000 pounds of e-waste from the landfill. By managing the technology lifecycle and extending the use of hardware, they keep heavy metals and plastics out of our local environment. ACRF is incredibly grateful for Hansen Gress’s partnership. Their support is a direct catalyst for our primary goal: lowering heating costs and increasing the use of clean energy in Southeast Alaska’s lower-income homes.

A collage of various organizational logos including Allen Marine Tours, Kensington Mine, Carnival, Chichagof Conservation Council, and others, representing different companies and foundations.

High Heat Pump Price Tag? AHS Assistance is Here!

Posted by on in financing, heat pumps, Partnerships, Programs, renewable energy1 Comment
A man standing next to a daikin heat pump, giving a thumbs up and holding an Alaska Carbon Reduction Fund sign.

Do you live in southern coastal Alaska? Have you been dreaming of cutting your heating bills  with a heat pump? If so, keep reading to learn about two programs that can help you finance heat pump equipment and cover installation costs. 

In order to encourage residential heat pump adoption, Alaska Heat Smart (AHS) and Southeast Conference (SEC) are offering the Accelerating Clean Energy Savings (ACES) heat pump incentive program. ACES, a 5-year, $39M program, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, is available to homeowners and renters in coastal communities from Metlakatla to Kodiak. ACES has a goal of installing 6,000 heat pumps, has no income cap, and offers reimbursement incentives of $4,000, $6,000, and $8,500 to qualifying fossil fuel or wood-heated homes. ACES has facilitated 64 heat pump installations to date with many more in progress! You can learn more about the ACES program here and find a list of eligible communities here.

In order to further support residential heat pump installation, AHS and SEC have partnered with True North Federal Credit Union (TNFCU) to offer low interest heat pump loans to homeowners and renters located within the ACES program region. Applicants can qualify for a loan up to $20,000 with interest rates as low as 4%. In a nutshell, the interest paid on this loan will likely be less than the heating bill savings realized by utilizing the loan for the purchase and installation of a heat pump. This unique loan program can help homeowners begin saving money as soon as their heat pump has been installed! 

One of the requirements for both the ACES program and the TNFCU heat pump loan is a ‘Home Energy Assessment’ from AHS. The AHS Home Energy Assessment Program offers in-person and virtual assessments to provide informative home energy consultations  for a deeper understanding of a home and its energy needs. After an assessment is complete, homeowners are provided with a detailed report that outlines options about which heat pump will work best, estimated installation costs, estimated annual savings, as well as answers to other energy questions. 

The combination of these two programs can help make the upfront costs of heat pump installations less daunting, allowing you to quickly see significant annual heating cost savings. Cut your energy costs and help us reach our goal of 6,000 heat pump installations in coastal Alaskan communities by applying to the ACES program today! 

Logos of Alaska Heat Smart, Southeast Conference, and True North Federal Credit Union displayed together.

This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement #84101201 to Southeast Conference (SEC). The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does the EPA endorse trade names or recommend the use of commercial products mentioned in this document.

ACRF Success Story

Posted by on in Alaska Carbon Reduction Fund, heat pumps, Programs, renewable energyLeave a comment
A side view of a trailer home with an air source heat pump installed, surrounded by a grassy area and trees in the background.

Who doesn’t love a success story? Read on for the good news! In short, this new happy heat pump owner may hold the new record for heat pump energy cost savings, seeing her heating bills drop by 85% with the addition of a heat pump and weatherization improvements!

The Alaska Carbon Reduction Fund (ACRF) is a program that installs single head air source heat pumps in the homes of lower income family that rely on fossil fuels or wood for heat. ACRF aims to lower heating bills and increase the use of clean heating systems in Southeast Alaska. To date, the program has facilitated the installation of 63 heat pumps in low income homes in Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Angoon, eliminating nearly 28,800 annual gallons of oil and helping lower home heating costs for these families.

Alaska Heat Smart (AHS) manages ACRF and recently performed a follow-up survey with 2023 ACRF heat pump recipient Wanda Culp. Wanda’s trailer home had an oil furnace as its primary heating system when she moved in. With the opportunity to participate in ACRF, Wanda was excited to transition from an oil furnace to a heat pump. Before moving to Juneau, Wanda lived in Hoonah, where energy costs are quite high – wood was her primary heat source. Today, Wanda is very thankful to have the heat pump in her Juneau home. She no longer has to deal with the physical burdens of heating with wood and she happily shared that the heat pump has exceeded her expectations. 

“The heat pump is just a pleasure,” Wanda recently told AHS staff. 

In 2024, Wanda took further steps to increase her home’s energy efficiency and had her home winterized. Impactful changes included a new insulated roof and new exterior skirting and siding repair. The heat pump, coupled with weatherization efforts, work together to make dramatic cost savings possible.

Before the installation of the heat pump, Wanda was spending $2,600 on home heating each year and burning roughly 530 gallons of oil. She now heats solely with the heat pump and no longer uses the furnace, slashing her annual heating bills down to $386 — an 85% decrease in her heating costs! 

“Wanda’s home is a fantastic example of the difference that home energy efficiency efforts can make in a person’s life,” said Alaska Heat Smart’s Bob Deering.

As ACRF continues to install heat pumps in low income households, we hope to see many more positive stories like Wanda’s! 

Your Support Needed

With federal funding uncertainty still the ‘new norm’, privately-funded programs like ACRF are critical in serving families in need in Southeast Alaska. Support for ACRF is more important now than ever! Upfront costs for a homeowner to take advantage of locally-produced and often inexpensive hydropower can be prohibitive. Homeowner support from projects like ACRF is often the only way that families with the highest energy burdens can reduce their costs. ACRF needs your support and there are many ways to offer it! Subscribe and take responsibility for your carbon! Tell your neighbors so they can give or subscribe. Know a family struggling to pay their heating oil bills? Send them to our application page. Know a business owner who currently carbon offsets ‘outside’ and could be keeping their responsible dollars working in southeast Alaska? Point them to our supporting partners page! Below are the logos of our invaluable business partners!

Logos of various organizations supporting the Alaska Carbon Reduction Fund, promoting clean heating and energy efficiency in Southeast Alaska.