Aspen City Council Member Ward Hauenstein Feeling the Heat 

CORE Rebates Are Hyper Local and Deeply Personal with Global Impact

Ward Hauenstein, Aspen City Council Member and former Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) board member lives in a house that was built in 1977 near Smuggler Mountain in Aspen, Colorado. It was always freezing inside, and comfort was elusive in his living room and kitchen.  

“We were wearing down parkas, stocking caps, and heated gloves before this project. It was really cold in here. But, you can’t type in heated gloves,” he said.  

Ward knew he had to find a better solution than the four electric baseboards that when cranked as high as possible in the winter still only brought the central room to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Enter a new heat pump system to heat the lower level of his home. Ward knew that CORE’s rebate program would offer him 50% of the cost of the project as long as the project was less than $15,000, which it was (CORE reimburses up to $7,500 for a 50% rebate). He had already had an energy assessment with CORE, which is a prerequisite for the rebate.

While Ward admits he can’t readily explain the exact mechanical details of how heat pumps work, he understands the central concepts, particularly that they save energy and are deeply efficient. He also did enough research that he was ready to trust the experts to make a positive change for his home and the environment. 

“Besides just wanting to be warm, I was motivated by the fact that this would emit less greenhouse gases than the baseboard which was inefficient,” he said. Ward had read a lot about heat pumps and advances in technology, especially relevant for high altitude and cold climates like Colorado.

CORE’s Energy Concierge, Tim, helped Ward navigate the installation process by putting Ward in touch with contractors that could get the job done.  

“It was such a transparent process and CORE helped me with some of the energy rating questions,” Ward said about the rebate application process. “We got half the money for the project back in rebates and when the contractors came in, they got it done in one day.”

Now Ward’s home is warmer. He said his wife’s new favorite spot is in front of the heater doing yoga. “Now I turn the heat down and the house is livable,” he said. “There’s heat where there wasn’t before. It’s so much more comfortable. We’re homebodies, so it’s so nice to have a warm house.”

Heat pumps (although the name can be misleading) can also be used as air conditioners, so they are a versatile solution for heating and cooling. As the temperatures in Colorado get hotter in the summer, heat pumps can cool air before it blows into your home.

“CORE has so much value in this community, more value than the community is aware of,”
he said. “I want CORE to be the first thought for anyone who wants to make an impact on greenhouse gasses.”

Learn more about CORE’s rebates for heating, cooling, programmable thermostats, appliances, air sealing and insulation, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, and more. We’d love to chat with you in person, too. Call Tim, our Energy Concierge, at 1-970-925-9775.