For many sellers, installing a heat pump is the easiest and most efficient way to earn all six credits in one fell swoop, while also significantly increasing the appeal of the property, notes Grimsich, CEO of 1-888-Heat-Pumps<\/a>.<\/p>\n The City Council approved the new, first-of-its-kind<\/a> efficiency requirements in April to help Berkeley meet its ambitious climate goal of an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, from 2000 levels, by 2050.\u00a0 Under the previous rules, sellers were only required to complete a home energy assessment before listing a property for sale.<\/p>\n \u201cBerkeley continues to innovate and lead the way for the rest of the country with climate-first policies like this,\u201d said Grimsich, a Berkeley High grad, with a palpable sense of hometown pride.<\/p>\n The six-credit standard<\/p>\n Sellers can earn the required six credits to meet the city\u2019s resilience standard by completing various upgrades from a list of about 20<\/a>. Smaller upgrades, like adding floor insulation or replacing single-pane windows, can earn anywhere from one to four credits.\u00a0<\/p>\n But for many sellers, the most efficient route to compliance may be the installation of a heat pump HVAC or water-heater system, both of which fulfill the full six-credit requirement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a lot of pre-listing panic,\u201d Grimsich said. \u201cSellers are realizing that instead of cobbling together their resilience credits with a bunch of small repairs, they can swap out an aging gas furnace for a heat pump and be done with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n And once they see the return on investment, \u201cthey\u2019re sold,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n Grimsich founded the company<\/a> three years ago and has since installed heat pumps for more than 500 homeowners throughout the East Bay. His 14-member crew of installers was recently profiled by NBC Bay Area<\/a> for its role in jump-starting the \u201ctool-belt generation<\/a>\u201d \u2014 referring to young workers who opt to go into the trades.\u00a0<\/p>\n Heat pumps add to home value<\/p>\n A 2020 study<\/a> of homes across 23 U.S. states found that installing a heat pump HVAC system can add up to $17,000 to a home\u2019s sale price. What makes them so attractive to buyers is their efficiency: Unlike traditional gas or electric furnaces, heat pumps transfer heat rather than generating it, which is usually a far more efficient process that can immediately cut home energy use<\/a> by up to 50%.<\/p>\n Beyond the energy savings, heat pumps also offer a significant lifestyle benefit that helps properties stand out: air conditioning. Because heat pumps can operate in reverse, they provide high-efficiency cooling during the region\u2019s increasingly frequent heatwaves \u2014 a luxury most older Berkeley homes lack.<\/p>\n \u201cA heat pump isn\u2019t just a compliance checkmark\u00a0\u2014 it\u2019s a major comfort upgrade,\u201d Grimsich said. \u201cIn this market, a home with modern climate control is far more attractive than one with a 30-year-old gas furnace.\u201d<\/p>\n A sound investment<\/p>\n He notes that the push for heat pumps isn\u2019t just about local compliance. It comes as the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is preparing to phase out the sale of gas-powered water heaters, which produce smog-forming nitrogen-oxide pollution, by 2027. Anticipating a surge in demand, 1-888-Heat-Pumps recently expanded its installation services to include heat-pump water heaters.<\/p>\n \u201cBerkeley is just the first domino,\u201d Grimsich said. \u201cBy switching to a heat pump now, you\u2019re not just hitting your six credits \u2014 you\u2019re future-proofing your home against regional bans that are right around the corner.\u201d<\/p>\n Grimsich says it\u2019s gratifying to see municipal and regional policymakers affirm the value of this technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHeat pumps are the future,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful to be able to serve the Berkeley community by helping people save money while being kind to the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n “*” indicates required fields<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been a busy start of the year for Owen Grimsich\u2019s heat pump-installation company in Berkeley.\u00a0 That\u2019s in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[82455,387,143,145,144,17018],"class_list":["post-172209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-1-888-heat-pumps","tag-business","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-sponsored"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/heat-pump-installation.jpeg\")
Auston Bera, at left, and Tenzin Thaplay of 1-888-Heat-Pumps prepare to install a heat pump. Courtesy of 1-888-Heat-Pumps<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4490400888192824613.jpeg\")
The 1-888-Heat-Pumps team took a break from volunteer clean-up work at Berkeley\u2019s Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park to pose with Mayor Adena Ishii. Courtesy of 1-888-Heat-Pumps<\/p>\n