Heat pumps in Alaska
Alaska heats with oil and natural gas almost universally, and heat pumps are close to unheard-of as a primary system — though that is starting to shift in the milder southeast, where Juneau and Sitka have been installing them for years. Anchorage, the reference city here, averages an 8°F low in the coldest month.
Heat pump adoption
EIA RECS 2020 microdata ↗0.2% of Alaska homes use a heat pump as their main heat
Goal: every home
Central heat pumps and ductless mini-splits combined, counted as the home's main heating equipment. The survey reached few homes in this state, so treat this figure as approximate.
Episodes
Recorded in Alaska
Homeowners and contractors in AK, in their own words.
Money and next steps
What Alaska pays toward one
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation
AHFC runs the state's home energy rebate and weatherisation programmes, and its energy rating system is the standard reference for Alaskan housing.
Program details →Federal Home Energy Rebates
The IRA rebate programs (HEAR and HOMES) survived the 2025 tax changes — they were grants to states, not tax credits. Each state runs its own, and they are at different stages: some open, some already out of money, some yet to launch. Check where Alaska stands before you count on it.
Program details →
The federal 25C tax credit — 30% back, up to $2,000 on a heat pump — ended for systems placed in service after 31 December 2025. If you had one installed in 2025 or earlier you can still claim it; there is no successor credit. Incentives move fast, so check DSIRE for what is current in Alaska. Last checked September 2026.
Ready to get quotes?
Tell us about your home and we'll connect you with installers who work in Alaska — and who we'd let near our own houses.
The numbers
What a heat pump here has to cover
8°F
Coldest month average low
Anchorage · NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68°F
Warmest month average high
Anchorage · NOAA 1991–2020 normals
Winters here are genuinely severe, and that is the whole ballgame. A cold-climate heat pump is rated to hold useful output well below zero, but the rating only matters if the unit was picked for it. Ask any installer what happens on the coldest night of the year, and what the backup is when it arrives.