Why do so many people forget to check their utility's fuel mix before switching to heat pumps?

I live in Columbus, Ohio and last month I helped my neighbor pick out a heat pump. He was so excited about the rebate, but when I looked up our local utility, I found their electricity is still 60% coal. We calculated his actual emissions would be higher than his old gas furnace for the next 15 years, unless the grid cleans up faster. It seems like everyone talks about efficiency ratings but nobody mentions the source of the power. Has anyone else dealt with this mismatch between the hype and the real carbon math?

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the_diana4d ago

My buddy in Pittsburgh did the math after getting a heat pump and found his local grid was 70% natural gas, so his system was barely greener than his old boiler. He only figured it out when he got his first winter bill and started tracing the numbers on his own. I mean, it took him like three months of digging through state energy reports to get the real picture, which most people are never gonna do.