Whether it’s a lack of air conditioning in the summer, or a failing furnace for heat in the winter, there’s a solution that covers both, and it has a low impact on the environment — heat pumps.
In just a short time, Berkeley-based Yellowjacket HVAC has made a name for itself by displaying an intimate understanding of the evolving heating and cooling needs of local homeowners. It helps that co-founders Owen Grimsich, Andrei Smith and Tenzin Soepa are longtime East Bay residents, having graduated from Berkeley High. (The company’s name is a nod to the school’s Yellowjacket mascot. Grimsich, the CEO, has also served as head coach for the school’s junior varsity football team.)
HVAC (short for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) encompasses numerous building functions and technologies. But Yellowjacket has carved out a niche focusing on just one heating and cooling technology that’s quickly catching on.
“Our mission is to change every single Bay Area home’s gas furnace into a heat pump,” Grimsich said. “We work to create the most enjoyable transition possible for local homeowners as they electrify their homes with heat pumps.”
Highly efficient at heating and cooling indoor spaces, heat pumps are considered a critical technology for reducing global carbon emissions. Like air conditioners, heat pumps make use of a vapor-compression refrigeration system to extract heat from an environment and transfer it somewhere it’s desired. In fact, in cooling mode, a reversible heat pump functions identically to an air conditioner, transferring heat from inside a warm home to the outside air.
But unlike traditional air conditioners, heat pumps can also heat a home by extracting and transferring heat from outdoor air — even in cold conditions.
The key difference between heat pumps and gas or electric furnaces is that heat pumps move heat, rather than generating it. Because it takes less work to transfer heat than to create it, heat pumps are far more efficient than traditional furnaces in most conditions. Today’s heat pumps can move up to 5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of thermal energy while expending just 1 kWh of electrical energy.
And that’s a big plus, because Californians pay some of the highest utility rates in the United States.
“It’s a win-win, because not only is the homeowner going to have a more efficient system for their home electricity bills, but also it helps the planet,” Grimsich said.
Inspired by family and friends
Grimsich, Smith and Soepa founded Yellowjacket just over a year ago. In that short time, Yellowjacket has already completed more than 50 heat pump installations in the East Bay.
The company’s rapid growth is especially impressive given that prior to founding Yellowjacket, Grimsich had no direct experience in the field. Rather, he spent the better part of a decade teaching math in Ecuador before deciding he needed a change of pace. He had been hearing about heat pumps and their positive impact on the environment and felt like he had found his purpose. When a good friend, Kye Moffat, who was a passionate advocate for the environment, died in an accident in 2022, Grimsich felt like starting this company was a way “to carry that torch.”
Starting a heat pump installation business also offered a chance for Grimsich to carry on a family tradition of trades work. His father, John, owned and operated a general contractor business for 40 years.
“He’s been a huge mentor and a huge help in being able to open up these homes surgically and get line sets and things like that where they need to go,” the younger Grimsich said of his father.
Grimsich also gave a lot of credit to his wife, Daniela, whom he met in Ecuador. She serves as Yellowjacket’s director of marketing.
“Daniela has been a backbone and pillar of this whole company,” Grimsich said. “Without her belief in me and in the company, and without her amazing marketing skills, we would not be where we’re at today.”
Grimsich also praised his installers, Mike Trapani, Drake Curtzweiler and Jaxon Bera for their contribution to Yellowjacket’s success. “Mike, Drake and Jaxon are, hands down, the most likable human beings on this planet, and they will provide the highest quality service anybody has ever got in construction,” he said.
A choice of three heating systems
As installers, Yellowjacket works primarily with three kinds of systems. Ducted and ductless systems from Fujitsu connect either to a home’s existing ductwork or can be hung on the wall like a television. These can, in most cases, replace an existing central HVAC system with little-to-no retrofitting. These systems make up Yellowjacket’s “bread and butter,” Grimsich said.
For customers looking for something on the cutting edge, technologically, Yellowjacket also installs combination heat pump-water tank systems manufactured by Kensington-based Harvest Thermal. The water tank functions as a thermal battery, storing up energy during the day, when electricity is cheaper. That energy can then be “harvested” in the form of hot water or heat as the occupant desires. According to Harvest’s website, their thermal battery solution can reduce up to 90% of emissions associated with residential heating and hot water and can save homeowners up to 30% on their energy bills.
Additionally, Yellowjacket recently signed an agreement to become one of just two installers at launch for an innovative new system designed by Los Altos-based Quilt. Consisting of attractive wall-mounted units installed throughout the home, Quilt’s systems offer occupants room-by-room climate control, making for both improved comfort and greater energy efficiency.
Homeowners who install a heat pump system can expect to see benefits immediately in the form of a roughly 30-50% reduction in their home energy use, not to mention the satisfaction of knowing they are reducing their carbon footprint. Federal tax credits can shave up to $2,000 off the cost of installing heat pump systems that meet certain efficiency requirements and up to $600 off electrical panel upgrades, which are sometimes required to support the increased electrical load of a modern heat pump. State and local programs can sometimes save homeowners more on top of that.
“You can get up to $6,000 in rebates right now if you’re low or middle income,” Grimsich noted. “There’s also a program coming out later this year that could allow for up to $14,000 in rebates for some homeowners.”
Yellowjacket works with homeowners to ensure they receive all the incentives they’re entitled to. The company also works with the State of California’s GoGreen Financing, which provides low-interest loans that can help reduce the upfront cost of installation. Consultations with Yellowjacket include a complete heat-load calculation to help homeowners determine exactly what size system they need and make an informed decision using state of the art technology Conduit Tech.
“People argue that local homes, because of their age, are some of the hardest homes to install these systems on, and that might be true,” Grimsich said. “But no matter what happens, we always find a solution to our homeowners’ problems.”
