Harvest Thermal - Berkeley, California

Sam K.

We recently got a Harvest Thermal system installed in our condo in San Francisco and we love it so far! The house is now a much more consistent temperature, the air feels less dry and more comfortable compared to our old furnace-based system, and the hot water is great as well. Harvest (and the contractor they used to install the system) was great throughout the whole process as we evaluated our options and eventually decided to get the Harvest Open system with air conditioning installed for our condo. They were happy to answer all of my questions and clearly cared about our experience from both a climate and comfort perspective.

It’s still too early for us to tell if or how much money we’ll save on our bills but we’ve already seen our natural gas use drop to almost zero. We’re happy to have a greener home and water heating solution that is so much more efficient than our prior system!

Nghi N.

As we sought to electrify our home, we installed an 8.1 kW solar system and purchased a hydrogen fuel cell car (if that counts!). We also began exploring the possibility of replacing our gas furnace with a heat pump system, and obtained several quotes from various companies. While researching the pros and cons of heat pump heaters on the internet, I discovered that there were heat pump water heaters available as well. However, it was when I stumbled upon the Harvest Thermal website that I became excited about the design of their system.

The brilliance of the Harvest Thermal system lies in its utilization of a 110-gallon tank to serve as both a source of hot water for faucets and showers, as well as a supply of warm air for heating the home. This is accomplished through the use of a single heat pump that provides hot water. The Harvest pod serves as the central control system for the entire setup, regulating the flow of hot water to the tank and air handler.

The system is functioning wonderfully. The hot water was available for my shower in just 15 minutes after the system was turned on. The central heating component was commissioned by the engineers and our home was brought up to the target temperature set on the thermostat promptly. The previous unsettling noise of the furnace and water heater flames and the furnace exhaust pipe running up through the roof have all been eliminated. The area around the tank and heater now has a peaceful atmosphere that was previously absent.

The Harvest Thermal system has been the most gratifying upgrade to our house, as it maintains the temperature throughout the house with precise accuracy, without any fluctuations from the thermostat setting. We are delighted with our decision to install the Harvest Thermal system.

Alistair A.

Can a heat pump work for a radiant floor heating system? The answer is a resounding yes! My Harvest system consists of two SANCO2 heat pumps, super-efficient proven Japanese technology that uses CO2 as the refrigerant, much more environmentally friendly than those found in most other heat pumps.

Hot water from the heat pumps goes into a 119 gal tank which provides domestic hot water. Another feed from the tank goes to a heat exchanger to heat the water for the radiant floor that heats the house. This kept our 1948 Bay Area house nice and warm through the last winter.

The Harvest POD orchestrates everything, how much heat energy to send to the radiant floor, deciding the best time of day to run the pumps to maximize efficiency, and to run only during off-peak electricity rates. The system is demand-response ready so if your utility offers such programs you'll be ready to go with a Harvest system.

Sarah C.

In September 2022 my husband and I experienced a large house fire that required our home to be rebuilt from the studs. Prior to the fire we had been receiving PG&E bills that were regularly between $600-$800 a month during late Fall/ Winter months which were becoming increasingly financially unsustainable. So, we decided that this unexpected rebuild was the perfect time to make “lemonade out of lemons” and transition to an all electric home and we could not be more happy with our decision to do so! Having worked in the clean energy space myself I first met Jane Melia several years ago at a networking conference which is where I was also first introduced to the Harvest technology. I remember then being very excited about the positive impact this system would have on California’s clean energy transition. So, when the newfound possibility to rebuild an all-electric home presented itself, going with a Harvest Smart Thermal Pod System was an obvious choice for us. During this time we also added solar panels with battery backup system to our home, so in addition to the obvious cost savings we are seeing on our bills, there are many other things we love about the Harvest system including, the nearly 90% in emissions reductions, the knowledge that we have created a healthier home and most importantly the general comfort system provides for us, never being too hot or cold, just perfectly comfortable. If you are thinking about switching your system to Harvest, absolutely go for it, you won’t be disappointed!

Mark H.

I've had a Harvest Thermal system installed in my home. Very pleased with the experience. It's essentially a very efficient Sanco2 heat pump heating water in a large thermal storage tank that allows load shifting: stores energy in the form of hot water when renewables on the grid are high, and uses it to heat the air for home heating while supplying domestic hot water. The system comes with a second Ecoer two-way heat pump for ancillary heating and for summer cooling. HT staff have been very knowledgeable and were actively involved on site during the installation. Most importantly, the home has been very comfortable - no more loud gas-fired furnace blasting on in the middle of the night. And we've not even gotten close to running out of hot water - with a family of 5. Highly recommend.

John T.

The Harvest Thermal system has been installed since August (5 months). Our house is quite leaky, so we thought Harvest Thermal might not work since the system relies on a higher level of airflow than our old gas furnace. Basically, we were worried that the old "brute force" method would prevent the more pleasant and elegant Harvest Thermal system from doing its magic. You will notice that the Harvest Thermal heated air coming through the vents is not as hot and dry as the gas furnace heated air. This makes the system far more pleasant to me and to my houseplants, but it means the system moves a higher volume of air to maintain the temperature. That's nice because the air gets filtered, but if the house is too leaky or the ducting is too narrow, it won't work.

Harvest Thermal and the contractor worked closely with us over a period of months to seal some leaky spots. We replaced a window, caulked some ducts and outlets and a few other things that weren't too expensive. We're not done yet, but the system is working very nicely.

To be fair, the weather was warm until a few weeks ago, so it wasn't a complete test, but our overall energy usage (gas + electric) went down more than expected (-75%). I'll post again next summer when we see a full winter's worth of data. It takes some practice getting used to the Ecobee, but we like it much better than the Nest we had before.

There's still a few wrinkles -- we will probably replace another 150 year old window next year when the tax credit becomes available again. But that would have happened anyway. Harvest Thermal has helped us improve our comfort and our energy footprint. We're happy with the system.

Jennifer H.

We had our Harvest Thermal system installed in November 2023. We love it! The house is nice and warm and the water is hot. The heat pump unit is so quiet and surprisingly small. I did a ton of research before choosing this company. It is both cost-effective and thermodynamically efficient to combine heating the house and the water with the same heat pump unit. Highly recommend!

Jim G.

I've had the Harvest Thermal system for 5 months and couldn't be more pleased. The system provides gentler but ample home heating. We have no detectable change in our hot water availability. Our gas consumption has decreased about 95% and our utility bill has decreased by over 50%, acknowledging we haven't yet had a full winter with the system. We have much more space in our basement with the new system as well. The optional central air filter and night air features are both great additions. I've also appreciated the enhanced functionality provided by the Ecobee smart thermostat, such as the ability to track the system's operations and performance.
The customer support has been very attentive and responsive and capable.
With the various regional, state and federal incentives and tax credits, the final cost of the Harvest Thermal system is quite affordable.
Overall I am very gratified to have made the switch from our dirty gas appliances!