Carlmont students urge district to replace aging gas furnaces with heat pumps

Students from Carlmont High School told the Sequoia Union High School District board on April 24 that the district should accelerate replacement of aging gas heating systems with electric heat pumps.

"Heat pumps are far more efficient than conventional heating units because they transfer heat instead of generating it," said Tyler Turcel, a Carlmont student and member of the district sustainability committee, who described Peninsula Clean Energy financing options. He and a second student explained total-cost-of-ownership analyses and flagged state programs — including CalSHAPE (applications due June 1), PG&E K–12 energy-efficiency incentives and San Mateo County Energy Watch — as potential funding sources.

Why it matters: district facilities staff later confirmed the district is already installing heat pumps at several sites and offered to connect the student group with Assistant Superintendent Christine Gong and project vendors for more information.

Details: student presenters said many rooftop units are more than 20 years old and cited research showing heat pumps can run on renewable electricity and reduce gas use. The students recommended the board explore available grant and financing channels and invited staff to use students as community advocates and partners.

Response from the district: Superintendent Leach thanked the students and said the district has ongoing heat-pump work at multiple campuses and would facilitate a vendor meeting with interested student advocates.

What’s next: the presentation gave trustees a specific set of programs and contact leads to follow up with; the superintendent directed the students to leave contact information so staff could connect them to project teams.