Wayland climate committee votes to seek town-funded heat pump mailing

WAYLAND — January 7, 2025 — Wayland climate committee votes 5-0 to seek town-funded mailing to 1,600 fossil-fuel-heated homes. The Energy and Climate Committee approved Associate Member Paul Dale's proposal to ask the town to mail residents heating with oil, propane or electric resistance, pitching heat pump conversions on economics rather than climate. "The only way to get a mass scale-up would be to have a campaign which is able to show that if you convert to heat pumps, you save money," Dale said. Co-chair Ellen Tohn cited 220- and 140-person turnouts at similar Natick and Acton events. Separately, Neil Gordon reported the Select Board voted 4-0-1 Monday to place the committee's revolving fund article on the Town Meeting warrant, with member Carol Martin abstaining. Wayland's 100 percent green aggregation tier reached 136 accounts in December against a 200-account goal.