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CERTs SEED GRANT

Heat pumps added to Halstad’s city-owned apartments

June 2026

By Joel Haskard
Northwest, MN

CERTs loves a good heat pump story, and this is a simple one: 

Money savings and additional comfort for residents of four apartments in the City of Halstad (pop. 564) with the help of high efficiency cold climate air source heat pumps. 

We checked in with Lucas Spaeth, superintendent of Halstad Municipal Public Utilities, to learn more. 

HVAC system outside of the apartment complex
HVAC system outside of the apartment complex
HVAC system inside the apartment, over the window

Tell us about this project

This was an HVAC project in four Sunrise Apartment units and a shared community space, to add a high efficiency cold climate 1.0 ton ductless heat pump and drain mini splits using existing wiring of from the air conditioning circuits. 

The HVAC improvement is meant to lower the overall operational cost for all the tenants. Some minor building rehab involved closing the air conditioning holes in the building walls with additional insulation.

How did the insulation make a difference in the project?

We realized additional potential savings by closing up the wall holes from the old A/C units.

 

What did you learn from this project?

This project is expected to give us working data to help with efficiency efforts in the future. We are happy with the initial outcome at this stage. We have not had much heating needs in the recent past to supply hard numbers. 

My advice from this project is find a reputable company to take on the project with local input and local leadership involved. This project was somewhat simple after we developed a relationship with an HVAC and electrical company.

"We are thankful for the CERTs Seed Grant and the ease of the seed grant process. It is easy to apply and easy to get through the process."
 

- Lucas Spaeth, superintendent of Halstad Municipal Public Utilities

What's next for the City of Halstad?

We continue to look at bigger projects like battery storage and solar, as well as more HVAC projects.

City of Halstad High Efficiency Heating and Cooling heat pumps

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