When Whately Inn Owner Stephen Kloc opened his July Eversource bill, he was amazed. Despite the summer’s heat wave and energy costs soaring across the globe, his energy bill dropped by a whopping $500 compared to last July. So, what historic changes are taking place at the old inn? Kloc signed up with Eversource’s Heat Pump Program to install mini-splits inside the restaurant, replacing six clunky old window air conditioning units. 

“We had to stop the bleeding with the air conditioning costs and the heating, too,” Kloc said. “In the wintertime we were bringing in little ceramic heaters and plugging them in.”

Heat pumps aren’t just for cold weather — they can efficiently double as a cooling system in the summer. They can also last longer than other heating and cooling systems. Plus, the Whately Inn got a no-interest loan as part of the program.

“It makes a huge difference to our customers, for comfort, as well as energy efficiency and money savings across the board,” Kloc said. “It’ll help our bottom line and helps offset higher costs when we really need it. Right now, we’re dealing with a 30 percent increase on everything from flour to beef.”

Now, even during a heat wave, there’s no excessive cold air blowing on his clientele. Gone are the noisier, dripping units that made parts of the restaurant unusable for seating and serving his fine diners. Kloc’s customers are enjoying the cool, quiet atmosphere in this landmark building and it’s costing him less. And he said our technicians made installing the mini-splits easy.

“Retrofitting a building from 1880 certainly presented challenges,” said Eversource Energy Efficiency Consultant Kim Kiernan. “The inn replaced an aging heating system with five heat pump units for a zoned heating and cooling system, which enables patrons to adjust temperatures for their comfort in discrete areas of the restaurant as well as the guest rooms while preserving the ambiance of the Inn.”

“Heat pumps weren’t the only energy efficient technology the Inn adopted during construction; the project also swapped their aging boiler for a higher efficiency unit. Previously, the Inn had installed a high-efficiency walk-in refrigerator for the restaurant, switched to LEDs, and weatherized and insulated by leveraging Mass Save programs, sponsored by Eversource.”

Kloc’s advice to fellow restaurateurs?

“If they’ve got six hours they can set aside, they can put a mini-split in their restaurant,” he said. “It’s only two little holes where they put in a mounting bracket, and once they’re done inside, the rest of it is all on the outside of the building. I also put in ionizers to filter the air.” 

Kloc knows the key to survival is providing customers with an all-around positive dining experience and says our partnership helped him make good on his promise. 

“Our motto since day one is consistency,” Kloc concluded. “Now, I can extend the promise of consistency to include comfort as well, which I couldn’t do before – it’s as simple as that.”