New Heat Pump Installs in 1 Hour for $3,800

When Mary Ann Rau tried to switch her home from fossil fuels to clean energy five years ago, she hit a wall: a $40,000 quote to install heat pumps.

Today, the former Apple engineer launched Merino Energy with a solution that takes just one hour to install and costs $3,800 per unit. For a whole home, that's half the price of traditional mini split systems.

Rau had already electrified everything else in her house while working as an engineer at Apple. She added solar panels, a battery, an induction stove, and drove an electric vehicle. But the heating system remained frustratingly expensive to replace.

After leaving Apple in 2023, she worked at Quilt, another heat pump startup, where she discovered the real problem. Traditional mini split heat pumps require skilled technicians to spend eight hours per unit connecting indoor wall units to outdoor condensers and adding refrigerant onsite. Labor costs alone made the technology inaccessible to most homeowners.

Merino's design eliminates the outdoor unit entirely. Instead, each unit uses two simple wall vents, one for intake and one for exhaust. The refrigerant gets added at the factory, not in someone's home.

That factory approach does more than save time. Small refrigerant leaks from mini splits are a huge source of emissions. One leaky unit can erase the climate benefits of 50 homes switching off fossil fuels.

Rau and her cofounder Brad Hall, who previously worked at window heat pump company Gradient, designed the system with installers in mind. HVAC companies were wasting hours visiting homes to give quotes that families couldn't afford. Fixed pricing lets homeowners decide upfront while giving installers better profit margins.

The design also reflects Rau's background creating AirPods at Apple. At 7.8 inches deep, the units blend into walls without dominating room space. They run quietly enough that you might forget they're there.

The Ripple Effect

Beyond individual homes, this breakthrough could accelerate America's shift away from fossil fuel heating. When clean technology becomes faster and cheaper to install, millions more families can afford to make the switch. HVAC companies that once turned away customers due to cost barriers can now serve entire neighborhoods.

The technology proves that the biggest obstacles to climate solutions aren't always technical. Sometimes the answer is rethinking how we build and install the tools we already have.

Merino Energy is now shipping units to homeowners ready to cut their heating costs while cutting emissions.