{"id":3109765,"date":"2026-04-07T06:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=3109765"},"modified":"2026-04-07T09:06:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T16:06:56","slug":"why-a-former-airpods-engineer-is-now-building-heat-pumps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/04\/07\/why-a-former-airpods-engineer-is-now-building-heat-pumps\/","title":{"rendered":"Why a former AirPods engineer is now building heat pumps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2022, California announced that it wanted to install 6 million heat pumps by 2030. So far, it has only installed <a href=\"https:\/\/heatpumppartnership.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">about 2.3 million<\/a>, which means to make that goal, it would need to average about 2,000 installs per day for the next five years. Hitting that target could be difficult, considering a typical mini split can take around a day to install and cost around $4,000 to $6,000 per zone, <a href=\"https:\/\/ma-eeac.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024.07.17-EnergySage-Heat-pump-costs-and-incentives-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">according<\/a> to EnergySage.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe&#8217;ve got to do something different,\u201d Mary-Ann Rau, co-founder and CEO of Merino Energy, told TechCrunch.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/merinoenergy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Merino Energy<\/a>, which has been operating in stealth, wants to change both parts of the equation by simplifying the heat pump dramatically. The startup gave TechCrunch an exclusive peek at its new product, the Merino Mono, which costs $3,800, including the one-hour installation process.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rau previously worked at Apple, where you may have seen her in a keynote or two <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ux6zXguiqxM?t=2503\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">introducing new AirPods<\/a>, and Quilt, another <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/01\/07\/how-quilt-solved-the-heat-pumps-biggest-challenge\/\">heat pump startup<\/a>. While at Apple, she worked to electrify her home in San Francisco. She installed solar panels, an induction stove, and an EV charger, but when it came time to install heat pumps, Rau \u201chad total sticker shock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s when I realized that if it was inaccessible for me \u2014\u00a0right, I\u2019m privileged \u2014 it\u2019s out of reach for the vast majority of Californians and Americans,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Typical heat pumps have two parts, an indoor heat exchanger and an outdoor condenser. Merino combines those into one unit which occupies as much space as a typical radiator under a window.\u00a0It plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet, meaning that homeowners are less likely to need electrical upgrades. \u201cIf you can plug in a microwave and it works on that outlet, then the Merino Mono is gonna work on that outlet,\u201d Rau said.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Mono has all the usual stuff expected of the new generation of heat pumps: It\u2019s Wi-Fi connected, it can sense when people are in the room, and different units in a household can coordinate their operation for efficiency and comfort. Rau said the company is even developing an integration with Oura Rings so that the heat pump can drop the temperature of the room by a couple degrees when the wearer is in REM sleep.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-techcrunch-inline-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"inline-cta__wrapper\">\n\t\t<div class=\"inline-cta__logo\">\n\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"41\" height=\"20\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 41 20\"><path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M0 0v6.452h7.097V20h7.097V6.452h6.451V0zM27.742 13.548V6.452h-7.097V20h20v-6.452zM40.645 0H27.742v6.452h12.903z\"\/><\/svg>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"inline-cta__flag\">Techcrunch event<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"inline-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"inline-cta__header-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"inline-cta__header-container-desktop\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"inline-cta__header has-h-5-font-size\">Meet your next investor or portfolio startup at Disrupt<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"inline-cta__subheader\"><br>Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $410.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"inline-cta__header-container-mobile\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"inline-cta__header has-h-5-font-size\">Meet your next investor or portfolio startup at Disrupt<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"inline-cta__subheader\"><br>Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $410.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"inline-cta__event-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"inline-cta__location\">San Francisco, CA<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"inline-cta__separator\">|<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"inline-cta__date\">October 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"inline-cta__register-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a data-ctaText=\"REGISTER NOW\" data-destinationLink=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/events\/tc-disrupt-2026\/?utm_source=tc&amp;utm_medium=ad&amp;utm_campaign=disrupt2026&amp;utm_content=tc_inline_eb&amp;promo=tc_inline_eb&amp;display=\" data-event=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/events\/tc-disrupt-2026\/?utm_source=tc&amp;utm_medium=ad&amp;utm_campaign=disrupt2026&amp;utm_content=tc_inline_eb&amp;promo=tc_inline_eb&amp;display=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">REGISTER NOW<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To install the Mono, workers cut two holes in the wall, one to draw in air and another to exhaust it. The air in that loop flows over coils for the condenser, which then send refrigerant to the heat exchanger. There, another loop draws air from the room to heat or cool it. The only things visible from the outside of the home are the intake and exhaust ports and a condensate pipe.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By moving all the components to a single unit inside the house, Merino\u2019s design is far simpler to install, Rau said. There\u2019s no outdoor unit to connect to an indoor one, which can involve brazing copper lines and charging with refrigerant. \u201cThey\u2019re very expensive from a labor perspective,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In miniaturizing the system, Merino has traded some efficiency, which may make the product more suitable for smaller living spaces. The Merino Mono has a SEER2 rating of 15.2, while the Quilt two-zone system hits 25. Large outdoor condensers simply do a better job. But the startup felt that for many applications, including apartments and condo buildings in dense urban areas, it made sense to keep everything indoors and as streamlined as possible. The Mono, Rau said, \u201cis a solution where the cost is proportional to the problem that we\u2019re trying to solve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The company is currently installing 48 heat pumps at the Civic Center Apartments, a low-income development in Richmond, California. For now, it\u2019s focused on California as its initial market, although it has plans to expand to other states like Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. So far, six installers have signed up in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. The company is taking preorders now for delivery later this year.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rau hopes the simplified product will help heat pumps conquer the market. \u201cIf we can reduce the amount of time and complexity of installing a heat pump, then we can scale adoption,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merino Energy has simplified the heat pump dramatically in a quest to make them cheaper and easier to install.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574548,"featured_media":3109777,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tc-featured-article":false,"tc-header-option":"","tc-breaking-news":false,"tc-article-brief":false,"carmot_uuid":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-04-07T13:00:55Z","apple_news_api_id":"a6c12a7c-aa30-4254-8e11-c72a5b265fde","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-04-07T16:06:47Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ApsEqfKowQlSOEccqWyZf3g","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"tc_subtitle":"","tc_featured_image_disabled":false,"tc_exclude_from_rss_feed":false,"tc_exclude_from_content_rivers":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20429,576957003],"tags":[1928622,134863,577370855],"tc_region":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_storyline_tax":[],"coauthors":[577010552],"class_list":["post-3109765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startups","category-climate","tag-heat-pumps","tag-hvac","tag-merino-energy"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- 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