Industry News
With Energy in Focus, Heat Pumps Win Fans
The business for ground-source heat pumps is so hot that when some people driving in and around Seattle see Gerard Maloney’s EarthHeat van, with the company’s phone number on the side, they call from their cell phones. “Really, we have people doing this,” Mr. Maloney said.
Like other energy alternatives, ground-source heat pumps have won new admirers as energy costs have skyrocketed.
High Fuel Costs Have More Homeowners Eyeing Geothermal Heat
When it comes to heating and cooling homes, schools and even penguins at Woodland Park Zoo, a growing number of people are turning to a source as old as the Earth itself: geothermal heat.
Redmond High School has used a geothermal heating system since 2003, saving the Lake Washington School District an estimated $66,000 a year. District officials are so sold on the technology that they plan to use it at a new high school and elementary school.
A $6.5 million penguin exhibit at the zoo in Seattle will be heated and cooled with a geothermal system when it opens next year. Zoo officials expect the savings in electricity over the 20-year life of the exhibit will be equal to the cost of powering 43 homes for a year.
And in growing numbers, homeowners who have seen fuel costs climb through the roof in the past year are casting a curious eye beneath their feet as they seek ways to save money.
"It seems like the floodgates have opened," said Gerard Maloney, owner of Earthheat, a Duvall company that has been installing commercial and residential geothermal systems for more than 10 years. "When [gasoline] hit $4.50 a gallon, the phone started ringing off the hook."
How Heat Pumps Achieve Energy Savings and CO2 Emissions Reduction:
This section gives a brief introduction to heat pumps. Based on 6 basic facts about heat supply the value of heat pumps is discussed. It is argued that heat pumps are very energy efficient, and therefore environmentally benign.
Six Basic Facts About Heating
Through this unique ability, heat pumps can radically improve the energy efficiency and environmental value of any heating system that is driven by primary energy resources such as fuel or power. The following 6 facts should be considered when any heat supply system is designed:
- Direct combustion to generate heat is never the most efficient use of fuel;
- Heat pumps are more efficient because they use renewable energy in the form of low-temperature heat;
- If the fuel used by conventional boilers were redirected to supply power for electric heat pumps, about 35 to 50% less fuel would be needed, resulting in 35 to 50% less emissions;
- Around 50% savings are made when electric heat pumps are driven by CHP (combined heat and power or cogeneration) systems;
- Whether fossil fuels, nuclear energy, or renewable power is used to generate electricity, electric heat pumps make far better use of these resources than do resistance heaters;
- The fuel consumption, and consequently the emissions rate, of an absorption or gas-engine heat pump is about 35-50% less than that of a conventional boiler.
Gerard Maloney works to install a heat pump system in a home in North Bend, Wash. By tapping geothermal warmth, heat pumps can save homeowners and businesses on heating bills.
