Electrification describes the shift to using electricity rather than fossil fuels for building heating, hot water heating, and cooking appliances and systems.
Heat pumps are a key strategy in electrification. Heat pumps are heating and cooling systems that move heat indoors in the winter and draw heat outdoors in the summer. Instead of burning fossil fuels, they’re powered by electricity to move—rather than create—heat to keep homes or businesses at a comfortable temperature year-round. Innovations in technology mean that today’s cold climate heat pumps can be up to 400% efficient and many provide efficient heating at outdoor temperatures as low as -15 °F.
Cold-climate air source heat pumps extract heat from the air outside and distribute it inside buildings. This process is reversed during warmer months to provide cooling by drawing heat out of a building’s interior. Air source heat pump systems can be configured to different building layouts and designed to either replace the current system or provide supplemental heating and cooling. Buildings with existing ductwork can install a ducted air source heat pump, which connects to an outdoor compressor, to serve the entire building in place of a furnace or air-conditioning system. Ductless air source heat pumps, often called “mini-splits,” are typically mounted to the wall to serve one room or area of a building.
Ground Source (Geothermal) Heat Pumps
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Ground source heat pumps deliver space heating and cooling by exchanging heat with the ground or a groundwater source through an underground pipe system. By using the relatively constant ground temperature (around 55°F), the system operates more efficiently than electric baseboards and oil, gas, and propane furnaces. Even though the installation price of a geothermal system can be several times that of an air-source system of the same heating and cooling capacity, the additional costs may be returned in energy savings in 5-10 years, depending on the cost of energy and available incentives in your area. System life is estimated at up to 24 years for the inside components and 50+ years for the ground loop.
Ground source heat pumps can be sized to provide 100% of a building’s heating and cooling load without a backup system. They are compatible with new construction or retrofits, and can vary in scale from building-specific to community networks.
Water heating accounts for around 20% of energy use in the average home. Heat pump water heaters use electricity to transfer heat from the surrounding air to water in an enclosed tank. These systems are 2-3 times more efficient than conventional electric resistance water heaters, helping cut energy consumption and costs. Heat pump water heaters are taller than most other water heaters, and require at least 1,000 cubic feet of air space around the water heater. Heat pump water heaters provide the added benefit of dehumidification if installed in a humid location, like a basement.
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