Page 4 - Green Builder Sept-Oct 2020 Issue

EDITOR’S NOTE By Matt Power

The Inside Scoop Editor-in-Chief
Caption. Text

The Heat Pump Imperative

The concept of an all-electric home has never

made more sense.

N THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, improves their efficiency and lifespan.
improvements in technology now demarcate Writing in Vox in 2018, David Roberts notes that
a clear path toward decarbonization. The currently, roughly 37 percent of American homes
timing is urgent. We are, quite literally, are electrified. These are mostly in the South, and
I experiencing a perfect storm of human- most use inefficient baseboard heating rather than
fueled weather pattern disruption, from the efficient heat pumps. Some 48 percent of homes
inferno of Western wildfires to a record-breaking use natural gas, which dominates in every region
Atlantic hurricane season. We must rapidly except the South.
change the source of our energy from fossil fuels So here we are, with millions of homes using
to renewables, and the building industry can play outdated, energy guzzling technology, dependent
a pivotal role. on natural gas or oil. The shift has begun, but we
Why? Because heating and cooling of buildings all need to move faster. Every new home should
in the U.S. accounts for about 10 percent of our have fossil fuel independence built into its design.
national greenhouse gas emissions. But only about 1 percent of those Heat pumps offer a giant leap toward that goal.
buildings have upgraded to electrified heat pump equipment. Of If I sound evangelical about this technology, it’s because unlike
those, an even smaller proportion can claim to operate at net zero, fossil fuel appliances, heat pumps offer a rapid pathway to all-
producing enough power onsite renewable energy. I’ve focused on HVAC because it’s the big energy
(or in leased offsite facilities) user in our buildings, but other technologies deserve kudos, too.
with renewable energy to heat They have made all-electric, net zero living an achievable goal. These
or cool the building. include LED lighting, DC-powered bath fans, induction cooktops and
The latest heat pumps use water-saving appliances (less hot water means less energy demand).
about a third of the energy And none of it would work without advanced housewraps and
for heating or cooling of older insulating practices. Tight, efficient homes require smaller energy
electric resistance and A/C inputs and produce far less greenhouse gas pollution.
systems. Major advances over It’s naïve to suggest that the transition to an all-electric society will
the last couple of years have be painless and easy. Many codes and regulations are written in such
mitigated two of the major a way that they slow adoption of electric technology or reward fossil
weaknesses of this technology: fuel dependence. But with the upheavals now occurring, these begin
temperature sensitivity and to look like speed bumps, not unbreakable barriers. As politicians try
power “surge” when starting. to convince us of the fantasy of a deregulated utopia, we’re seeing
Many heat pumps can now the truth behind the illusion: pollution, pandemics and economic
operate efficiently at extremes ruin. The building industry doesn’t have to follow this low road to
of hot and cold temperature. nowhere.
Advances in variable speed We have the tools, the know-how and the motivation to step
motors mean they not only run forward and make positive change in our industry—one of the few
Essential upgrades. Newer heat pumps more quietly, but they also ramp sectors of the U.S. economy that has remained relatively strong
such as this XV20i model from Trane offer
21 SEER efficiency and include variable up and down easily, making throughout this devastating and terribly mismanaged pandemic.
speed motors. They can operate them more flexible and viable Let’s go down in the history books for the way builders, architects
efficiently in extreme cold and heat. for connection to renewable and developers led the U.S. through one of its toughest periods, by
power, such as solar. This also
CREDIT: COMFORT SQUAD HEATING & COOLING building a fossil fuel-free society for future generations. GB
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