Page 17 - Advanced Technology for Energy and Water Saving

ENERGY USAGE

HEDGING SOLAR BETS 9 cents per kWh, operating heat pumps with a solar PV
Perhaps the best way to approach installing heat pump installation only saves about a penny per kWh (see chart
cooling/heating is to take a “calculated risk,” installing on page 15) in electricity costs for a typical home, until the
solar now, in the belief that batteries will soon become panels are paid off. After that, they save 9 cents per kWh!
an affordable storage option. In states that offer net That’s assuming that the status quo of energy prices
metering (Nevada, for instance, has recently resumed will remain stable in the face of today’s global disrup-
offering utility credits, and utilities offer discounts for AC tions, which is a longshot at best. Investing in renew -
upgrades), solar installations without a backup battery able power early creates a resilient infrastructure for
system are a relatively low-risk investment. The payback homeowners. Even if solar credits go away, as they likely
period depends a lot on local power rates. In states with will over time, battery storage costs should continue to
modest utility costs, such as Nevada, with electricity only drop in price.

Remote Efficiency. Smartphone controls and high efficiency equipment have made reducing energy use much easier.
Smart Controls for Heat Pumps

One drawback with older, standalone natural gas heaters is the The app is available for iOS, Android or Fire OS-enabled
lack of remote controls. If you’re at work, or traveling, they give devices, and the devices are controlled via your home wireless
you no way to check, reset or monitor conditions in your home. network with a web-based browser. The only drawback is that if
Fortunately, almost all of the reputable brands of mini- your Wi-Fi router goes down while you’re away, you have no way
split heat pumps now offer flexible smartphone-accessible to reset it remotely, and you’ll lose connection to your system.
control. With Mitsubishi Electric splits, for example, you can One feature we would like to see added to the app is the
use an app called Kumo Cloud. Wi-Fi-enabled apps like these ability to have an alert sent to the user when temperatures in
are becoming much more common—although, in my view, the any mini-split reach a certain minimum, or when connection
dongles you need to attach to the units are still overpriced. with the units is lost or resumed (such as during a power
The Wi-Fi adapter that attaches to Mitsubishi M-series mini outage). This could be useful for vacation travel to avoid frozen
splits retails for about $200. pipes and other problems.

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