How Well Can Heat Pumps Work For You? ASHP and GAHP (Previously Recorded)
FREE Online anytime!
Estimated time requirement: 1 hour
Instructor: Erik Janssen
Description
In Ontario, the majority of buildings are heated with natural gas, simply because it’s the cheapest fuel. However, natural gas is a fossil fuel and it releases carbon emissions during combustion. As we are looking for ways to reduce our carbon emissions to mitigate the impacts of climate change and for buildings, that means finding ways of using less natural gas. For building owners to actually implement gas-saving retrofits, they need to be cost-effective. This can be a challenge because gas is currently a low-cost fuel in Ontario – and reducing consumption of a low-cost commodity doesn’t necessarily yield huge cost savings.
That being said, the business case can improve if there is an opportunity to save really large quantities of natural gas.
Heat pumps use a fundamentally different approach that isn’t subject to the same efficiency limitations. Heat pumps are reversible devices that can be used for both heating and cooling. They work by transferring heat from one place to another, and can achieve efficiencies greater than 100%. In most applications, air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) are driven by electricity. They’re key function is to transfer heat into or out of a building. They work based on a refrigeration cycle, just like in a household refrigerator.
Join us for this exciting webinar culminating our research of two projects on the topics of Air-Source Heat Pumps and Gas Heat Pumps. This webinar will focus on the findings of the completed final report of each of the following two projects:
Project 1: Evaluation of a Gas Absorption Heat Pump
This project analyzed the operation of an air-to-water gas absorption heat pump installed at the Archetype Sustainable House in Vaughan, Ontario, over the 2017 cooling season and 2017/2018 heating season. The primary goal of the research was to create a detailed map of the heat pump’s performance across the range of outdoor conditions experienced in a Canadian climate such that energy, cost and carbon reductions associated with the heat pump could be estimated.
Project 2: Ductless Heat Pump Retrofits in Electrically Heated Multi-Unit Residential Buildings
Electric baseboards are the main heating source for 24% of all multi-unit residential building (MURB) and rowhouse units in Ontario. In this sector, heat pump retrofits represent a significant opportunity to conserve electricity, reduce carbon emissions and reduce operating costs, while simultaneously promoting tenant comfort and safety. This case study evaluated the performance of ductless multi-split air-source heat pump retrofits in a rowhouse complex located in Brantford, Ontario, during 2017/2018.
To learn more about STEP’s featured heat pump studies, click here!
If you have any additional questions, please contact us at STEP@trca.ca
TRCA HST Registration number is 10808 8584 RT001