July 28, 2006

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Korky Koroluk

Heat pumps gaining respect

There used to be a nightclub comic named Rodney Dangerfield whose routine revolved around his assertion that “I don’t get no respect.”

I’ve long felt that heat pumps fall into the same category — they don’t get no respect — and that’s something I don’t understand. Everyone loves the idea, because the heat pump is one of those few things that appears to give you something for nothing, gathering heat you don’t have to generate.

Heat pumps can be sorted into two types: the conventional, air-source models that tap into the thermal energy naturally present in the air around them, and geothermal models that tap into the heat contained in the earth or water.

Air-source heat pumps are not seen much in Canada, because our climate is simply too cold for them to operate efficiently for several months of the year. These machines are very popular, however, in homes and small commercial buildings in warmer climates.

Geothermal heat pumps, while becoming more common in Canada, can be more expensive and more complex to install than conventional furnaces or boilers. And, in some urban settings, installation is simply not possible.

So why not manufacture and install low-temperature air-source heat pumps (LTHPs)?

The necessary knowledge has been around for 30 years or more, but with fossil fuels both plentiful and cheap, there was no perceived need for them, and thus nothing to drive an R&D effort. And even if they had been developed, the relatively low prices attached to furnaces and boilers would have been an obstacle.

But now, faced with the double whammy of declining global supplies of both oil and natural gas and global climate change, some people are betting that it is time to give LTHPs some thought.

Consider the North American market. Then consider the millions of residential and light-commercial heating systems, each burning its own fossil fuel. Then ask how much longer such a system can be sustained.

Ten years ago, David Shaw retired from his job as a refrigeration engineer at the Carrier Corp. and began tinkering with air-source heat pumps that would operate efficiently in colder climates. He hit upon the idea of using two compressors instead of one, with the second compressor cutting and used only as needed as the weather cooled. He also came up with a few technical tweaks that are probably of interest only to engineers.

He was able to advance his work far enough to license it to a manufacturing firm. And manufacturing did, in fact, go ahead, and although only 150 or so of what were called Cold Climate Heat Pumps were installed, they worked extremely well.

Unfortunately, the deal collapsed amid wrangling over licensing issues and manufacturing problems.

Now, Shaw has shown up as the chief technical officer with a new firm called Hallowell International, which hopes to sell and install 2,000 beta versions of Shaw’s heat pumps in the northern U.S. by the end of this year.

All of this is being closely watched by the electrical generation industry, because some see potential in generating electricity to power thousands, even millions, of heat pumps. And if at least some of the electricity they sell comes from such alternative sources as wind or solar power, then so much the better.

There is a small but growing body of information about LTHPs. For a start, if you’re an engineer, you may be interested in looking at the technical specifications for the heat pump Hallowell is just starting to sell by going to www.gotohallowell.com

E Source, an American consulting group that does research for the utility industry, also has information on its website. Go to www.esource.com/public and search for a white paper named Will Utilities Warm Up to Low-Temperature, Heat Pumps?

And more information about heat pumps generally, the International Energy Association has gathered a lot of material, which you can find at www.heatpumpcentre.org

Korky Koroluk is an Ottawa-based freelance writer. Send comments to editor@dailycommercialnews.com

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