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Title: Environmental benefits of different types of heat pumps, available and expected

Conference ·
OSTI ID:10103850

A brief overview of integrated resource planning (IRP) is provided, with emphasis on how stakeholders interact within the process and where the opportunities may lie for heat pump advocates in cold climates. Five heat pump options that represent various approaches for improving heat pump cold weather performance are included here in a comparative analysis: 2-speed electric air source heat pumps, variable-speed electric air source heat pumps, electric ground-source heat pumps, natural gas engine-driven heat pumps, and natural gas absorption heat pumps. The comparative analysis addresses seasonal performance, seasonal peak demand, air pollutant emissions, customer energy costs, and recognition of environmental externalities in IRP, all in the context of a residential application in the Great Lakes region of the US. Several actions that may be in the interest of heat pump stakeholders in cold climates were identified, including: development of improved software for utility planners, advocacy of a practical form of the Societal Test for use in IRP that credits heat pumps for the residential air pollutant emissions that they avoid, and development of practical methods to credit heat pumps with other environmental benefits for which they may be responsible.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
10103850
Report Number(s):
CONF-9308189-1; ON: DE94002440
Resource Relation:
Conference: 2. international conference on heat pumps in cold climates,Moncton (Canada),16-17 Aug 1993; Other Information: PBD: [1993]
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English