Heat Pumps

Last October, when the old propane boiler failed at 23 Hardware and Lumber in Askov, owner Scott Peterson did something that many experts say is critical for Minnesota to combat climate change and reach its greenhouse gas reduction goals. He replaced it, not with a traditional boiler or furnace, but with an electric air-source heat pump. He didn’t do it to save the planet. He did it to save money — and to get air conditioning for the first time. One year later, he’s happy he made the switch. He admitted to a bit of sticker shock when he got the quote for his new system, which included the heat pump, new ductwork, and a backup propane furnace. “But, you know, if you’re saving two to three grand a year on propane, it don’t take very long to pay for it,” Peterson said. Meanwhile, he said his electric bill has increased only modestly, by about $20 to $30 per month. Peterson hadn’t heard much about heat pump...

Texans like to think of their state as the energy capital of the world. But in mid-February 2021, the energy state ran short of energy. An intense winter weather outbreak, informally dubbed Winter Storm Uri by the Weather Channel, swept across the U.S., bringing snow, sleet, freezing rain and frigid temperatures. Texas was hit especially hard, with all 254 counties under a winter storm warning at the same time. Across the state, sustained arctic temperatures froze power plants and fuel supplies, while energy demand for home heating climbed to all-time highs. Cascading failures in the electric power and natural gas sectors left millions of people in the dark for days. At least 246 people died, possibly many more, and economic damage estimates damages reached US$130 billion. Water systems, which require energy for pumping and treatment, also were severely damaged. At least 10 million people were under boil-water notices during and after the storm, sometimes for weeks. Low-incom...

The U.S. Senate voted to ratify an international treaty on Sept. 21, 2022, agreeing to phase out a class of climate-warming chemicals that are widely used as coolants in refrigerators, air conditioners and heat pumps. If you’re getting a sense of déjà vu, don’t be surprised. These chemicals, called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, were commercialized in the 1990s as a replacement for earlier refrigerants that were based on chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs. CFCs were destroying the ozone layer high in the Earth’s atmosphere, which is essential for protecting life from the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. HFCs are less harmful than CFCs, but they create another problem – they have a strong heat-trapping effect that is contributing to global warming. If HFCs can be phased down globally – as many countries have agreed to do under the 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the treaty just ratified by the U.S. Senate on a bipartisan...