By Lesley Hastie
The extreme weather events that we are beginning to see globally are a predicted symptom of climate change and one that has to be addressed by cutting greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), in particular carbon dioxide and methane.
Here in Ontario, where most of our electricity has been generated using non-fossil fuels, electrifying home heating and cooling is part of the answer to cutting emissions. It also saves money.
There are now several options for households to switch away from fossil fuels. One is to take out a federal zero-interest loan under the Canada Greener Homes Loan plan, with which households can borrow to install cold air source heat pumps. These can be installed for as little as $7,500 to heat and cool a home of 1,000 square feet, and savings in the average home could be $1,000 a year in heating and cooling (Ontario Clean Air Alliance). Cold air heat pumps extract heat from outdoors even when the outside air is -30C and provide up to 3 times the energy output for one unit of input. Fossil fuels cannot even achieve one unit of output for one input.
Another option is to use the ten-year low-interest loan offered by the Town of Huntsville to install a heat pump, with the loan repaid through municipal taxes which attach to the home, not the owner. Thus should the home be sold it will be the new buyer who continues making payments. The monthly cost of the loan plus electricity will be less than the monthly current fossil fuel cost.
(Note: The Town of Huntsville is applying through FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) to secure funding for a program which would offer low-interest loans and grant programs through the Town of Huntsville to install a heat pump, or other home energy retrofits, with the loan repaid through local improvement charges which attach to the home, not the owner. Thus should the home be sold it will be the new buyer who continues making payments. The idea is that the monthly cost of the loan plus electricity savings would be less than the monthly current fossil fuel cost). The Enbridge gas line expansion in Huntsville and Burk’s Falls may involve a hook-up fee plus about $10,000 for installation of an HVAC system.
There is also a significant rebate of up to $5,000 for those paying outright to install eligible heat pumps, through the Canada Greener Homes Grant. (Insulation and improved windows and doors can also attract similar rebates and save on home energy costs).
It is important to recognize that these options are available, because not only do heat pumps mean no GHG emissions, they are also considerably less expensive for households than the Ontario Government gas pipelines being installed in Hidden Valley, Burks Falls and other Ontario communities. Any household opting for connection to these pipelines will have to pay a $10,000 hook up fee as well as paying for a HVAC system, all for obsolete technology that will lock in GHG emissions in Huntsville for many more years to come and will negatively affect the resale value of their home.
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To Alastair,
Yes traditionally ASHPs have struggled to maintain heat once the outside ambient temperatures reach freezing temperatures, however many newer models work well to much lower temperatures.
It is easy to add an ASHP to an existing forced air furnace (gas or electric) and you get the benefits of heating and air conditioning from the heat pump. Only on the coldest days of the year, some may need to use the existing furnace to keep up. With many homes burning fossil fuels for heating from October through April, even if the heat pump can only operate for 80% of the time it will provide a significant reduction in emissions and fuel cost.
Also, I now have a hybrid heat pump water heater. I installed it myself to replace my aging Propane power vent unit. I only use the heat pump, have yet to need the electric elements, and it keeps up with my family of five (three teenagers!)
The future of heating is refrigeration… and I’m a gas fitter by profession.
Air to air heat pumps have reduced efficiency at low outside temperatures. As such they depend on auxiliary heating; electric or fossil fuel. The following web site is worth reading:-
https://www.linquip.com/blog/air-source-heat-pumps-disadvantages/
In belated response to John Wydra, it is very helpful when trying to decide on heat pumps to go online to sites such as ” nrcan.gc.ca heating and cooling with a heat pump”. This explains how air source heat pumps (ASHPs) work, why they are so efficient, and the terminology. “Ontario Clean Air Alliance – heat pumps” – is also a source of valuable information.
In our case we wanted to get the full $5,000 federal government grant so registered for the Canada Greener Homes Grant and discovered which heat pumps were eligible for the full rebate. Mitsubishi heat pumps are, for some models at least, but there must be other makes that qualify. We then obtained quotes from local heating and cooling companies which evaluated the size of the heat pump we would need.
We are extremely impressed with the heat pump we had installed in June. It is quiet, with a much better fan than our propane furnace, and has performed well in cooling and heating, so far. We expect our energy costs to fall significantly.
The impetus for our heat pump was discovering that our carbon footprint was very large. And to natural gas users, we now know that more than 90% of natural gas consists of methane which is more than 80 times more potent as regards climate damage than carbon dioxide. (Environmental Science and Technology).
Conservation of energy is FAR cheaper than producing more power from any source.
Power demand went DOWN in Ontario from 157 TWh to 132 TWh from 2005 to 2017 in spite of the population going up.
Until Doug Ford in 2018. Now the trend is reversed and climbing again.
Save on Energy rebates and the EV rebate were immediately cancelled by Ford.
In PQ there is a $8K EV rebate on top of the $5K federal rebate. $13K total.
Tesla had to take Ford’s Ontario to court to be treated fairly.
And won.
GHG spewing natural gas is preferred by Ford, not only to replace power from Pickering, but for home heating as well.
https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1000298/ontario-expands-access-to-natural-gas-in-rural-northern-and-indigenous-communities
Backwards. Rapidly.
The above is not surprising though.
Cons don’t believe climate change is real.
The popular Ostrich Solution.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservative-delegates-reject-climate-change-is-real-1.5957739
Another option is switch away from GHG spewing natural gas hot water heating to electric at the proposed new ultra-low 2.5 cents per kWh rate coming up.
https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1002018/ontario-advances-work-on-new-ultra-low-overnight-electricity-rate
Put a timer (EH40 at HD) on your hot water heater so it only heats at the lowest cost time of day.
2.5 cents per kWh is cheaper than natural gas heat.
Electric water heaters are also cheaper to buy than gas.
Even better is switch to a heat pump water heater.
They are very popular in the US due to the power saving and big rebates which make them the least expensive type of water heater.
They only use 1/3 or less the power of resistance type heaters.
They could save as much power per day as your new EV uses.
Great idea and I am interested. A little more info on how and who to talk to about about these programs would be nice.