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The UK declared a national emergency this week during an historic heatwave that has melted runways, disrupted train journeys and shattered temperature records. The devastation was particularly acute in a country like England, where 95 percent of the population has no air conditioning.
In the midst of this, the UK government has provided funding for a little-known solution: heat pumps.
Going by a misleading name, heat pumps are two-way air conditioners that move warm air from inside a home to the outside, keeping apartments cool during hot months. In the winter months they do the opposite, Absorb thermal energy from the outside and push warm air in.
Energy officials, legislators and scientists are touting the devices as cost-effective, energy-efficient systems that significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions over traditional heating and cooling devices.
It is estimated that 90 percent of Japanese households use heat pumps to heat and cool homes, which has contributed to a 40 percent drop in the country’s electricity consumption over the past decade. In Italy, the government effectively pays citizens to use the technology; Homeowners can be reimbursed 110 percent of their heat pump costs.
Europe faced spreading wildfires and mounting death tolls on July 18 amid extreme heat. (Video: Alexa Juliana Ard, Rick Noack/The Washington Post)
But the devices are not very popular in parts of the United States and Europe due to low public awareness and high installation costs. The UK fell far short of its annual heat pump installation targets in 2021.
Energy experts point to a few reasons why heat pumps are not yet mainstream. Firstly the name which makes it difficult for people to realize that it heats and cools. “It’s confusing,” said Corinne Schneider, chief communications officer of CLASP, an energy nonprofit.
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The high installation price—systems can cost up to $10,000 to purchase and install—is also a barrier for many users.
But with a heatwave forcing people to find ways to cool their homes while Russia’s war in Ukraine drives up energy prices, experts say heat pumps are a natural solution: an all-in-one System that cools during heat waves and reduces heat dependence on natural gas in winter.
“It’s a question of comfort. It’s a climate problem. It’s a security issue,” said Alexander Gard-Murray, a climate scientist and economist at Brown University’s Climate Solutions Lab. “Each of them would be enough to aggressively crack down on heat pumps, but taken together I think the evidence is insurmountable.”
The technology underlying heat pumps can be traced back to the 1940s when American inventor Robert C. Webber created a prototype copper tube heating unit in his basement. Over the years, Webber’s creation inspired the core technology that allowed modern refrigerators to transfer heat from the back of a refrigerator and keep the inside cool.
There are two main types of heat pumps. During warm months, air source heat pumps pull hot air out of a room, blow it over a coil and circulate it through a refrigerant, allowing cold air to flow back in. During cold months, the pump captures thermal energy from the outside air and circulates it through the machine to heat it up and blow it inside. These pumps are similar in size to central air conditioners.
Geothermal heat pumps transfer heat stored underground into a building in winter and outside in summer. These are rarer and more expensive than air source options.
According to experts, one of the most common complaints about heat pumps was that they would no longer provide heat on very cold days. However, advances in heat pump compressors have made them more efficient, less expensive and more successful in providing heat at colder temperatures.
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As heat pumps have improved, lawmakers and policymakers have sought to make the devices more mainstream. In the United States, a tax credit program offers about a $300 rebate to people who convert their homes to heat pump technology. Amid Congress’ stalled climate agenda, a proposal raises the stimulus to $600. States and local utilities also have their own rebate programs.
The wallet and climate benefits are reportedly significant, climate experts said.
In the United States, an average of about 16,000 air conditioners are installed every day. Researchers from CLASP and Harvard University predicted that if, in the remaining decade, all homes that install central air conditioning would buy a subsidized heat pump instead carbon dioxide by 2032.
Researchers note that much of the savings comes from a heat pump’s ability to heat homes up to 50 percent more efficiently than stoves and water heaters. CLASP’s Schneider said the heatwave in Europe is an opportune time for heat pump technology to become more mainstream as many are buying air conditioning for the first time.
Other researchers note that the stakes are high. “That every day [people] Not installing as many heat pumps as is physically possible means that they lock into a greater dependency [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and Russian gas this winter,” said Gard-Murray of Brown University.
Sam Calisch, a heat pump expert at Rewiring America, added that as climate change makes heatwaves more common, refrigeration units should be low-emission.
“More and more places that used to generally not have air conditioning are getting it,” he said. “So every time that happens, we have to think about heat pumps because that allows us to … eliminate some of the fossil fuel needs that we have right now.”
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Since heat pumps cost a lot, it seems difficult to spend the money. And because most people buy air conditioners and heaters when they have to, they often have little time to decide what to buy, Schneider said. They end up with what is common in stores or recommended by maintenance professionals.
“If you’re in a heating or cooling emergency…take whatever’s in stock,” she said. “There needs to be a way for HVAC installers to increase their inventory and educate themselves about this technology.”