EGEE 102 – Energy Conservation

And Environmental Protection

9a. Home Heating Systems
 Heating Systems
• •

EGEE 102 2
 Heating Systems
• Some hot water
systems circulate
water through
plastic tubing in
the floor, called
radiant floor
heating.

EGEE 102 3
 Electric Heating
Systems
1. Resistance heating systems
Converts electric current directly into
heat
1. usually the most expensive
2. Inefficient way to heat a building
2. Heat pumps
Use electricity to move heat rather than to
generate it, they can deliver more
energy to a home than they consume
1. Most heat pumps have a COP of 1.5 to 3.5.
2. All air-source heat pumps (those that
exchange heat with outdoor air, as opposed
to bodies of water or the ground) are rated
with a "heating season
EGEE 102 performance factor" 4
Geothermal Heat Pumps
• They use the Earth
as a heat sink in
the summer and a
heat source in the
winter, and
therefore rely on
the relative
warmth of the
earth for their
Additional reading
heating and
http://www.eren.doe.gov/erec/factsheets/geo_heatpumps.html#sidebar
EGEE 102 cooling 5
EGEE 102 6
• Geo Exchange Heat pump system
Movie

EGEE 102 7
 World’s Largest Heat
Pump
• The Galt House East Hotel
and Waterfront Office
Buildings in Louisville,
Kentucky, use a 4,700 ton
GHP system to meet the
heating and cooling needs
of the complex.
• The 750,000-square-foot
(70,000 square meter)
Galt House East Hotel,
completed in 1984, uses a
1,700-ton GHP system,
which cost $1,500 per ton
to install
http://www.eren.doe.gov/geothermal/geobasics.html
http://www.nrel.gov/data/pix/searchpix.cgi?getrec=3297896&display_type=verbose
EGEE 102 8
• This house in Aurora,
Colorado, uses a
geothermal heat pump
system that will provide al
the heating, cooling, and
hot water needs. For a
home of 1,500 square feet
with a good building
envelope and a
geothermal heat pump,
energy costs are about $1
a day.

EGEE 102 9
 Cost Comparison,
Gwinnet, GA
• Heating and Cooling Components
• 3-ton Addison heat pump, 15 kW
auxiliary heat
Closed loop
Central thermostat

• Installation Costs
• $4,700 increment over
comparable system
$3,600 indoor hard costs
$2,766/ton
$1,800/house incentive from
Jackson EMC
•
• Operating Costs (air source/water
source)
• Heating $307/$211
Cooling $252/$230
Water heating $270/$136
Annual total $1,073/$577
5.84-year payback to recover
$2,900

EGEE 102 10
EGEE 102 11
 Benefits of a GHP
System
• Low Energy Use
• Free or Reduced-Cost Hot Water
• Year-Round Comfort
• Low Environmental Impact
• Durability
• Reduced Vandalism
• Zone Heating and Cooling
• Low Maintenance
EGEE 102 12
 Solar Heating and
Cooling
• Most American houses receive
enough solar energy on their roof to
provide all their heating needs all
year!
• Active Solar
• Passive Solar

EGEE 102 13
 Passive Solar
• A passive solar system uses no
external energy, its key element is
good design:
• House faces south
• South facing side has maximum
window area (double or triple
glazed)
• Roof overhangs to reduce cooling
costs
• Thermal mass inside
EGEE 102 the house 14
 Passive Solar
• Deciduous trees on the south side to
cool the house in summer, let light in
in the winter.
• Insulating drapes (closed at night
and in the summer)
• Greenhouse addition
• Indirect gain systems also such as
large concrete walls to transfer heat
inside
EGEE 102 15
Passive Solar Heating

EGEE 102 16
EGEE 102 17
Passive Heating
Direct Gain Thermal Storage Suns pace
W all

Passive Cooling
Shading Ve nt ilat io n Earth Contact

EGEE 102 18
 Active Solar Heating
• Flat plate collectors are usually
placed on the roof or ground in the
sunlight.
• The sunny side has a glass or plastic
cover.
• The inside space is a black
absorbing material.
• Air or water is pumped (hence
active) through the space to collect
the heat. EGEE 102 19
 Active Solar
Heating

EGEE 102 20
Flat Plate Collector
• Solar Collectors
heat fluid and the
heated fluid heats
the space either
directly or
indirectly

EGEE 102 21
 Efficiency of Furnace
• The "combustion efficiency" gives you a
snapshot in time of how efficient the
heating system is while it is operating
continuously
• The "annual fuel utilization efficiency"
(AFUE) tells you how efficient the system
is throughout the year, taking into account
start-up, cool-down, and other operating
losses that occur in real operating
conditions.
• AFUE is a more accurate measure of
efficiency and should
EGEE 102 be used if possible
22
Efficiencies of Home
Heating
.

110
space heat (106 Btu/1000 ft2)

Btu/ft2 per degree day

100
U.S. stock
7
90
Annual fuel input for

80

70 1975-1976 building practice

(NAHB) 5
60
LBL standard
50 (medium infiltration)

40 LBL standard 3
(low infiltration)

30
Brownell Saskatoon
20
Mastin Ivanhoe Pasqua
10 1
Leger Saskatche-
Phelps
Balcomb wan house
0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10,000

1 Btu/ft 2 per degree day

EGEE 102 23
Degree days (base 65°F)
 Tips (Individual) to Save
Energy and Environment
• Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in
the winter and as high as is comfortable in the
summer.
• Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a
month or as needed.
• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters,
and radiators as needed; make sure they're not
blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
• Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once
or twice a season; if in doubt about how to
perform this task, call a professional.
• Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between
exterior walls and the radiators.
EGEE 102 24
• Use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans
wisely; in just 1 hour, these fans can pull out a
houseful of warmed or cooled air. Turn fans off
as soon as they have done the job.
• During the heating season, keep the draperies
and shades on your south-facing windows open
during the day to allow sunlight to enter your
home and closed at night to reduce the chill you
may feel from cold windows. During the cooling
season, keep the window coverings closed
during the day to prevent solar gain.

EGEE 102 25
• Close an unoccupied room that is isolated from
the rest of the house, such as in a corner, and
turn down the thermostat or turn off the heating
for that room or zone. However, do not turn the
heating off if it adversely affects the rest of your
system. For example, if you heat your house with
a heat pump, do not close the vents—closing the
vents could harm the heat pump.
• Select energy-efficient equipment when you buy
new heating and cooling equipment. Your
contractor should be able to give you energy fact
sheets for different types, models, and designs
to help you compare energy usage. Look for high
Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency
EGEE 102 (AFUE) ratings26