Going Green Efficiently and Economically

What is a Mini-Split Heat Pump?

A MSHP is an energy saving

supplemental heating source Mini-splits use electricity to move heat from outdoor to indoor by the refrigeration process. Heats or cools on demand Ductless (less energy lost) Easy and inexpensive installation and maintenance Allows for zoning with multiple units Unobtrusive
http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/how_ms_works.htm

A Mini Split Heat Pump can help you

Go Green Heat Pumps can reduce your carbon

footprint because of their high degree of efficiency.

Save Money Heat Pumps can reduce the cost of

heating/cooling your home year round by supplementing your current heat source.
Save energy - Heat pumps transfer the heat

energy in the outside air into your home.

Basic Energy Terms

Watt (W) Basic unit of power Mostly for electricity Typical light bulb in a lamp takes 60 Watts Kilo Watt Hour (kWh) Measurement of electricity that utility companies deal in. Thousands of Watts used in an hour Btu British Thermal Unit Heat energy unit Amount of energy used to raise 1 lb. of water 1 F 138,095 BTU in one gallon of heating oil

Basic Energy Terms

1 W = 3.413 BTU/hour A 60W light bulb gives off 60W of heat or the equivalent of 204 BTU/hour (in addition to the light produced). Mbtu Mega Btu, or one million BTUs Common unit for comparing energy prices COP Coefficient of Performance Heat energy produced/unit of input energy

Household Energy Use

An average of 82% of a households energy use in New England is space and water heating.

http://www.maine.gov/oeis/docs/2002_1_15_ReduceHousholdEnergyby25.pdf

pg 10.

Ways Mainers Heat their Homes

Maine predominantly uses oil burning furnaces for heating. The cost of oil shows no sign of declining. Our dependency on oil is money that flees our states economy.

http://www.maine.gov/oeis/docs/2002_1_15_ReduceHousholdEnergyby25.pdf

pg.11

How do Mini-Split Heat Pumps Affect Energy Usage?

Mini-splits reduce the consumption of fossil fuels in your

existing heat source.

They use the heat from outdoor to warm homes in

temperatures as low as 5F.

Conventional systems used when colder

http://brooklyn-newyork.olx.com/

Traditional Oil Heaters

Energy Cost $2.66/gallon: $21.11/Mbtu An average Maine home (2000 sq. ft.) uses 144 Mbtu/year. Oil cost $3039.84. (about 1,143 gal/year) Installation Cost New system costs $1500-$3500

http://www.alternative-heating.com/heating-equipment.html

Traditional Oil Heaters

Environmental Impact Burning #2 heating oil

73.15 kg CO2/MBtu burned.

Annual pollution: 10,533 kg CO2

Maintenance Average annual upkeep: $100/year.

Solar Thermal Water Heating

Energy Solar Energy is free 2 sq. meter solartherm

16382Btu/day, or 5.98 MBtu/year

Compare to oil cost: Saves $135.62

Installation Cost Cost $6,500 (2 m2 Panel, 80g Solar Water tank, install cost) 30% Federal tax credit $1000 Maine State rebate Simple Payback $6500/($135.62/year) = 47.92 years
http://securedb.fsec.ucf.edu/srcc/sys_detail?srcc_id=2004001A http://www.sunstuffenergy.com/howWorks.htm

Residential Wind Turbines

Energy Cost Free, can potentially sell power back into the grid Cost: $16500 30% federal tax credit $2000 Maine rebate

Cold Climate Heat Pumps

Energy Cost Electrically powered, costs $0.16/kWh COP of 2 at -30F COP of 3.5 at 50F Installation Costs $10,000 - $14,000 Must install ductwork Up to $1600 tax credit in Maine
http://www.energyideas.org/documents/Factsheets/PTR/AcadiaHeatPump.pdf http://www.blueplanetgreenliving.com/2010/03/03/hallowell-acadia-is-revolutionizing-the-heating-industry/ http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/heating-and-cooling/heat-pump1.htm

Mini Split Heat Pumps

Energy Cost Electrically powered, costs $0.16/kWh Installation Cost ~ $3000 30% federal tax credit Efficiency Maine: $250 rebate Parameters Minimum outside temp 5F

Heat Pump Benefits

Two important efficiency points
Energy Efficiency Cost Efficiency

Energy Efficiency
Assume an oil burner is 90% efficient, which is reasonable

for new, high efficiency oil furnaces.

For 2,000 BTU of oil input there is 1,800 BTU of heat output.

Assuming a 50% efficient power plant and 6.7%

transmission losses.

2000 BTU of fuel burned at the plant yields: 1000 BTU of electric energy will be sent to the grid 933 BTU available after transmission Heat pump is more energy efficient if COP > 1.93 COP = heat output/power input i.e. 1,800 BTU/933 BTU = 1.93

Economic Efficiency
Oil costs $21.11/MBtu in its raw form. In a 90% efficient oil burning furnace:

1 Mbtu of home heat costs $23.45

Electrical heat costs approx. $0.16/kWh in Maine. If using electric coils to heat:

1 Mbtu of home heat costs $46.88

Heat pumps move heat energy from outside using elec. $46.88/$23.45 = 1.999 For a heat pump to save money, COP > 1.999

Heat Pump Temperature Efficiencies

Heat Pumps have the highest COP milder days Assuming a desired room temperature of 70F: When it is 30F outside, COP= 3.71 When it is 5F outside, COP = 2.82 Even when it is extremely cold, a heat pump is more

efficient than an oil system.

However as temperature decreases, the total output also

decreases. While still more efficient than oil

Compressor capacity is low at lower temps Use in addition to existing heating system

Mini-Split COP vs Outdoor Temp

7.00

6.00

5.00

Indoor Temp 4.00 COP

60 deg F 65 deg F 70 deg F

3.00

75 deg F

2.00

1.00

0.00
0 10 20 30 40 Outdoor Temp 50 60 70 80

What is a Heat Pump?

A heat pump consumes electrical energy to move heat

from one location to another. The four major components are a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator. Refrigerant is pumped through the cycle to absorb/release thermal energy through the evaporation/condensing of the coolant.

http://www.thefullwiki.org/Heat_pump

The Compressor
The compressor starts the cycle by increasing pressure

on the refrigerant by using shaft work. Vapor coolant enters the compressor heads at a low pressure, low temp liquid and leaves as a high pressure, high temp liquid. This heat is absorbed later on in the cycle.

(Carlyle O6E series Compressor)

http://www.carlylecompressor.com/corp/details/0,2938,CLI1_DIV24_ETI1223,00.html

The Condenser
The condenser rejects thermal energy out of the

system by cooling the refrigerant to change states. High temperature/pressure vapor coolant enters. High temperature/pressure liquid coolant exits. The latent heat released to the condenser from the change in state of the refrigerant is transferred to the condenser coolant.

http://tommyji.en.made-in-china.com/offer/AblEMBmdhtrO/Sell-Aluminium-Evaporator-Copper-Evaporator-Copper-Condenser-.html

The Expansion Valve

The expansion valve restricts the flow of the high

temp/pressure liquid which forces a pressure drop. The drop in pressure subsequently causes a drop in temperature. The refrigerant exits as a low temperature, low pressure liquid.

http://www.hiwtc.com/products/electronic-expansion-valve-784-99.htm

The Evaporator
The evaporator absorbs heat from outside the system

and warms the refrigerant to change state. Low temperature, low pressure liquid coolant enters. Low temperature, low pressure vapor coolant exits.

http://www.diytrade.com/china/4/products/2715158/A_C_Evaporator.htm

Putting It All Together:

Cooling Cycle 1. Hot Coolant leaves compressor and dumps heat to outside air. 2. Low temp Coolant enters indoor unit and absorbs heat.

Heating Cycle 1. Hot Coolant enters home and dumps heat to inside air. 2. Low temp coolant picks up heat from outside air.
http://www.helmsway.com/heat_pump.htm

Examples of Heat Pump Style Systems

Window Unit Air Conditioners Move heat from inside an overly warm house to outside its walls Refrigerators Uses heat pump cycle to keep food cool Mini-Split Heat Pumps Can both heat/cool a home by a reversing valve allowing flow in both directions.

Air Conditioning

Refrigerator

http://china-heatpipe.net/heatpipe04/08/2008-4-24/The_Vapor-Compression_Refrigeration_Cycle.htm

Mini-Split Heat Pump

http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/how_ms_works.htm

Efficiency of Heat Pumps

Efficiency of a heat pump is often expressed in terms

of the systems COP (coefficient of performance). Refrigerator: energy moved is the energy taken from the refrigerated space. Heater: energy moved is the energy rejected into the already warm space