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A green process for recycling materials from spent lithium-ion batteries
CategoriesSustainable News

A green process for recycling materials from spent lithium-ion batteries

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Lithium-ion batteries form the basis of today’s electric vehicle (EV) technology, and their production is ramping up rapidly. According to one estimate, the global production of lithium-ion batteries is expected to increase five-fold between 2001 and 2030. But as more batteries are produced, the question of what we will do with the leftover waste becomes more pressing, as currently only a small percentage of used lithium-ion batteries are recycled (5 per cent is an often-quoted, but disputed, figure). 

Now, researchers at Rice University have found a way to recycle one of the key components of a lithium-ion battery: the graphite anode. Today, used anodes are either burned for energy or sent to landfill. 

Rice researchers developed a process called ‘Flash Joule heating’ back in 2020 to produce graphene, a ‘wonder material’ that can enhance plastics, paint, metals, asphalt, and cement. Now, a team of chemists, led by James Tour and Weiyin Chen, has re-configured the process for use in battery recycling. In the latest iteration of Flash Joule heating, a sudden and powerful jolt of energy, lasting just a few seconds, decomposes inorganic salts, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese, found in spent anodes. These can then be recovered using dilute hydrochloric acid and re-used in anodes for new batteries.  

The team estimates that it would cost roughly $118 (around €110) to recycle one tonne of untreated anode waste using the new process. And, the researchers estimate that the ‘flashed’ anodes retain 77 per cent of their capacity after 400 recharge cycles. 

Springwise has been tracking the development of Flash Joule heating for several years and has previously spotted it being used for recovering metals from electronic waste, and turning plastic from old cars into graphene.  

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

Reference

Split image of seaweed from the sea and tiles
CategoriesSustainable News

Seoul Design Award seeks projects that facilitate “sustainable daily life”

By Zarkon Group,

Promotion: Seoul Design Award is seeking entrants who have designed projects that solve everyday problems in sustainable ways for its annual design prize.

Submissions to this year’s Seoul Design Award, which is free to enter and has a top prize of KRW 50 million (£31,500), are set to open in March 2023.

The awards will be given to designers “whose projects have contributed to a sustainable daily life that aims for a harmonious relationship between people, society and the environment”.

Split image of seaweed from the sea and tiles
The award considers sustainable designs from across the world

Designers can submit any design from the past five years that was built to solve everyday problems – from reducing food waste to conserving energy.

The projects can be submitted by an individual or group and will be judged based on five core values, including sustainability, public and shared, creativity and innovation, participation and cooperation, and inspiration and influence.

Previously known as the Human City Design Award, this year’s Seoul Design Award will be open for entries from 14 March to 28 June 2023. Now in its fourth edition, the 2023 edition of the award will expand to include 25 accolades.

“Over the past three years, design projects that have been awarded the Human City Design Award have addressed everyday problems such as environmental pollution, regional inequality, the gap between the rich and the poor, and discrimination against the socially underprivileged,” said the organisation.

“Ahead of 2023, the Human City Design Award will change its name to the Seoul Design Award in order to pursue the sustainability of daily life beyond the city.”

Split image of the Goyohan Taxi project
One of the projects that received an award in 2021 was the Goyohan Taxi

In 2021, which was the last edition of the award, the top prize in the safety and security category was won by Goyohan Taxi – a taxi service run by hearing-impaired people that was created by South Korean designer Song Min-Pyo to make travelling easier for those with hearing loss.

The project included a mobile device that aims to improve methods of communication between passengers and taxi drivers with a voice-to-text conversation app, which enabled passengers to communicate their destination, preferred drop-off point and choice of payment method.

An honourable mention in the 2021 selection was awarded to Gardens in the Air by Spanish design studio Nomad Gardens.

The project involved recycling water from air conditioning units to irrigate planting on the exterior of a building in Seville, Spain.

Gardens in the Air was designed to reduce Seville’s heat island effect and provide drinking water to the 70 species of birds in the surrounding area.

Plant boxes on the exterior of a white building
Gardens in the Air reuses water from air conditioning units

One of the finalist projects of the 2020 award was Sururu Da Mundaú by Brazilian manufacturer Portobello, a decorative tile made from recycled mussel shells.

According to Portobello, the Sururu Da Mundaú tile makes use of the 300 tonnes of mussel shells produced every month in Mundaú, Brazil, which would otherwise be discarded as waste.

Portobello worked with local artisans on the project, which the Seoul Design Award recognised as demonstrating “the value of cooperation and innovation”.

The project also created a range of new community activities by encouraging local citizens to participate in the tile making.

For more information on the awards or to apply, visit its website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for the Seoul Design Award as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

Reference

A new, affordable cancer testing method
CategoriesSustainable News

A new, affordable cancer testing method

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: In 2020, there were 18.1 million cases of cancer across the globe, with 9.3 million of these being in men and 8.8 million in women. Not only is the diagnosis extremely distressing for the people involved, the cost of treatment and monitoring is constantly rising as well. Now, researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a non-invasive testing technique that is much more affordable than other methods.

Traditional testing methods analyse blood samples for the DNA signatures of cancer cells. However, sifting through all the genetic material in a sample – a method called whole-genome sequencing – is expensive and labour-intensive because cancer-specific biomarkers tend to be concentrated in areas known as CpG islands, which make up only around one per cent of the genome. The new method, however, discards non-informative sections in a patient’s DNA and targets the CpG island.

The method was discovered by accident when a researcher heated a blood sample and realised that the heat destroyed much of the genome, but left the CpG islands intact. This allowed them to sequence the remaining genome directly – making the tests not only faster and cheaper, but also more sensitive than traditional methods.

The research team estimates the new testing method – called the Heatrich-BS assay – will cost around $35 (around €32.50), compared to around $750 (around €697) for traditional methods. With this reduced cost, tests will be able to be performed more regularly.

The team, led by Assistant Professor Cheow Lih Feng, is working on finding industry partners to bring their technology to market.

Springwise has spotted growing number of scientific innovations aimed at making medical testing more accessible. These include a non-invasive method for detecting malaria using a smartphone, and a cheap, handheld testing kit.

Written By Lisa Magloff

Reference

Water House 2.0 in Taiwan
CategoriesSustainable News

Water-filled windows use sunlight to heat and cool buildings

By Zarkon Group,

British startup Water-Filled Glass has developed panes of glass filled with water that use sunlight to power a “crazy” energy-saving heating and cooling system.

Founded in 2020 by Loughborough University architecture lecturer Matyas Gutai and his colleagues Daniel Schinagl and Abolfazl Ganji Kheybari, Water-Filled Glass (WFG) aims to use patented technology to make heavily glazed buildings significantly more sustainable.

Its windows contain a thin layer of water between glass panes, which absorbs heat from sunlight or other radiation, such as heat leaving a room.

The warmed water is then pumped through sealed pipes at low pressure to colder areas of the building, through an underfloor system or into thermal storage.

Water House 2.0 in Taiwan
Water-Filled Glass estimates its system can reduce energy bills by around 25 per cent

By absorbing thermal energy in this way the water-filled glass also limits how much solar heat gain enters the building through windows, reducing the need for air-conditioning in hot climates.

“We know that putting water in the window sounds like an outright mad idea,” Gutai told Dezeen.

“But we believe this is important because when you think about the energy of buildings and cutting carbon emissions, there’s still great potential and opportunity to think about glazing. Glass is responsible for a great part of heating and cooling energy consumption, and it’s a ubiquitous material, it’s on almost every building.”

Experimental pavilion by Water-Filled Glass
Water House 2.0 in Taiwan is an experimental project testing the heating and cooling system

“And if you think about that potential, I think even crazy ideas are somewhat warranted,” he continued. “Even if the idea sounds a bit mad off the bat, I think it’s important to think of alternatives to what we have. So we have crazy ideas, but we’re not crazy.”

WFG estimates that, depending on climate and a building’s window-to-wall ratio, its technology can reduce energy bills by around 25 per cent compared with standard windows.

The startup’s first commercial projects, an industrial building in Hungary and a residential development in the US, are now under construction.

It has completed two prototype buildings using the technology, named Water House 1.0 and Water House 2.0 (pictured) – the former a small cabin in Hungary and the latter a pavilion at Feng Chia University in Taiwan.

Interior of Water House 2.0
The technology prevents solar heat from entering through windows, reducing the need for active cooling

Gutai said water-filled glass allows buildings to be heavily glazed without compromising sustainability.

“The whole idea comes from the recognition that moving energy is much, much cheaper than heating or cooling the space,” said Gutai, who previously worked for prominent Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and in Kengo Kuma’s research lab at the University of Tokyo.

“That really excited us about water-filled glass,” he added. “We wanted to actually give architects the opportunity to build even completely fully glazed buildings if they want to without any compromise on sustainability.”

Because the system uses off-the-shelf glass and parts, WFG claims it does not greatly increase the embodied-carbon impact of construction as well as being easy to manufacture.

The company also insists its system has no impact on the aesthetics of the building inside or out, since water absorbs most energy from the part of the light spectrum that is invisible to humans.

A monitoring device is fitted to clean the water automatically, with maintenance checks required once a year.

Diagram of water-filled glass
A thin layer of water sits between panes of glass and absorbs heat from sunlight

In colder climates, the water-filled glass system uses triple-pane windows, the outer cavity filled with argon insulation to prevent the water from freezing during winter.

Capable of heating water up to temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius, the technology can be connected to a conventional heat pump or boiler.

WFG has also developed a retrofit version of its product, where the system can be fitted behind existing glazing without having to destroy the windows already in place.

The images are courtesy of Water-Filled Glass.

Reference

Powering Indonesia with rice straw
CategoriesSustainable News

Powering Indonesia with rice straw

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Recognised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organizational (FAO) for its agri-food system resiliency, Indonesia’s rice production systems are around 90 per cent self-sufficient. The country imports rice only for industrial purposes, as it grows enough edible rice to fulfill national demand, but producing such volumes of the foodstuff also entails agricultural waste. The country produces 100 million tonnes of rice straw annually, most of which is incinerated. 

If that burnt waste was instead converted into electricity, the country would produce enough energy to power every household 10 times over. Researchers at the Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute of Birmingham’s Aston University, led by Dr Jude Onwudili, are working on a commercial-scale project to make use of such abundant fuel.  

The new process uses a combustion engine and pyrolysis to heat rice straw to around 500 degrees Celsius in order to break the agricultural waste down into vapours and oil, both of which can be converted to electricity. The efficiency rate of the new conversion process is nearly 70 per cent, double the current rate of 35 per cent.  

Local fuel production would reduce costs for nearby communities, create new jobs, and reduce carbon emissions as take-up of the energy source grows. Additionally, communities that produce more electricity than they can use will be able to sell the power to others, thereby further enriching the local economy.  

Springwise has spotted a number of other biofuel innovations making the most of local agriculture, including turning waste bananas into carbon-neutral hydrogen fuel, and sawmill and cassava waste that’s turned into high energy density fuel.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Homepage of PlasticFree materials platform by A Plastic Planet
CategoriesSustainable News

PlasticFree is a database of plastic alternatives for designers

By Zarkon Group,

Environmental charity A Plastic Planet has launched an online platform to help architects and designers source plastic-free materials for their projects and avoid the “minefield of misinformation” around more sustainable alternatives.

Called PlasticFree, the subscription-based service provides users with in-depth reports on more than 100 plastic alternatives, offering key insights into their properties, production and sourcing.

Homepage of PlasticFree materials platform by A Plastic Planet
A Plastic Planet has launched the PlasticFree materials database

Part material library, part design tool, the platform also highlights case studies on how these materials are already being turned into products across five different continents and allows users to collate them into Pinterest-style mood boards for their projects.

The ultimate aim, according to A Plastic Planet, is to “help designers and business leaders eradicate one trillion pieces of plastic waste from the global economy by 2025”.

Screenshot of Notpla Seawee Paper profile on PlasticFree platform
The platform features in-depth reports on over 100 plastic-free materials

“No designer on the planet wants to make branded trash,” the charity’s co-founder Sian Sutherland told Dezeen. “They did not go to design school and care about everything that they produce every single day for it to end up in a bin.”

“But I don’t think designers have been trained for what is expected of them today,” she added. “So we wanted to create an absolutely authoritative, unbiased, material-agnostic platform that designers can use to learn about materials and their systems.”

PlasticFree is the result of more than two years of research and development in collaboration with a 40-strong council of scientists, business leaders and industry figureheads including Stirling Prize-winner David Chipperfield, designer Tom Dixon and curator Aric Chen.

Screenshot of a website showing different editorial content about plastic alternatives
The website also highlights case studies of how they are being used across the world

In a bid to offer a reliable, trustworthy source of information, each material was carefully vetted by an “army” of scientific advisors based on an extensive data collection form and A Plastic Planet’s Plastic Free Standard, Sutherland explained.

“Designers want to be part of the solution but there is a minefield of misinformation out there,” she said. “It’s taken us two years to do all the research on these materials, to drill down and ask all the questions so that our audience doesn’t need to ask them.”

All this information is condensed into individual reports, summarising each material’s key traits, its stage of development and sustainable credentials such as water savings.

Screenshot of material report by A Plastic Planet
The reports highlight key facts such as the material’s price and sustainable credentials

Each profile also includes a list of key questions that designers will have to consider if they want to work with the material, such as whether it will be on the market in time or whether it needs to be integrated into a reusable product to offer emissions reductions.

“It’s about how we can empower designers by telling them what questions they should ask of a materials manufacturer,” Sutherland said.

“How can you push back against that brief that says: just use a recycled polymer or a bioplastic? How can you challenge a lifecycle analysis? Because I sit on those calls and I hear the complete bullshit that is spewed out all the time.”

PlasticFree’s database, which will be constantly updated, focuses on the sectors that currently use the most plastic – namely packaging and textiles, with buildings and construction set to be added later this year.

It features raw materials such as bamboo and cork, alongside more specific innovations such as Great Wrap’s potato-based cling film and Living Ink’s algae ink.

Some of these materials – like bioplastics and recycled plastics – are merely “transitional” and, according to Sutherland, represent “a foot on a better path” rather than a viable solution to plastic pollution.

Social posts about different plastic alternatives by A Plastic Planet
Cork is among the raw materials featured

The real promise, she argues, lies in fossil-free “nutrient-based” materials such as Notpla’s edible seaweed packaging or Mirum plant leather, which are able to go back to the earth as nutrients.

“That is going to be the future of materials,” Sutherland said, “for everything from the houses we live in and the fabric we wear, to the products we buy and the packaging in which they’re sold.”

Screenshot of a website showing different editorial content about plastic alternatives
The Stories section houses educational editorial content

PlaticFree’s Stories section also houses more educational content on everything from clothing dyes to the “forever chemicals” in our plastics, in the hopes of pushing the wider systems-level changes that need to go along with this material transition.

“Above all, our focus is on system change, not just better materials,” Sutherland said.

“How can we have permanent packaging? How can we make things that are durable, that feel beautiful in your hand, that make you feel even fonder of them as they age? How can we get off this ever-moving conveyor belt of new?”

Screenshot of material report on PlasticFree platform
New materials will be added to the site regularly

Sutherland founded A Plastic Planet together with Frederikke Magnussen in 2017, with the aim of inspiring the world to “turn off the plastic tap”.

Since then, the charity has rallied both industry and policymakers behind its cause, creating the “world’s first” plastic-free supermarket aisle as well as working with the UN to realise a historic global treaty to end plastic waste.

Reference

Hardware store assortment, shelf with stainless steel mortise sinks, nobody. Building materials and tools choice in diy shop, rows of products on racks
CategoriesSustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Embodied Carbon: Reduce Your Home’s Hidden Carbon Footprint

By Zarkon Group,

Operational carbon is usually what we think of when energy costs are discussed. That is, carbon emissions that come from the energy used to power our homes, cars, etc. over their lifetime. Your home’s energy efficiency comes into play here. Generally, operational carbon emissions can be modeled and predicted, so you can compare one appliance or building product against another. Often, a label will show how much energy a certain appliance is likely to draw over a lifetime of operation, or how much a well insulated house will reduce your energy needs annually. But embodied carbon takes this modeling to a whole ’nother level.

Embodied carbon is the carbon footprint of a product, process, or service starting with the extraction of raw materials through the manufacturing process to market (cradle to gate) and then beyond to delivery and installation (cradle to site). Operational carbon is often considered separately, but adding the carbon embodied in a product’s end-of-life disposal (cradle to grave) or reuse or recycling (cradle-to-cradle) gives a complete lifecycle analysis. In other words, embodied carbon represents the total amount of greenhouse gases (including CO2) emitted during extraction, transportation, manufacture, delivery and deployment, and then end-of-life. Looking at both the embodied carbon and the operational carbon give you the true “carbon cost” of your product or project.

Let’s picture a new countertop for your kitchen. The embodied carbon of that countertop that you will enjoy in your home comprises the energy that goes into mining the stone, transporting the raw material from the mine to a facility for processing, its processing and preparation (cutting, strengthening, and polishing), transporting to a wholesaler, and then to your home where we include the energy emissions of cutting to size and setting it up in your kitchen. And finally its end-of-life, which hopefully includes reuse or recycling wherever possible.

Hardware store assortment, shelf with stainless steel mortise sinks, nobody. Building materials and tools choice in diy shop, rows of products on racks

Embodied carbon hides in your home

For homes, the biggest sources of embodied carbon are typically in materials. Many common materials used in construction, such as concrete, stone, steel, and lumber, tend to be high in embodied carbon either due to energy-intensive extraction or manufacturing processes. Even products made from rapidly renewable materials, or by a manufacturer that uses renewable energy, may waste a lot of water, or raw or finished materials. Or the product must travel overseas, or lasts only a short time before it heads for the landfill and must be replaced.

An exception to looking for the lowest carbon equation would be if the building materials are used for carbon sequestration. For instance, natural renewable materials such as wood from sustainable forests, or wool, or bamboo will hold carbon safely within the walls and furnishings of your home, while the natural source is replenished and continues to grow and pull more carbon from the atmosphere.

To reduce the embodied carbon in your home, as the saying goes, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. The most accurate analysis of the embodied carbon in extraction, transportation, and manufacturing is going to come from the product manufacturer. Eco-conscious companies often use environmental product declarations (EPDs) and post the data on their websites. These look beyond carbon and account for multiple environmental impacts. Further, they provide a lifecycle assessment (LCA), and include both embodied carbon through end-of-life and operational carbon.

Experts can help

Many software tools exist to help conduct LCAs. One of the best free tools out there is the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3). This tool can technically be used by anyone, but it is most efficient if used between your architectural, engineering, and construction professionals along with a trained sustainability professional or firm. Increasingly, the emphasis shifts to embodied carbon as building codes call for increased energy efficiency, and more homes and utility grids are powered by renewable energy—thus significantly lowering the carbon footprint of operational carbon emissions.

By looking at these issues, weighing pros and cons, we can help reduce the embodied carbon and thereby the total lifecycle carbon in our homes. Particularly in new construction and all-electric homes, just a few adjustments in key areas—insulation, cladding, and concrete—can make strides toward meeting our collective climate change commitments and averting the worst of the climate change catastrophes to come.

 

The Author: Sustainability Consultant Arnaldo Perez-Negron is an environmentalist and social entrepreneur based in the Tampa Bay area.

 

Energy Efficient Homes Zero Carbon renovation.

Reference

A method for removing carcinogenic ‘forever chemicals’ from water
CategoriesSustainable News

A method for removing carcinogenic ‘forever chemicals’ from water

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: If you’ve ever bought a takeaway, chances are it arrived in packaging that uses PFAS, or poly- and per-fluoroalkyl substances. PFAS is a permanent group of 4700 industrial chemicals that have leaked into our environment, contaminating our blood, water, air, and food.

Thankfully, recently published work by chemical engineering and environmental scientists at the University of California, Riverside, aims to make these chemicals not-so-permanent. Their new method breaks up these ‘forever chemicals’ found in drinking water into smaller, harmless compounds.

The process infuses the contaminated water with hydrogen before exposing it to ultraviolet light; hydrogen makes water molecules more reactive, while the light causes chemical reactions that destroy the PFAS chemicals. This new method breaks the strong fluorine-to-carbon chemical bond that makes these pollutants so long-lasting and accumulative in the environment. Compared to other ultraviolet water treatment methods, the molecular destruction of PFAS increased from 10 to almost 100 per cent.

The new clean-up technology is also eco-friendly. “After the interaction, hydrogen will become water. The advantage of this technology is that it is very sustainable,” said Haizhou Liu, an associate professor in UCR’s Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and the paper’s corresponding author.

Although Liu and his colleagues have only tested out the methods in small volumes of tap water, the team has been offered a $50,000 (around €46,600) proof-of-concept grant from UCR’s Office of Technology Partnerships to scale up and handle larger volumes of water.

Springwise has previously spotted other green technologies that clean up polluted water, including oil-eating microbes, and a process that treats industrial wastewater.

Written By Georgia King

Reference

Water-filled glass house
CategoriesSustainable News

Dezeen Agenda features water-filled windows that heat and cool buildings

By Zarkon Group,
Water-filled glass house

The latest edition of our weekly Dezeen Agenda newsletter features windows filled with water that can help to heat and cool buildings. Subscribe to Dezeen Agenda now.

British startup Water-Filled Glass has developed panes of glass filled with water that use sunlight to power a “crazy” energy-saving heating and cooling system.

Water-Filled Glass (WFG) aims to use the patented technology, which it estimates can reduce energy bills by 25 per cent, to make heavily glazed buildings more sustainable.

Twelve architecture projects to look forward to in 2023
Twelve architecture projects to look forward to in 2023

Other stories in this week’s newsletter include a roundup of architecture projects to look forward to in 2023, Sony’s reveal of its first-ever electric car and an attack on Oscar Niemeyer’s government palaces in the Brasília riot.

Dezeen Agenda

Dezeen Agenda is a curated newsletter sent every Tuesday containing the most important news highlights from Dezeen. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Agenda or subscribe here.

You can also subscribe to Dezeen Debate, which is sent every Thursday and contains a curated selection of highlights from the week, as well as Dezeen Daily, our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours on Dezeen.

Reference

Infographic showing advantages of heat pumps optimized for cold climates
CategoriesSustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Cold Climate Heat Pumps Warm Homes on the Coldest Days

By Zarkon Group,

In the US, about 13% of total CO2 emissions come from heating residential and commercial buildings. Because so many buildings rely on natural gas and heating oil, significant opportunity for reducing heating emissions lies with electric heat pumps. Heat pumps have been popular in the South for decades, but there are a lot of questions about how well they work in colder climates.

“A huge portion of our global emissions come from heating buildings,” says Brian Stewart, co-founder of Electrify Now, a volunteer organization devoted to electrification. “Since our homes are a big part of that, it’s important for us to understand the options we have for zero-carbon heating.”

Recently, researchers from the University of California, Davis did the math on switching from a gas furnace to an electric heat pump. Even with the mix of fuels that currently powers the electrical grid, a heat pump will produce far fewer emissions than a gas furnace, no matter where in the US you live. As the grid gets cleaner, the difference between electric and gas heating emissions will only continue to grow.

“We know that electrification works from a decarbonization standpoint, and we know that these heat pumps work in many situations,” says Stewart. “But we still have so many people wondering: Will heat pumps work in cold temperatures?”

Heat pumps, not just for warm climates

“With a standard heat pump, you start to lose efficiency as temperatures dip below 40°F,” explained Shawn LeMons, Performance Construction Manager for Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US. “So, the system needs more electric power to extract heat from colder air.”

That’s where cold climate heat pumps come in.

Also known as high-efficiency heat pumps, these high-tech systems are specially designed to operate at a higher heating capacity in lower temperatures. “Cold climate heat pumps may look similar to standard heat pumps, but their internal technology and computer programming are far more advanced,” LeMons added. “They’re specifically built to function at subzero temperatures, all while operating as efficiently as possible.”

Location, location, location

Cold climate heat pumps are purpose-built for heating comfort and ease of use in inclement weather. You can use them in any “heating-dominated” region where HVAC systems spend most of the time heating instead of cooling. This includes climates with frequent snow and ice, as well as coastal climates with cold rain and fog. As long as your system is operating properly, it should be able to handle prolonged subzero temperatures, even at elevations thousands of feet above sea level, explained LeMons.

Households in milder temperature zones may also prefer a cold climate heat pump when the weather outside starts to get snowy or icy. You may not necessarily need a cold climate heat pump year-round, but having one will give you added benefits and comfort during the cold winter months.

Buying a cold climate heat pump

“Generally, because of the special features and programming, cold climate heat pumps can cost around 20% to 30% more than standard heat pumps,” said Jonathan Moscatello, Business Development Manager for Daikin North America. That’s because you’re paying for the system’s ability to pump heat in colder temperatures, and that’s where cold climate heat pumps shine.

“Compared to traditional heat pumps, they produce more heat per dollar spent, making them a better value in the long run,” said Moscatello. And that’s before you consider the potential tax incentives you’ll get when you make the switch!

Take note: Some manufacturers put all their premium technology into their cold climate models, so you’re also paying for features unrelated to the cold climate performance, Moscatello pointed out. So don’t be afraid to shop around for the best value.

What should you look for when picking out a cold climate heat pump? It depends on whom you ask. Start with the EnergyStar and Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) published standards for cold climate heat pumps. Most utility and government rebate programs also use these specifications.

“Manufacturers also have their own standards for what qualifies a heat pump for cold climate operation,” added Moscatello. “Examples of this include Mitsubishi’s Hyper-Heat line and Daikin’s Aurora line.”

Ratings and features to look for

LeMons and Moscatello recommend the following guidelines when shopping for a cold climate heat pump:

  1. Rated performance at 47°F.
  2. Maximum performance at 5°F.
  3. Capacity ratio at 5°F. This is the ratio of #1 and #2 above; the closer this number is to 100%, the better it can handle very low temperatures.
  4. Coefficient of performance at 5°F You want this number to be below 2. The lower the number, the better the system’s heat efficiency.
  5. Published performance at very cold temperatures, such as -13°F, -15°F, or -22°F. Keep in mind that these numbers give an idea of how the heat pump will perform on the coldest days. Many systems continue to work well at even lower temperatures.

Some typical features to look for:

  • Inverter compressors and advanced motors for greater energy efficiency
  • Advanced programming for cold climate operations, such as hot discharge air temperatures and “just right” airflow
  • Intelligent defrost cycles and drain pan de-icing
  • Optional wind baffles for an outdoor unit

At the end of the day, you’re buying a heating appliance, and you want to make sure it’s purpose-built for cold winter comfort. So, definitely read reviews and ask around before you buy!

Infographic showing advantages of heat pumps optimized for cold climates

The US Department of Energy’s Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge is working with manufacturers to develop next-generation electric heat pumps.

Busting heat pump myths

Myth #1: You need a backup system to handle the coldest winter temperatures.

“Dual fuel is a legitimate path, but it’s not really necessary with a cold climate heat pump,” explained Stewart. Sure, standard heat pumps may need an alternate heating source like a furnace or boiler to take over when temperatures drop below freezing. Cold climate heat pumps, on the other hand, are equipped to handle the most frigid winters.

Laura Martel, Research and Evaluation Manager for Efficiency Maine offered an example of cold climate heat pump performance. “Caribou is a town in northeast Maine that’s IECC zone 7, the coldest climate zone in the United States. Homes in Caribou need their heaters for 6,444 of the 8,760 hours in a year.”

According to data from Efficiency Maine, it’s cheaper and more efficient to heat a home in Caribou with a cold climate heat pump than with a dual fuel system, natural gas, propane, or oil. While natural gas or propane systems may become more efficient when outdoor temperatures drop below 0°F, that only accounts for around 500 total hours each year in Caribou. Therefore, natural gas is more efficient than heat pumps only 5% of the time. For propane, that number drops to 1%.

“When you look at annual operating costs for various systems, heat pumps save people between $1,000 and $3,000 or more per year. Even if you switch to natural gas or propane for the small fraction of time that they’re cheaper, you’d only save an additional $26 per year, max,” said Martel. So, even though cold climate heat pumps may cost around $2,500 more to install than boiler systems, the yearly cost savings can quickly add up to make up for that initial expense.

Myth #2: Turning down the heat at night saves energy.

“We’ve been told for decades that we should turn down our home heater systems when we’re sleeping to save energy. That works great for boilers and furnaces, but I wouldn’t recommend it with heat pumps,” says Martel.

While furnaces can quickly blast heat into your home, heat pumps take longer to raise the temperature. When you turn your heat down at night, you reduce the rate of heat output of your system, temporarily lowering your energy usage. But when you turn it back up in the morning, your heat pump has to work extra hard to get the temperature back up. It doesn’t help that it’s usually colder in the early morning.

“Turning the heat down or off at night just isn’t as efficient as picking a comfortable temperature, setting it, and leaving it alone,” she said.

Still have questions?

If you’re interested in learning more about heat pumps, check out Electrify Now’s electrification fact sheet. You can also use this savings calculator from Rewiring America to estimate the tax incentives you’d receive from installing a heat pump in your home. Note that this article springs from Electrify Now’s cold climate heat pumps webinar, so check out their YouTube channel for more eco-friendly tips and technologies.

By Catherine Poslusny

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