In Europe, Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine has not only sparked a huge refugee crisis, but has also driven climate action.While hopes of peace depend on tough sanctions on Russia, these financial measures are undermined on a daily basis by gas, which even now flows from Russia to the rest of Europe via Ukrainian pipelines.It’s no exaggeration to say that reliance on Russian gas is helping them stay in the war.
That’s why many European governments have recently pledged to decarbonize their energy sectors, setting targets that would have been almost unthinkable just a few months ago: France announced this week that it would stop importing Russian oil and gas within five years, while Germany accelerated the goal. 100% renewable electricity by 2035.For many European countries, these leaps depend on a key component: heat pumps, which are just starting to become a core part of energy infrastructure.
For me, the urgency of European energy raises the question: Will these measures work here too?Global energy markets are interconnected, and given the Upper Midwest’s reliance on natural gas, heat pumps could be key to Minnesota’s climate action.
Simply put, heat pumps are efficient electrical heating and cooling machines that transfer temperature (also known as thermal energy) from one source to another.They come in a variety of sizes and types, often using air or water that can be above or below ground, and they can work on large or small scales.They’re not common in Minnesota because the technology worked better in warmer climates over the years, but that’s starting to change.
International Energy Agency “In cold climates, we’re seeing very good progress,” said Margaret Cherne-Hendrick, director of energy transitions at Fresh Energy, a nonprofit organization based in São Paulo.”Heat pumps can heat and cool, so a lot of people in older homes are starting to install heat pumps to meet their cooling loads. Technology continues to evolve very rapidly.”
As Cherne-Hendrick describes it, the “cold climate cut-off” has been declining steadily in recent years, so new pumps can often operate in sub-zero temperatures.
That said, heat pumps are not a panacea.They are only suitable for homes or offices that are well insulated and energy efficient in the first place, and newer windows and doors allow for smaller-scale technical work.For most Minnesota homeowners, this is the most important step.(This is a great starting point for a home energy audit for your own home.)
“For the existing building stock, especially older buildings, they are not as energy efficient as they should be,” explained Cherne-Hendrick. “We have energy efficiency improvement programs in place and have enacted energy efficiency improvements in regulations. Goal. Without buildings that are as energy efficient as possible, it’s really hard to get through a polar vortex day with air source heat pumps alone.”
But heat pumps can work well in new or updated buildings.In these cases, they can be a key piece of the puzzle, enabling Minnesota to move toward all-electric buildings and cut fossil fuels from our built environment.
“There’s no reason why we couldn’t build new buildings to the point where building energy performance standards are high enough to accommodate air source heat pumps,” Cherne-Hendrick said.”The limit there is that our building codes are not as robust as they should be. The scale and speed of our operations need to exceed what individual homes and building owners can do.”
But just because it’s hard, doesn’t mean individuals can’t adopt heat pump technology.In fact, they are becoming more common.
“Ours is running every day this winter and it’s never been out of work,” said Matt Privratsky, who owns a house in the Hamline-Midway neighborhood of St. Paul.”There’s research showing that they work best below 20 degrees, but it’s lower than that, and we’ve been running it.”
When buying a home a few years ago, Privratsky and his partners bought a house with outdated boilers and water heaters, intending to invest in a heat pump system and other upgrades.Soon after, they replaced the windows and insulated the house, allowing them to switch to an all-electric carbon footprint.
Photo by Matt Privratsky “One of the craziest parts: Now I realize there are a lot of places in my house where radiators have covered a wall for 70 years,” says Privratsky.”This is the same as any major energy improvement,” Privratsky said.”You really want to spend the time and money adding insulation and doing air sealing. It helps the system run more easily, and it’s always the best thing anyone can do to fix where it’s needed. ”
After Privratsky’s significant investment (around $15,000 to $20,000), the result is an efficient all-electric home that doesn’t require the use of natural gas.Their heat pump system has four different “heads” that turn on and off depending on which parts of the house are being used.As a bonus, a heat pump is a more efficient way to cool your home on hot summer days.
“The best way to think about it: It uses both the air conditioner and the furnace,” explains Privratsky.”In math, it’s not just a furnace or an air conditioner. And it’s more efficient than other appliances.”
Readers of a certain age will remember the catch-all term “energy independence” referring to the desire to stop using foreign oil in everyday American life.It doesn’t take much imagination to connect the dots between America’s various wars and the global supply of oil and gas, but the connections are rarely as clear-cut as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While the U.S. has boosted national oil and gas production, thanks in part to widespread hydraulic fracturing, the urge to decarbonize in the U.S. should be as urgent as in Europe.Rather than calling for easing gas taxes, increasing offshore drilling or repairing ties with Venezuela, U.S. policymakers are better off rolling out aggressive decarbonization funding.
Adopting heat pumps in new buildings, updating building codes, investing in insulation and adopting other low-carbon technologies should not be just a European endeavor.The Minnesota Legislature introduced legislation that would introduce a tax credit to offset the cost of heat pumps, lowering the financial barrier for everyone.Likewise, a recent pilot project in New York state may provide Minnesota with a good model for proving that the U.S. too can thwart fossil fuel dictatorships by moving away from oil and gas.
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Dr. Bill Lindeke is an urban geographer and author focused on how our environment shapes our lives.He has taught at the University of Minnesota and Metro State University, and blogs at Twin City Sidewalks and street.mn.Follow Bill on Twitter: @BillLindeke.
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