ARE YOU concerned about rising fuel costs? Are you interested in helping the environment? Do you want beth central air conditioning and heating? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should in- vestigate an option you may not have considered — tapping the natural energy of the earth to heat and cool your heme. A ground or water source heat pump — also known as an earth energy system ~- is usually an electrically-powered system that can both heat and cool. ° In cold weather, it takes heat from the earth or ground water and transfers it to the house through an outdoor underground piping system. In warm weather, the process is reversed: the pump draws heat and humidity from warm outdoor ‘air and ejects it to the earth or groundwater. HOW T WORKS . Every earth energy system has three main parts: a circuit of un- derground piping outside the house, a heat pump unit inside the house and a hot air delivery system using ducts. Depending on the land’s subsoil and conditions, pipe can. be in- stalled vertically into the ground, trenched horizontally or laid in a pond, river or lake. As a bonus, many earth energy systems provide “‘free’’ hot water heating through a ““desuperheater’’ or waste-heat recovery. unit attached to the system. This desuperheater makes use of excess heat from the hot refrigerant _ after it leaves the compressor. : A RENEWABLE RESOURCE ‘The beauty of the system is that the heat is free and inexhaustible: electricity is needed only to operate the compressor, cir- ° culating pump and fan. And while heat pumps use chlorofluorocar- bons (CFCs) as refrigerants, they use a variant form of CFC that has an ozone-depletion value about one-20th that of other widely used refrigerants. . Barth. energy systems are therefore_easy on the environment compared to non-renewable, polluting forms of heat energy. They are quiet and if properly in- stalled, require fittle maintenance apart from a yearly or twice-year- ly cleaning of coils, filters and’ fans. Since all parts of the system are either indoors or underground, there is no exposure to weather ‘ conditions and no unsightly equipment to mar the appearance - of your property. PAYBACK PERIOD The main disadvantage of earth energy systems is the relatively high initia} cost: these systems can cost up to twice as much to pur- chase and install as a gas, electric, or oil-fired furnace with add-on air conditioning. The high initial recouped, however, by m energy costs. Your heating bili, ‘for example, may drop by as much as 60% if you formerly heated your home electrically. For residential units, the payback period is usually five years. The longevity of the unit is also a plus. According. to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), it has a 22-year life span, compared to 12 to 15 years for all other heating and cooling systems. “While earth energy systems are cost is lower the most costly option, they are by far the most efficient,’’ notes Peter Scott-Smith, executive director of the industry’s associa- tion, the Canadian Earth Energy Association (CEEA). For every doliar’s worth of electricity used in operation, an earth energy system will deliver three to four dollars’ worth of usable heat energy to a building. INDUSTRY STANDARDS While ground source heat pumps have been used in Sweden and other European countries since the Second World War in both houses and commercial buildings, the industry is relatively young in Canada. For that reason, the industry association sought to establish standard requirements and design principles for installers to follow. : At the request of the CEEA, and with funding f:::;: Energy, Mines and Resource: ada and the Ontario Ministry <2 Energy, CSA: developed the national standard, Design and Installation of Ground and Water Source Heat Pump Systems (CAN/ CSA-C445-M&9}. “There have been 22,000 in- stallations across Canada to date,” Peter Scott-Smith com- ments. ‘““The standard gave our industry credibility, and now we're prepared to police the standard.”’ The CEEA operates a training centre for contractors and inspects installations. As a safeguard B MIRROR GLASS f DINING ROOM I FIXTURE arnxew RES s4x20W/" downlight sa'09™ against negligent installation or other problems, the association also offers a five-year consumer protection pian. Another CSA standard, Per- formance of Ground and Water Source Heat Pumps (CAN/ CSA-C446-M90), covers the energy efficiency of the equip- ment. If you decide to purchase a heating and cooling system, make sure you choose a qualified con- tractor. For more information or a list of certified contractors, write to the Canadian Earth Energy Association, 228 Barlow Cres., Dunrobin, Ontario KOA 1TO, or call their hotline at (613) 832-1854. 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