
Load Management Group
In partnership with PLMA, this group is for practitioners from energy utilities, solution providers, and trade allies to share load management expertise and explore innovative approaches to program delivery, pricing constructs, and technology adoption.
Post
Heat Pumps in Michigan Winters.
Arctic heat pumps and closed loop geothermal should be the only heat pumps sold in the state of Michigan.
In Marquette the average temperature is 20° in Dec; 15° in Jan; and 17 °in Feb. Nov & April in the 30s and March the mid-20s. Standard heat pumps end up using their back up electrical elements at these temperatures. Using as much energy as a furnace.
In Detroit Dec, Jan, and Feb average temps are still below freezing, March, April and Nov would offer a COP of about 2 (50% less energy).
With an Arctic unit, In Marquette the COP is above 2 (except for very cold nights) and reach 3 (67% savings) when the temperature was over freezing. In Detroit, COP would remain above 2.5 (with exceptions).
With a closed loop geothermal system that is designed for cold weather, the COP in both cities would remain above 3, again with exceptions.
In the summer the newest heat pumps have a COP of 4 or better for A/C.
In December in Marquette solar produces 4 percent of its annual output (45 of 1228 KWH) [NREL] and in Detroit December is about 4.5% of annual use.
By contrast in Dec residential load is almost 9% of electricity, and 15% of natural gas annual use.
Winter should be our concern when planning for the future.
How do we fix this mismatch?
Discussions
No discussions yet. Start a discussion below.
Get Published - Build a Following
The Energy Central Power Industry Network is based on one core idea - power industry professionals helping each other and advancing the industry by sharing and learning from each other.
If you have an experience or insight to share or have learned something from a conference or seminar, your peers and colleagues on Energy Central want to hear about it. It's also easy to share a link to an article you've liked or an industry resource that you think would be helpful.
Sign in to Participate