Where I live in New England in the winter it can get as low as -13 F (-25 C). During summer heatwaves, it can reach over 100 F (40 C). Many of our houses and homes weren’t built for that, and in the United States, we aren’t exactly known for quality insulation. So how do we deal with heating and cooling our homes? Well, some of you may already know I’m crazy about heat pumps, but I came across a local company, called Flooid, that opened my eyes to the potential of cascading heat pumps. The constant refrain that heat pumps can’t work in the cold isn’t true anymore anyway, but this tech takes it to another level.
US company Gradient is preparing the marketintroduction of an easy-to-install window pane heat pump. Price tag $2000,- Specifically designed for sash-windows, especially popular in the US. The unit is said to be rather silent.
[gradientcomfort.com] – Corporate site
[time.com] – Gradient Heat Pump AC Window Unit
[prnewswire.com] – Beautiful, Innovative, Climate-Friendly HVAC Solutions
[wattisduurzaam.nl] – Is Nederland klaar voor een (tijdelijke) vensterbank-warmtepomp?
[aalborgcsp.com] – Heat pump integration for optimum energy utilization
[stateofgreen.com] – High-performance heat pump system from Aalborg CSP now in operation
[solarserver.de] – Aalborg CSP liefert Groß-Wärmepumpe für Fernwärmenetz
As of 2026, it will be forbidden in the Netherlands to install a new gas-based space heater/boiler. Instead, choosing from one of the following three options will be obliged:
Note that this new rule only applies for cases where an old installation needs to be replaced by a new one.
[nos.nl] – Vanaf 2026 hybride warmtepomp of variant verplicht bij vervanging cv-ketel
[nu.nl] – Hybride warmtepomp vanaf 2026 verplicht bij vervanging cv-ketel
Next year, Vattenfall will bring a new ‘plug-and-play’ high-temperature heat pump onto the market, that is suitable for older homes, eliminating the need to replace conventional radiators with an expensive floor heating. ‘Plug-and-play’ meaning: gas heater out, electric heat pump in. Temperatures: 70-90 C, power 6 kW base, 11 kW peak. The project is a joint-venture between Swedish Vattenfall, Dutch installer Feenstra, German hybrid heating manufacturer SOLVIS and the Japanese DENSO components and heat pump company. The hope is that over the entire season, a COP-value of 3 can be achieved.
The real advantage is that very high investments can be postponed. Vattenfall estimates that 2.8 million Dutch homes (out of 7 million in total) are suitable for this natural gas-free space heating solution. Another advantage is that the solution is available NOW, rather than having to wait for district heating or hydrogen. The medium in the thermodynamic cycle is CO2. The heat pump is rather bulky to accommodate a large water buffer, with stratified storage. The strategy is to slowly heat the storage during the day. When the inhabitants come home in the evening, the house can be warmed rapidly.
The heat pump is the result of 3 years R&D between Vattenfall and Feenstra and implemented in 20 test homes in Heemskerk. The winter of 2020-2021 had fairly cold days, but no complaints were registered.
[volkskrant.nl] – Vattenfall komt met warmtepomp voor oude woningen
[feenstra.com] – Van het aardgas af zonder ingrijpende verbouwing
[vattenfall.com] – Bestaande woningbouw eenvoudig aardgasvrij
[wattisduurzaam.nl] – Plug and play-warmtepomp voor ‘moeilijke’ huizen productierijp
There are too many sustainable projects in the Netherlands to keep track off, nevertheless, this one is singled out for 2 reasons:
1. application of PVT-panels 2. affordable for lower incomes
(There is a third reason that doesn’t apply to you, namely that this project is less than an hour walk from yours faithfully’s own home, so worthy of a detour for the daily self-imposed 10,000-step stroll)
The project scope: 25 energy neutral social housing rental homes. Delivery March 8, 2021. Excellent thermal isolation. Part of the building materials were recycled from the old torn-down homes. The basic rent: €630,- for 2- or €675,- for 3-bedrooms, which is low. Additionally, there is an energieprestatievergoeding (EPV) of about €105-125/month, a sort of compensation for the landlord and his energy investments. In return, the tenant hardly has an energy bill left.
The downside is that comfort is reduced. It takes 24 hours to bring the home at a temperature of 21 C. The heat pump capacity is low. In the rare case of freezing weather, inefficient additional heating is done with filaments. Electricity and heat are generated with PVT-panels.
[ed.nl] – Duurzaam wonen aan Michiel de Ruyterstraat in Aalst is ook even wennen [mijn-thuis.nl] – Michiel de Ruyterstraat, Aalst-Waalre [rvo.nl] – Energieprestatievergoeding (EPV) [planviewer.nl] – Project plan [Google Maps] – Michiel de Ruyterstraat, Aalst
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