Green home heating option: High-efficiency heat pump

How else to heat the house?

Now that the nights are cooling down here in Toronto, home heating is back on the radar. My 1940s home has radiators powered by gas, which makes for a nice warm feel, but I’d like to move to a greener option.

If we had forced air ductwork, I’d look at a high-efficiency heat pump. There is an air-source option now available from Mitsubishi. The Zuba-Central both heats and cools, and unlike most air-source heat pumps sold in Canada, it’s able to run efficiently when it’s as cold as -30 degrees C outside. (It will work in lower temperatures, just not at the same efficiency level.) The Zuba-Central connects to your existing forced air infrastructure using an internal unit that replaces your furnace and an external unit that collects or sheds heat energy (depending on the season) via a coolant loop. I think it’s a great option – but for my home, I have to wait for a ductless version, since we only have radiators.

Of course, for those of you with suitable property, there are geothermal options. While these are typically $30,000 plus to install, they are very efficient.

To make geothermal or air-source heat pumps even greener, you could change your household electricity provider to Bullfrog Power (or another renewable energy provider). Then you’d be running a super-efficient furnace without burning any fossil fuels at all, effectively heating your home without a carbon impact. Wow!

To address our situation, my partner and I are evaluating on-demand hot-water systems that will power my household hot water and the radiators as well, perhaps fed by a solar hot water heater mounted on the roof. Or perhaps we could have ductwork installed in our attic. It’s not easy to retrofit an older home!

Are you trying to move to a greener home heating option?