The Heat Is On

Hybrid systems steamroll ahead, but the 2030 zero-carbon deadline might be unrealistic

BY TED McINTYRE

SO THERE’S GOOD NEWS and bad news in the Canadian heating and cooling industry as the nation rolls toward its zero-carbon target date of 2030.

The good news is that manufacturers have come up with outstanding heatpump products and technology to help homeowners reduce greenhouse gas emissions while enabling them to do this more efficiently.

The bad news is the number—and the size—of the hurdles faced by the industry responsible for installing those systems.

The first is a familiar refrain for the construction industry: a severe shortage of skilled trades.

“We already don’t have the people to do the work that our members are facing today, let alone having to re-orient and retrain our gasfitters to become heat pump installers,” explains Martin Luymes, V.P., Government & Stakeholder Relations at the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI).

There’s also a further demand on trades potentially looming, Luymes notes, with the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s call to designate air conditioning as a vital service for all tenants in the province.

“The second hurdle is ancillary to the first,” Luymes says. “We have a lot of contractors who have been doing natural gas heating for decades, and they’re saying, ‘We’re good where we are.’ And we’re trying to say, ‘Yeah, but look at the timelines and the building code changes that are coming!’ Convincing them that they need to start making changes within their companies is a big challenge. And many of these businessowners are in their late-50s or over 60 years old and are disinclined to even think about reconfiguring their businesses to be focused upon new technology and to not merely accept electrified forms of heating but to embrace them. At the individual and even company level, there might be some people saying, ‘I’m out of this! I’m selling my company.”

Another obstacle is an industry refrigerant transition, Luymes indicates. As part of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Montreal Protocol, Canada committed to eliminating ozone-depleting gases, including CFCs. But as some of those CFC-replacement gases feature very high global warming potential, an amendment to the agreement requires their elimination too. “That transition is starting to happen now, so we have to train all of our existing refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump installers how to work with these new gases.”

Price is another barrier, albeit not a permanent one. “The average heat pump is probably double the cost of the average gas furnace today, so home builders are being presented with a very costly alternative to a natural gas heating system,” Luymes admits. But as market forces come into play, heat pumps will come down in price and affordable builder-grade models will eventually become available.

And while higher electrical demand will require investment in municipal and provincial grids, Luymes believes that infrastructure costs associated with building a community should drop overall as heat pumps become the norm, given the elimination of natural gas connections, which currently average around $15,000 per home.

So are air conditioners dinosaurs? “There’s a movement in the U.S. to shift to the manufacturing of products that only cool,” Luymes says. “And it’s important to note that an air conditioner is just a one-way heat pump. Manufacturers can make it reversible with a couple of hundred dollars in parts.”

HEAT PUMPS ARE KING

If air conditions are increasingly a thing of the past, heat pumps are the immediate future, Luymes says. That said, “while the heat load requirement for a new code-built home can already be met with a heat pump, hybrid models, which also employ the use of natural gas, will probably still be needed for some time to heat and cool existing homes while working toward meeting net-zero carbon targets.”

Enbridge Gas is working with the provincial government along these lines to provide an affordable and sustainable energy solution: the Clean Home Heating Initiative. As of Sept. 27, 2022, a limited number of qualified retrofit homeowners in Sault Ste. Marie, London, St. Catharines and Peterborough began receiving government incentives of approximately $3,000 to $4,500 to install an air-source heat pump with smart controls. The deadline for consumers to apply closes March 31, 2023; however, Enbridge Gas has applied to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to offer a province-wide hybrid heating program as a part of its next framework in 2023.

A hybrid setup uses an electric air-source heat pump to heat a home when temperatures are moderate and electricity rates are low. When temperatures are cooler, or at times when electricity rates are at their peak, the system automatically switches to a condensing natural gas furnace, ensuring dependable comfort on the coldest of days. During the summer, the unit draws heat from inside the home and moves it outside, cooling more efficiently than a traditional air conditioner.

“Last year Enbridge Gas conducted a hybrid heating pilot project that focused on 105 homes in London, with five manufacturers and six contractors,” says Octavian Ghiricociu, Energy Conservation Solutions Specialist at Enbridge Gas. “Homeowner interest was high, so the province saw an opportunity to provide additional funding to the program, expanding it to 1,000 homes across four municipalities. We now have eight manufacturers and upwards of 40 contractors trained and offering hybrid heating solutions.”

Gerry Dennis, Project Manager of Energy Conservation Solutions at Enbridge Gas, notes that “if a home has a working furnace that is compatible with an air-source heat pump, the program does not force you to change the furnace—you’re just replacing the AC with a heat pump, which comes in two tiers: an Energy Star version and a coldclimate air-source version. On top of that, we’ve selected two types of smart controls: one from BKR Energy in Toronto and the other from Napoleon in Barrie. Smart controls balance the time of day with outdoor temperature and energy costs, ensuring that the customer is receiving the most affordable energy to heat or cool their home. It checks in hourly, every day of the year.”

A UNIQUE PROGRAM

As opposed to many Canadian construction trends that follow a European precedent, this program is unique. “This is Ontario-built technology for our market,” Dennis says. “We’re the only one doing this in North America, and we haven’t seen anything from Europe like this either.”

The project has also involved some noted OHBA building talent. “Prior to our London pilot, we conducted a number of technical pilots including a house built by Doug Tarry (president of Doug Tarry Homes), and Doug absolutely loved it,” says Dennis. “And we used (Building Knowledge Canada President) Gord Cooke for training contractors how to sell hybrid heating.”

Even if initial program savings are minimal, the efficiency of the unit guarantees lower greenhouse gas emissions, the experts note.

The low-profile design of the super-quiet Daikin Fit system requires just 4” of clearance for outdoor installation.

PERFECT FIT

One hybrid product gaining huge traction is the Daikin Fit heat pump system. This smart and lightweight model melds the best features and performance of ductless-style systems with the ability to connect to traditional ducted systems.

“Consumers are starting to ask for it,” says Mike Martino, founder of Martino HVAC—particularly where space and sound levels are a factor. Its low-profile, side-discharge design—requiring only 4” of clearance—offers solutions where a traditional cube style cannot. And its inverter-driven compressor and side discharge deliver an extraordinarily quiet outdoor unit operation, with sound output as low as 55 dB(A). The combination allows homeowners to regain their outdoor space and comfort.

Performance-wise, the Daikin Fit provides a mid-efficiency, costcompetitive system that delivers up to 10 HSPF, 18 SEER and 98% AFUE ratings, with a flexibility that allows it to be used for smart cooling only, gas heat, heat pump or dual fuel.

The system is controlled by the Daikin One+ smart thermostat— the first to offer full, two-way communications with Daikin HVAC systems, giving consumers more control over the air they breathe.

Available from 1.5 to 5 tons, with heating capacity of 40,000-120,000 BTU/h, the Daikin Fit is backed by a 12-year parts limited warranty and a 12-year unit replacement limited warranty.

While hybrid efficiency is the order of the current day, the future is clear for builders, says Luymes. “The only way to be net-zero carbon is to not burn fuels. So it means the eventual end of fossil fuels in new homes.” OHB