Top HVAC Green Technologies
In total, all of these reductions will lower your costs for maintaining a comfortable home. Budgets aside, using fewer resources is good for the environment, both locally and globally, allowing you to feel a touch of pride every time you make the switch to new green technologies.
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) technologies are changing at a rapid clip since your HVAC system is the biggest user of energy in your home. A component of the home that used to consume lots of resources, while wasting a lot of energy in the process, is now more efficient. It creates more warm or cool air with less energy, and the air it does change is utilized more efficiently.
Energy efficiency in the HVAC industry is growing, and these are some of the technologies making it happen…
Geothermal Heat Pump
Although geothermal technologies have been been used in the HVAC industry since the 1940’s, they have not been utilized to the extent that we are seeing today.HVAC products that focus on renewable energy have become more popular, and geothermal technology is one of the top options. Essentially, they use heat from the ground in a cycle of piping. During cold months, a conducting fluid is piped into the ground where it gains warmth; it is then carried back into the machine that transfers the heat into the air, creating a warmth for the home without using massive amounts of resources.
Solar-Powered Air Conditioning
When it comes to green sources of energy, there seems to be no better option than the sun. Solar energy is gaining traction in the market, but passive solar energy, which utilized the sun’s energy in a more direct way, is a budding new technology in the HVAC sphere.Passive solar energy uses the sun’s rays directly, allowing it to heat materials which can remain warm for a long period.
For example, plastic or metal water pipes can be installed on the sunny side of a house. When the sun is shining, the water inside the pipes will warm; it can then be pumped throughout the home to distribute warm air around the house.
Active solar technology is the other type being used by the HVAC industry. This is the solar paneling that you see mounted to houses, which convert the sunlight directly into electricity. This electricity can then be used for many different purposes, including the operation of an HVAC system.
Solar panels are progressively gaining in efficiency. Today’s equipment only absorbs a small portion of the sun’s energy, but new advancements are allowing for greater and greater energy collection, which means less electricity from other sources will be needed.
Thermal and Acoustic Duct Tape
Believe it or not, duct tape was actually invented for use in…ducts! Turns out this tough, reliable, versatile tape was actually a part of HVAC systems, and while your household rolls can still be used for sealing hoses, patching canvas, and repairing children’s toys (among thousands of other uses), modern ductwork needs duct wrap that is not only strong but creates better insulation, enhancing energy savings. There are now tapes that serve as a thermal insulator for metal ducts, reducing energy waste from your entire HVAC system.Hydronic Heating
This form of heating, or at least the basic principle, is a time-tested technology. If you remember old cast-iron radiators from older buildings, you remember hydronic heating, although that specific term may not have been used.Hydronic heating systems have become more efficient and sophisticated, using hot water piped through tubes which often run through the floorboards, although they can also go through radiators or along heat boards.
This HVAC green technology uses hot liquids, which are often heated through solar or geothermal energy. The warm liquids are then channeled to a heat exchanger, where the warmth of the liquid is used to heat the indoor air, creating better energy efficiency.
With this technology, heat can be transferred in three different ways. First, conduction can be used to transfer heat from one object to another. Radiation can be used (safely, we might add) to transfer heat through electromagnetic waves. Finally, convection, which is the principle of warm air rising, can be used strategically to warm a home.
Absorption Heat Pumps
These systems are not powered by electricity, but instead use solar, geothermal, or other sources to create warmth with a heat pump. They work like typical heat pumps but with two differences. First of all, the pump is driven by a natural gas burner instead of electricity. Second, the pump uses a water-ammonia solution instead of a refrigerant. Absorption heat pumps absorb heat from various sources (often geothermal) and moves heated liquid into the house.Ice-Powered Cells
Ice can cool your beverage, but can it actually cool your home?And if so, would it even be a feasible source of cooling energy?
Some innovators from the HVAC industry are putting ice to the test by converting freezing water and using it to run an air-conditioning unit.
In hot summer months, the air conditioner can use a massive amount of energy, but ice-powered air conditioners use a different strategy. They make ice at night, and then store and use the ice during the day. Air is pumped over and around the ice, cooling it before it is pumped into the living space.
Radiant-Heat Flooring
Floor heating is becoming a popular option for homeowners and builders. Not only is this a cozy way to warm your feet on a cold morning, it can be a highly efficient form or heating that reduces your overall utility bills and creates a more eco-friendly home.There are electric and water-based systems, but they both use the principle of convection (warmer substances rising) to throughly heat a home. One of the top benefits is that the heat source is spread evenly across an entire room, resulting in no cold spots, which disrupt the efficiency of a heating system.
Zoning the Home
Most traditional HVAC systems try to provide cool or warm air throughout the entire home. The main living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom are all treated the same. But what if you have a room, such as a guest bedroom, that rarely gets used?In that case, you are wasting energy keeping that room at a comfortable temperature.
Zoning the home through monitors in each room or section of the home allow for greater efficiency. You could, for example, reduce the heat in an unused room, or you could reduce the heat on the sunny side of the house, which will receive a slight benefit from the sun’s rays. The chances to use home zoning to increase efficiency are virtually limitless, making this one of the premier HVAC green technologies.
Energy-Analyzing Software
Tying all of these HVAC technologies together, software can accurately measure and regulate the air in a home and properly utilize HVAC systems. The sophisticated and advanced systems we have discussed before would be of little benefit if we didn’t have the proper software to precisely control them. Software can do virtually limitless tasks when it comes to enhancing the efficient use of energy, and by having a system that monitors not just the temperature, but also the energy use of a home, we are able to take efficiency to a new level.Energy analysis software allows designers, architects, engineers, and builders to install some of the most green HVAC technologies currently available on the market. There are many different softwares that can be connected to the home’s HVAC system, and they are changing the way HVAC professionals select and install green HVAC technology.
Top-Quality Efficient Air Purifiers for Your Home
If you want to enhance your home’s efficiency while maintaining clean air, use an air purifier from Oransi. With advanced motors and innovative designs, our air purifiers use less electricity while maintaining excellent air purification, making them the perfect complement to all types of HVAC systems.Whether you need to reduce airborne allergens, or simply want to reduce the chances of mold growth, our purifiers can make it happen!
