WSHPs Vital Role in Decarbonization Part 1: The Case for Decarbonization

Water Source Heat Pumps (WSHP) are destined to play a significant role in the decarbonization (and accompanying electrification) of the United States and many other parts of the world. In this series, we will discuss WSHP technology's relevance to this global movement and what is happening in our industry to leverage this technology in the fight against climate change.

We start by asking a straightforward question: What's driving the decarbonization and electrification movement in the first place? Climate change, of course. More specifically, by moving away from carbon fuels and utilizing onsite, carbonless energy to heat and cool our buildings, we are:

(1) Helping to rid the world of harmful emissions that threaten the environment and human health.

(2) Facilitating the zero-carbon movement by taking advantage of the vast electric infrastructure that already exists throughout most of the world.

85% of the world's population has access to electricity now, and the remaining 15% wants it. The problem is that 40% of the world's electricity comes from burning coal. More importantly, burning coal to generate electricity accounts for 70% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions released into the environment. So, we must move toward carbonless electricity generation to reduce carbon emissions.

Meanwhile, the global building stock is expected to double by 2060, further pressurizing a worldwide collective of decarbonization initiatives. In its 2022 Position Document on Building Decarbonization, ASHRAE states:

“The global policies and commitments driving the transformation in building design and performance are broadly motivated by climate change, and the global building stock is expected to double by 2060. In response to this call for action, many countries’ public and corporate entities have set goals to be carbon neutral prior to 2050. Now is the time to turn these commitments and goals into action. By 2050, at the latest, all new and existing assets must have net zero GHG emissions across their whole life cycles."

This is the voice of our industry leadership. ASHRAE is fully invested and committed to doing its part to see these goals through. In terms of new building construction, ASHRAE advocates for building and utilizing onsite renewable energy with energy storage to reduce buildings’ dependence on the electrical grid. This includes WSHP systems, which deliver up to twice the coefficient of performance (COP) of widely used air source heat pumps.

We do not doubt that with the move to all-electric HVAC and domestic hot water, WSHPs will become the standard for reducing the Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of our buildings.