The Beauty of Integrated Solutions
As we watch nations scramble to resolve geopolitical energy supply situations, it’s a good idea to look at all of our options, and not just the obvious ones (which often are not options at all). A common option heard on the grapevine is that we should let the XL pipeline be built. Well, that would take years, and there are many other issues with that project (like potential destruction of key farm and ranch land).
The best response to geopolitical energy uncertainties by far is to reduce energy waste. The second is to install green energy, locally produced, which in some cases, can be done fairly rapidly. When one solution can do both of these things, it’s worth paying attention to.
Continuing our conversation about ground source (geothermal) energy, let’s talk about a project that takes it to the next level by using existing structure to create a neighborhood level microgrid.
Imagine living in a neighborhood where most of your heating and cooling came from under the earth, where temperatures are at a steady 55-68 degrees in most places. The cost for this heating is the price of running a fan and pump. And the environmental cost is almost zero, once the system is installed. The energy is produced and controlled locally, creating local jobs that can’t be outsourced.
Heat pumps, which use the heat of the air or ground or water in local areas to heat and cool homes, are a major buzzword right now because they are more efficient than most central heating and air conditioning or oil heaters that have gained so much popularity in western countries especially. A significant portion of homes in areas with colder winters are heated with gas heaters. Much of Germany is dependent on these. Currently, they’re getting significant portions of this gas from Russia. Aside from the greenhouse gases created by this situation, we’re now dealing with uncomfortable and unpredictable supply chain issues.
Heat pumps work by moving heat from one location to another. They are more efficient, more green and less expensive than fossil fuel or central air heating/cooling, thus many people are choosing to replace their central air or oil systems with heat pumps. A huge advantage is that they are localized. No need for pipelines traversing sensitive water supplies or ecological systems — or disputed borders, or war zones. All of the energy comes directly from one’s own neighborhood. Underground energy is even relatively bomb resistant.
Many heat pumps draw heat out of air, but some draw it from the ground, where temperatures stay the same, year around. These are more efficient yet, since the air being heated or cooled by the pump is a stable temperature year around. In Florida that temperature can range between 68–72 degrees 6 feet below the surface. In colder climates, it can be closer to 55 degrees.
In Massachusetts, gas utilities looking for a way to transform their gas powered heat, which is very susceptible to cost changes, shortages, etc, are trialing a method of using the gas pipe infrastructure to install ground-sourced heat pumps in a neighborhood.
The most expensive part of ground sourced heating/cooling is the installation of underground pipes. This cost makes it prohibitive for most individual households to afford. However, in this project, already existing gas pipes will be used to install the underground pipes, and the entire neighborhood can help share the costs which greatly reduces overall installation costs.
The installation costs of this system for new developments could be woven into funding. Utility costs are greatly lowered and there is another advantage — fewer solar panels are needed not only to run these systems but to start them. Central air conditioning draws a tremendous amount of energy when the system turns on. This means you need many more solar panels during that large energy draw than you need in order to simply run the unit once its own. If you’ve lived with central air, you’ve heard the unit turn on and off regularly as needed to keep the temperature in a narrow range. Many motors that run household items are designed like this, because when drawing from a massive central utility company, that spike is negligible. When drawing from your own set of solar panels, it isn’t negligible. Heat pumps are much more solar friendly than central air units because they need less of an energy spike to turn on.
They are also excellent at dehumidifying homes and do so more efficiently than central air or dehumidifiers. This is a big deal for many people in hot, humid areas.
It’s truly a mystery at this point why any new development would not include this technology and/or other green energy source. It’s a huge draw for anybody buying the home as their utility bill will be much lower for the entire time they live there. Who wouldn’t want that? Who actually wants to pay more money to their utility company every month for the rest of their life?
This is the part I really don’t get. Why aren’t we all demanding that any new development or retrofit anywhere use only green energy? At this point, especially with oil prices and energy prices moving all over the place and spiking to unaffordable heights, it is kind of beyond ridiculous to do anything else. Some developers are getting the idea, but they are few and far between. And some of them are engaged in horrific greenwashing, such as clearcutting forests to make massive solar “farms” to feed McMansion developments. It really isn’t that hard to develop a property more sustainably — though it may be different than what developers are used to.
One way we each can help create a change is by letting city official know you only want new developments that are green. Let developers know this too. If every person who didn’t want to live in a polluted area said something about this (which is pretty much all of us, I suspect), things would change. It can be tempting to become apathetic, thinking you can’t change developers, but they are responsive to consumer needs, if they know what they are. So let them know.
Note that the Massachusetts neighborhood heat pump project was inspired by a non-profit organization that provided feasibility data to the utility company. Utility companies shouldn’t need a non-profit group to do this, but if that’s what it takes, let’s get it done. We need thousands of these projects happening, all over the country.
Neighborhoods don’t have to wait for a utility company to come up with this idea. If you can get enough of your neighbors interested, you can get such a system installed yourself, along with other microgrid features that can greatly reduce everybody’s cost for installation. If you don’t want to pay a utility company period for your energy, self-organized neighborhood microgrids are a solution to seriously explore. Why not own your own mini-utility (along with your neighbors)? There are numerous advantages to this, both financial and logistical.
The Massachusetts project is being installed by the utility company, and residents will continue to pay the company for the use of the power. It will be less expensive, but will still be a monthly cost. With a neighborhood microgrid, the community pays for the microsystem (payments can be kept below monthly utility costs), and once it is paid, there are no further costs except maintenance which is generally minimal.
Neighborhood microgrids are very flexible — energy sources can be designed for each neighborhood according to its microclimate and needs, and which source would be most efficient in that context. Microgrids can be linked together for greater efficiency yet. Microgrids open up capabilities individual homes may not have — for instance, if your home is in a wooded area, you could still have solar by utilizing an open field nearby, purchased by the neighborhood to install solar panels on.
Sometimes, it’s easier to get funding at a neighborhood level or even grants or other help to get the system set up. Equipment can be purchased in bulk, sometimes greatly lowering the price for everybody. Solar cooperatives are one example of this approach, and increasing in popularity. You don’t need to get your immediate neighbors to agree to install solar with a cooperative model. They can come from anywhere in the city, and you still get some advantages on price, installation and other aspects.
Use of permaculture design and systems thinking could increase the yield, practicality, and savings of a project like this enough to make it irresistable in most situations.
In too many cases, the reason for any resistance to such projects is usually a lack of information, or incorrect information (sometimes, surprise, disseminated by oil companies not wanting to lose market share to superior technology).
One way to increase the effectiveness and long term viability of such a project would be to include some deeper than usual community level work. Examples include spending sufficient effort to ensure people fully understand the advantages, or going into a neighborhood and finding out what changes or resources are most needed or desired and finding ways to incorporate those in some way. What if some land belonging to the utility company could be used as a community garden or a local park? Now you’ve included a way to extend neighborhood engagement, and support of the project.
While new infrastructure is installed, is it possible to capture other yields, like creating permeable pavement or pollinator corridors or wetlands to help clean pollution, or trees? How could solar be incorporated, including EV solar charging stations, so that no fossil fuels were needed at all? What about bike paths? What if every major retrofit in a city included finding ways to increase quality of life while reducing pollution from every direction?
In a development context, a permaculture designer would dive deep to find ways to maximize green built, no-waste systems, while protecting the watershed and local ecological systems. We would look for ways to create more walkable neighborhoods and increase opportunities to build community with thoughtfully designed public spaces. We’d find ways to enhance local, healthy food supplies and strengthen the local economy. All of this would increase the attractiveness and long term viability of the development.
Often, there are code and zoning barriers to creating such designs, but there are a number of ways to overcome these as well. It is getting progressively easier to do so as cities and counties confront their greenhouse gas reduction goals for 2030.
We can reduce use of fossil fuels affordably and quickly, in ways that are very much win-win for all concerned (except perhaps for people wanting to profit at the expense of others’ well-being), if we just spend a little more time and energy engaged in thoughtful, observant, whole systems design
We have the opportunity to think way outside the box in how we provide energy to our homes. Let’s do it!
Notes:
Massachusetts neighborhood ground-source heat pump project.
How heat pumps work, pros and cons
https://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/heating-and-cooling/heat-pump.htm
Article on addressing the code challenges of creating holistically designed cities
https://smartgrowthamerica.org/have-we-zoned-great-walkable-places-out-of-existence/
Neighborhood microgrids
Florida solar cooperative
