Residential Solar Heating In Southern Alberta
Abstract
Southern Alberta has excellent solar resources that should be put to our best use. Since nearly 60% of residential energy use comes from home heating, I wanted to compare options for solar heating. I have reviewed four different heating options: natural gas, voltaic with electric heaters (and electric back-up), photovoltaic with heat pump (with electric back-up), and solar thermal space heating (with electric back-up). Each space heating system was evaluated under two scenarios: an average residential insulation scenario and an upgraded insulation scenario. Under the average insulation scenario, natural gas was still the best option with the lowest GHG emissions and best economics. With improved insulation, an electric air source heat pump supplemented by photovoltaics proved the best option. The energy demand was covered fully by the PV; therefore GHG emissions for heating were nil. However, the financial payback for the PV and the heat pump was approximately 40 years.
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Citation
Denny, A. (2017). Residential Solar Heating In Southern Alberta (Unpublished report). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.