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By 2030, around a quarter of UK buildings should be heated using them, according to the UK government's climate advisory body, rising to 52% by 2050. Electrifying heating will also be key to decarbonising buildings in the US, says Melissa Lott, director of research at the Centre on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. One study in San Francisco referred to heat pumps as the "single most impactful lever" to reducing emissions. — BBC
Communal heatmains can be used to overcome the challenges of digging expensive boreholes for heat pumps in private homes and urban apartment blocks where most of the UK’s population resides. The country’s push to heat half of its homes using heat pumps, which are evolving, puts it... View full entry
After decades of heating their homes with relatively cheap Russian natural gas, Germans are facing exorbitant prices for energy. The search is on for an alternative source of warmth that is climate-friendly and free from natural gas. Enter, the heat pump. — The New York Times
The prohibitive price of units and installation is being covered by the government up to €60,000 ($63,000 USD). Still, it lags behind the Netherlands and other European counterparts in terms of the total number currently used across the country. Most estimates place contemporary heat pumps in... View full entry
A creative answer to one of the most pervasive issues in American public housing is being sought by one of the largest civic authorities in the country as the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has issued a challenge to design an affordable new all-electric heat pump for the 21st century... View full entry
The City Council is poised to ban the use of gas in new buildings, requiring most to use electricity-powered heat and hot water. Lawmakers reached a deal late Wednesday on a bill requiring new buildings shorter than seven stories to go electric on Jan. 1, 2024, and taller ones after July 1, 2027. Projects that get their construction documents approved before those dates will be exempt. — The Real Deal
Buildings of less than seven stories and at least half of its units subject to an affordable housing regulatory agreement are exempt if construction documents are approved before December 31, 2025. New buildings that are taller with the same agreement will have two more years. The measure allows... View full entry
...an approach known as bioclimatic design: using the environment around a building to passively manage the temperature and light inside, rather than mechanically heat and cool a space. Structures designed that way are energy efficient, which leaves them with a smaller carbon footprint. — The Daily Beast
Cities across the U.S. are experiencing heat waves. However, designing cities and structures for hot climates is nothing new. Early architects have developed design solutions for regulating temperatures. Yet, with this progression, a reliance has grown towards cooling systems like air conditioners... View full entry
Five years ago we reported on a device invented by a group of students at MIT. This device, originally called "Wristify", was a small bracelet designed to heat or cool the wearer to achieve customized comfort, regardless of the surrounding environment. Today, after a few years of R&D, and with... View full entry
The recently completed Bolueta high rise by VArquitectos is now the tallest reaching Passive House building in the world. Located in Bilbao, Spain, the project includes an adjacent 9-story building with 63 apartments dedicated for social housing. Bolueta by VArquitectos, located in Bilbao... View full entry
Two entrepreneurs have figured out how to heat their homes for free: bitcoin mining.
Bitcoin transactions require a lot of processing power, which creates a lot of heat. So Ilya Frolov and Dmitry Tolmachyov built a wooden cottage in the Russian Siberian town of Irkutsk, and they’re heating it with two bitcoin mines. The men pocket about $430 a month from bitcoin transactions, while keeping the 20 square meter space warm.
— Quartz
This post is brought to you by Ortal. Modern fireplaces are first and foremost decorative elements—gorgeous architectural details, beautiful centerpieces, conversation openers, symbols of home and hearth. “For a lot of people they are almost like shrines or alters, in that the fireplace will... View full entry
The intent is to save energy by controlling the temperature of an individual person, rather than an entire building, a goal that anyone who's ever turned on a personal space heater in a frigid office building in July can get behind. The team just won $10,000 from MIT's Making And Designing Materials Engineering Competition, which the inventors will use to improve the prototype and the algorithms that automate the pulses. — popsci.com
