Hot Water | The Green Economy Post: Green Careers, Green Business, Sustainability

U.S. Department of Energy Announces Winners of the 2009 Solar Decathlon

By Chris de Morsella on October 17, 2009 Comments Off on U.S. Department of Energy Announces Winners of the 2009 Solar Decathlon 2009 Solar Decathlon, appliances, California, Canada, Cube House, Daniel Poneman, Darmstadt, energy-efficient solar powered house, Germany, home entertainment, hot water, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, net metering, Solar Decathlon, space heating and cooling, Spain, Team California, Team Germany, United States, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Minnesota, US Department of Energy, Washington D.C., zero carbon home

The Solar Decathlon is a competition in which teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar powered house. The winners of the 2009 competition – the fourth to be held – were announced on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. by U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman. The contest is organized by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and supported by event and team sponsors from the private sector.

Geothermal Heat Pumps: Good for the Bottom Line, Good for the Nation and Good for the Earth

By Chris de Morsella on June 1, 2009 17 Comments air conditioning, American Physical Society, and Actions to Overcome Barriers, Asia, Barriers to Adoption, Department of Energy, desuperheater, DOE, energy efficiency, energy saving, Energy Star, Europe, Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency, Geothermal (Ground-Source) Heat Pumps: Market Status, geothermal heat pump, geothermal units, GHP, GHP infrastructure, ground-source heat pump, heat pump, heating, hot water, How America can look within to achieve energy security and reduce global warming, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, peak demand, renewable energy, solar energy, tax credit, thermal mass, US, wind energy

Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), also known as ground-source heat pumps, are similar to ordinary heat pumps, but use the thermally stable mass of the earth below the ground instead of outside air to provide heating, air conditioning and, in most cases hot water as well. Because these systems use the earth’s natural reservoir of stable temperatures, they are among the most efficient and comfortable heating and cooling technologies around. GHPs can save substantial amounts of energy and significantly reduce peak demand in buildings that incorporate them.