Going Green Intelligently
I have to give big props to a company from my home state of Maine, who’s helping the world go greener - in a user friendly way. Hallowell International of Bangor Maine has invented an air to air heat pump that works in cold climates. That’s big, huge news.
A heat pump heats and cools basically the same way your refrigerator does. It uses compressors to exchange heat with the air. They run on electricity alone (negating the need for fossil fuels), and are way more efficient than propane , oil, or straight electric heat. Up until Hallowell, the systems could only be used in Southern climes and required an outdoor air temp of at least 30 degrees F to operate.
So Hallowell created a patented process so these units can pull enough heat from the air, even when the outside temperature dips to -30. They are from Bangor, Maine after all.
So what makes these things so revolutionary on the user experience front? They are entirely constructed from existing, readily available HVAC parts. That means your installer or repairman doesn’t have to go get a PhD. , and that if it breaks you don’t have to freeze all winter waiting for parts.
I’m reminded of the auto industry which has specialized everything, so that i had to order and wait days for a cover for a light for my Toyota. In contrast, this heat pump has been called the equivalent of open source green technology.
One of the big problems with the adoption of green technology has been the cost and complexity barriers. This system is supposedly much less expensive than geothermal heat pumps, and the ease of installation and availability of parts mitigates those barriers for many.
Want to save the world with new technology? Make it user friendly!
