Home » Environment » Green Energy » Electric Heat Programs

Electric Heat Programs

The membership promotes the use of electric heat in consideration of its efficiency, convenience, safety, cleanliness, quietness, reliability and versatility. The programs for electric heat include four categories consisting of 1) heat pumps; 2) storage heating; 3) dual heating and 4) conventional electric heat.

Heat Pumps

The heat pump programs consist of ground source and air-to-air systems. Ground-source heat pumps do not use a heating element. They operate by extracting heat from the ground, which has a temperature of 40 to 50 degrees, and delivering it to the home at 90 to 125 degrees. The heat exchange with the ground occurs through a series of plastic pipes that are placed in either vertical or horizontal positions. This process results in efficiencies between 300 and 400 percent. A reversible valve enables the heat pump to remove heat from inside the home in the summertime and return it to the ground. Ground-source heat pumps are normally connected to the consumer’s hot water heater, which also provides for very economical water heating costs.

Add-On Heat Pump

Air-to-air heat pumps operate on the same principle as ground-source heat pumps. The only difference is the heat exchange occurs with air and results in efficiencies of 200 to 300 percent.

Storage Heat Systems

The storage heat systems are normally constructed of high-density bricks. The bricks are electrically charged with heat during the off-peak low load periods and the heat radiates from the bricks into the home during the high load on-peak periods rather than using electricity to generate the heat. This operation, which transfers on-peak electrical usage to off-peak periods, is incorporated as part of the members’ demand-side management (DSM) systems.

Dual Heating Systems

Air-Source Heat Pump

Dual heating systems are also installed as part of the members’ Demand-side Management (DSM) programs. These systems allow consumers to heat their residences with electric heat or a fossil fuel such as propane or fuel oil. DSM systems may be used to remotely turn off the electric heat and start the backup fossil fuel furnaces to reduce on-peak electric usage. This reduces the on-peak amount of electric power while still meeting the consumer needs for heat.

The members use the dual-fuel concept as a marketing tool that enables them to market additional power without increasing their purchased-power costs during peak periods. Dual-heat systems have typically resulted in electric heat being added to homes with fossil fuel furnaces. There are, however, many cases where fossil fuel furnaces have been added to all electric homes, which demonstrate the members’ commitment to this program.

Conventional Electric Heat

As heat pumps and storage heaters continue to gain acceptance, the percent of electrically heated homes using conventional electric resistance heat has decreased.

Electric heat use by the cooperative members results in a savings of gallons of oil, which would have been burned if oil heat had been used instead of electric heat. The use of heat pumps as compared with other conventional electric heat also saves a considerable amount of electricity, as heat pump efficiencies are two- to four-times greater than electric resistance heat.

Top of page