As heat pumps become a more popular tool for providing high-efficiency heating, more and more co-ops are jumping on the bandwagon with hopes of reducing their energy costs.
To investigate the impact that heat pumps are having on co-ops’ bottom lines, the Agency commissioned a case study to see just how much two co-ops were saving thanks to heat pumps.
The two co-ops we selected for the case study are Oshawa Creek Cooperative Housing in Oshawa and Black Creek Cooperative Housing in Toronto, both of which are multi-story apartment building co-ops with more than 80 units.
Before the installation of heat pumps, both co-ops relied on electric baseboard heaters, and neither had any cooling options for their units.
Post-installation, energy consumption was reduced by 21 to 34 per cent for Oshawa Creek, and 18 to 30 per cent for Black Creek. For Oshawa Creek, this worked out to an average cost savings of around $4,500.
In addition, the heat pumps have the added benefit of providing air conditioning for members in the summer, as well as improved ventilation, air circulation, and thermal controllability.
Read the full case study from Morrison Hershfield to get more information on how the heat pump systems were installed and the effect they had on energy consumption.