More BS* + Beer
This episode of the BS* + Beer Show features Ross Trethewey advocating for air-to-water heat pumps (AWHP). Ross explains why he views water as the ideal medium for moving heat, and identifies the many benefits of packaged or monobloc heat pumps, including design flexibility, capacity for handling both heating and cooling as well as domestic hot water, higher coefficient of performance (COP) ratings, and environmental safety, among others.
Product rep Dave Hazel joins the show, too. He sees the HVAC industry trending more and more toward packaged units and predicts a boom in heat pump innovations in response to the transition away from refrigerants with high global warming potential. There’s discussion of the new A2L refrigerants being adopted and their compatibility with existing heat pumps. Other topics include adding AWHPs to older houses, reasons not to remove a boiler or furnace when installing an AWHP, the effects of air temperature on COP, and much more. Enjoy the show!
Bios
Ross Trethewey is the founder and lead engineer of TE2 Engineering, as well as the building engineer on This Old House. He is a licensed engineer in various states and earned both bachelor and Master of Science degrees in mechanical engineering from Tufts University. Follow Ross on LinkedIn, X (@RossTret) or Instagram at (@rosstretheweytoh)
Dave Hazel is the Northeast senior manager for business development at LG Air Conditioning with over 20 years of experience in the HVAC industry specializing in high performance heat pump applications and design. He educates and develops new construction builders, architects, developers, remodelers, weatherization firms and HVAC installation contractors along with the Passive House and building science communities. David holds BS and AS business degrees with a focus on high-quality building standards. He can be reached at [email protected].
The BS* + Beer Show schedule
The next show is on August 1 from 6-7 p.m. ET.
Use this link to register for The BS* + Beer Show
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Kiley Jacques is senior editor at Green Building Advisor.
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3 Comments
In this post I laid out the reason why I believe air-to-water has fundamental advantages over other heat pump approaches: https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/question/are-air-to-water-heat-pumps-about-to-boom
The summary is that air-to-water is fundamentally less expensive, and better at delivering comfort.
Thanks DC!
This week's BS*+Beer Show will be part 2 of 2 on spray foam, with Henri Fennell. Here's what we have in our mailer (sign up here for emailed show descriptions: https://mailchi.mp/3e8e27ba8332/thebsandbeershow):
Kits & Cans: Getting DIY Spray Foam Right
Thursday, August 1, 2024
6pm ET • 5pm CT • 4pm MT • 3pm PT
Spray foam expert Henri Fennell joins us again to continue the conversation from June, on how to get spray foam right. This time we will focus mainly on kits, sometimes called froth paks after Dow/Dupont's product, and the one-part canned-foam we are all used to seeing and using. Based on interest in the last show, we are again expanding our show to 90 minutes. In the unlikely event that we run out of things to talk about regarding DIY foam, we can revisit the many questions we didn't get to on the last show with Henri.
Please register in advance for The BS + Beer Show here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KnxdjKNiTdq0ngN6rKgMbw
On screen this week:
Henri Fennell (http://www.polyurethanefoamconsulting.com/) is a building envelope specialist and architect with over forty years of experience in energy conservation design, products, and services. His background covers many disciplines providing a unique perspective on the real-world design and implementation of high-performance building envelopes. Mr. Fennell’s work with polyurethane foam materials began with energy-efficient demonstration projects during the energy crisis of the 1970s, including the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum, his first spray foam project, in 1971. One of his senior projects at Carnegie Mellon University involved research and testing of the bonding and flexural strength in various foam-core structural insulated panel (SIP) designs. During his senior year at CMU, he became a partner in a think-tank organization that developed a patented building system that integrated a structural framing system and structural foam panels. As a partner in the spin-off company resulting from this patent, he manufactured both conventional structural molded foam panels and the specialized patented system. During this time Mr. Fennell also became a pioneer in the solar industry, developing and installing the first panelized building system which incorporated non-tracking parabolic solar collectors into the prefabricated structural enclosure system (1975). A demonstration project utilizing this system proved to be net-zero energy except for incidental plug loads (NESEA poster project 1977).
Mr. Fennell’s work experience has included positions as a practicing architect, a building envelope contractor, and a building envelope remediation and commissioning consultant. Based on years of building diagnostics and envelope commissioning, he has a broad understanding of theoretical and applied building science as related to building envelope performance and failures. Since the early 1980s he has been involved in the design and construction of what is now called micro-load buildings, including a cutting-edge net-zero energy research structure in Antarctica.
Emily Mottram, Mottram Architecture (https://www.mottramarch.com/, https://www.instagram.com/mottramarch/)
Travis Brungardt, Catalyst Construction (https://www.catalystbuilt.com/, https://www.instagram.com/catalystbuilt/)
Ben Bogie, BPC Green Builders (https://www.bpcgreenbuilders.com/, https://www.instagram.com/benbogie/?hl=en)
Mike Maines, Maines Design (https://www.maines.design/, https://www.instagram.com/michaelmaines/)
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Find recordings of The BS + Beer Show here: https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blog/bs-and-beer
Thank you to our media partners:
Green Building Advisor and Fine Homebuilding Magazine
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