Trane Home. Total CO2 Emissions.

Households emit nearly 11 million tonnes of CO2 per year due to the combustion of fossil fuels for household heating and hot water production. This represents 30% of total CO2 emissions.

 

Commercial and public buildings are responsible for the emission of nearly 7 million tonnes of CO2 per year (close to 18% of total CO2 emissions) due to their energy consumption. Sixty-five percent of that energy consumption is for space heating, water heating and cooling.

The main environmental benefit of renewable heat pumps is there ability to reduce the primary energy consumption required for space heating, cooling and water heating. However their very high efficiency to produce heat at user’s point must be balanced by the power station efficiency at generating the electricity driving a heat pump. 

When replacing your oil boiler with a ground source heat pump, you will reduce your CO2 emissions by at least 40%. That’s already a significant contribution towards the fight against climate change. As electricity is mainly generated by fossil fuels with a high carbon content (coal, peat, oil, etc.), using 1 kWh of electricity is responsible for a relatively high level of CO2 emissions (0.82 kgCO2/kWh). With the replacement of old power stations using coal or peat with more efficient and cleaner electricity plants, the potential of electric heat pumps to reduce CO2 emissions will increase further. 

 

But the really good news is that Green Electricity produced from renewable energy sources (wind, hydro, biomass) is now commercially available in Ireland at a competitive rate. The generation of Green Electricity is free of CO2 emissions and has a primary energy efficiency of 100%. So by driving your heat pump with Green Electricity, you will heat your house and hot water totally with renewable energy sources and without emitting any CO2. That’s a major achievement for the environment. 

Low operation noise, Good aesthetics (no chimneys, no cooling towers) and improved room use, (no radiators), No roof penetrations resulting in reduced potential of leakage and ongoing maintenance,  Increased safety – no combustion or explosive gases within the building, No local pollution by fuel combustion, Improved indoor air quality and reduced risk of asthma.