Testing and Validation of Two-stage, High temperature, Air-to-water Heat Pumps for the Nova Scotia Environment

From the Nova Scotia Department of Finance Statistics, in 2021, fuel oil accounted for 32% of residential home heating in Nova Scotia, with roughly 20% of residences using oil furnaces and radiators (water-based) in conjunction with the fuel oil. In July 2024, the Federal Energy Minister Mr. Wilkinson announced the intention of the government to ban the installation of oil furnaces and accelerate retrofitting in existing constructions. That means that 20% of Nova Scotia’s residences will need a retrofitting option that matches the residence’s infrastructure (water-based heating and domestic hot water); the numbers in PEI are similar.

From Efficiency NS analysis, only two solutions are available currently for those residences: moving to a propane furnace which remains a fossil fuel burning solution, or abandoning the infrastructures already in the residence and moving to ductless heat pump while also adding a hot water tank for the domestic hot water (so moving from one integrated system doing heat and water to two systems).

There is no efficient replacement for the current oil furnace system at the provincial level since no high temperature air-to- water heat pumps are currently available on the Nova Scotia market (a quick search through the NS Power and Efficiency NS websites, information will quickly point to ductless heat pump, air-ducted heat pump and geothermal ones, but no air- to-water reaching the required water temperature).

However, high temperature dual stage air-to-water heat pump systems, bringing the water to the required 80ºC, do exists and are sold in other markets (EU and UK, and Asia). For example, LG sells the THERMA V and Daikin offers a line of residential high temperature systems. Those systems are not available here, haven’t been tested or certified. But they represent the easiest possible retrofit option for 20% of households in the province: oil furnace goes out, high temperature air-to-water heat pump comes in, nothing else needs to be done to the infrastructure of the house, and the system is fully electrical.

So, this project is straight forward withing Stream 2 of the ECT research program: bring, install and test at least one air-to- water high temperature two stage heat pump available on the market but in other jurisdictions, and test it for Nova Scotia’s winter connected to the Nova Scotia electric grid. NS Power and Efficiency NS will assist in bringing the heat pump(s) to Canada and lining up local heat pump installers, the City of Halifax and Dalhousie will assist in selecting a house and installing the heat pump, and the Government of NS will use the results of the study to fast-track certification and import of the technology.

Therefore, the primary outcome of this work is the demonstration of the viability of such needed systems for Nova Scotia, with operational data to be provided to speed up the adoption of this technology as an efficient, electrical and greener, retrofit solution for those 20% of homeowners still using oil for hot water heating.