Warm and Green: Using a Heat Pump

Warm and Green: Using a Heat Pump

The Desert Rain House has many elements that make it the most green custom home we have ever built. Building a home that will meet the Living Building Challenge is a lofty endeavor and we’re enjoying the process. Each component of the home has been selected specifically for its “greenness” and the heat system is no different.

 

The heat pump (Daikin Altherma) installed by Bobcat & Sun is an innovative system that heats the home, produces domestic hot water, and can even cool spaces.  This simple looking unit is really quite remarkable.  Even on a day when the air temperature is -4 degrees, the heat pump can heat water to 100 degrees.

Radiant Heat System The heat pump for the Desert Rain House will work in tandem with the solar hot water system. On a classic sunny day in Bend, Oregon, the solar system on the roof will heat the water for domestic use as well as radiant floor heat. But on a cloudy day, the heat pump will kick in – pulling heat from the surrounding air, and heating water for the same uses.

This is just one more way that the systems we are installing will reduce carbon emissions while making the home a comfortable and beautiful space.

If you’d like to find out more about a green building in Bend and Central Oregon, please contact us.

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