The Department of Energy (DOE) last month announced a $2 million grant for La Follette Assistant Professor Morgan Edwards and her collaborators from the College of Engineering to develop a more sustainable heat pump that can replace natural gas boilers in older buildings.
Led by Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Allison Mahvi, the research team aims to reduce carbon emissions from older buildings with traditional boilers by up to 75% by 2030 using the new technology. Other partners include Trane, Slipstream, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
This project could have important implications for climate justice, as many of the older buildings that would benefit from the new heat pump technology house low-income residents. This is a significant area of focus for Edwards, who leads the Climate Action Lab at UW-Madison. The lab’s interdisciplinary team of researchers address equitable energy responses to the climate crisis.
“Low-income residents and renters are more likely to live in older, multi-family buildings that are difficult to electrify,” Edwards says. “This project provides an opportunity to fill an important gap in the market and provide direct benefits to underserved communities in our state and beyond. It’s the Wisconsin idea in action.”
Edwards also recently led a study published in Joule that reveals the existing inequities in heat pump use across the US. Communities of color and those with more renters are less likely to use heat pumps. The research also finds that communities of color are less likely to use heat pumps even in regions where they would help save money on energy bills.
This is the second DOE grant for the research team of Mahvi, Edwards, and their collaborator, Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Mike Wagner. Last year, the team received a $2.5 million award to develop HVAC-integrated thermal energy storage systems.
Read more at the College of Engineering.