In New York City, heat pumps that fit in apartment windows promise big emissions cuts
Heat pumps that fit in an apartment window could make a big impact in reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change
NEW YORK — For 27 years, the heat in Regina Fred’s Queens apartment building came from a noisy steam radiator that she couldn't control and sometimes didn't come on at all, leaving her shivering. Sometimes, the radiators ran so hot that residents had to keep their windows open in the middle of winter for relief.
That all changed a few months ago, when she got a window-mounted heat pump as part of a pilot project by the New York City Housing Authority aimed at cutting energy costs and lowering emissions. Suddenly, all Fred has to do is touch a dial to bump her temperature up or down, and she found herself enjoying “a very good silence.”
“They did a demonstration for me and I was thrilled,” Fred said. Now, her grown children call the heat pump “the best thing” she has in her apartment, and her neighbors have knocked on her door to check out the unit.
Heat pumps, a highly efficient technology that has grown in popularity in recent years to rival gas furnaces, have mainly been an option for owners of houses. But new designs are making them practical for apartments, too, which often rely on inefficient centralized steam boilers powered by oil or gas. That represents a promising climate solution for buildings, whose operations account for 26% of global energy-related carbon emissions, according to the International Energy Agency.
The IEA said last year that installing heat pumps in apartment buildings and commercial areas should “be a priority area” to maintain the growth necessary to meet national climate pledges worldwide. The U.S. alone has 23 million apartment units, according to the
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