Two apartment buildings in the Bronx will soon get their heating, cooling and hot water from wastewater and geothermal energy. No more money down the drain, literally!

There is no doubt that issues with natural resources and conservation of energy will continue to make daily news headlines. The concerns around exploiting our depletable resources and sensitivity on the battered environment have led society to find alternative and better ways to use and manage the energy that is available to us, principally in the use of renewable resources such as absorbing and storing solar energy.

While it may feel like the other side of the world, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have lasting effects — including sparking the European Union’s hasty transition to energy independence. Last month, the EU announced a $300 billion roadmap to ditch Russian energy — mainly oil and gas. The EU said it would slash consumption of Russian gas by 66% by the end of the year, and break its dependence completely by 2027 by saving energy, finding alternate sources and speeding up the transition to renewables, according to ABC News.

New technical assistance capacity will help the federal government lead by example in demonstrating benefits and potential of decarbonizing buildings with geothermal energy.

This month I want to deviate a bit from a purely renewable energy topic to one that’s important across the entire spectrum of hydronics technology. It’s a topic that likely gets exercised on a daily basis in any engineering office where water-based HVAC systems are conceived.

What does a looming housing shortage, a significant increase in energy prices and 52% of home buyers ready to heat and cool their homes with electricity have in common? They’re all remedied in the same way: All-geothermal residential developments.

As interest and incentives build to transition space heating and domestic water heating systems away from fossil fuels and toward electricity, a somewhat predictable but only marginally quantified problem is developing. Two words describe it: Peak demand.

Heat pumps move heat from low-temperature sources to higher temperature loads. There are many types of heat pumps, but they all perform this basic thermodynamic mission.

Getting stuck “between a rock and a hard place” is something that happens to most all of us as we navigate through life. It’s that sinking feeling you get in your gut when you must make a tough decision. 

Modern panel radiators are one of my favorite hydronic heat emitters. They’re easy to install, emit radiant and convective heat, and have high-quality powder coat finishes.