Wineries use a lot of hot water. In fact, the hot water usage can be so high that it is usually one of the first things we recommend to wineries looking to reduce their energy consumption or reduce their emissions. While hot water is typically needed for winery cleaning and sanitation, the means to get the water hot can be varied. For instance, hot water can be generated through a boiler, an instantaneous hot water heater, or an electric heat pump.
What’s a heat pump? A heat pump is an energy-efficient water heater that works by pulling heat from the surrounding air and storing it. You could think of it kind of like a reverse refrigerator. You might also be familiar with a heat-pump in the context of heating and cooling air in a home or other space.
A semi-technical description of the process is that a fan blows ambient room temp air across evaporator coils, then it absorbs the heat though the coils and turns it into gas, which is then compressed to increase the temperature, which is then cycled through a water tank to heat the water. Easy-peasy.
Why do we prefer electricity to gas? In cases where electrical supply is reliable, electrical energy has a much lower carbon footprint than propane or natural gas. Energy from fossil fuels like natural gas creates greenhouse gases that cause pollution, affect our health, and harm the environment. We can shrink our carbon footprint by switching to electric equivalents where possible, but shrink it even more so if we choose renewable sources of electricity. This can be a fairly easy switch, especially in places like California where solar and other renewable energy is readily available.
“Heat pumps take something wineries use every day, hot water, and make it dramatically more efficient. That means lower energy use, lower emissions, and a more sustainable operation.”
– Alex Valenti, MCE
Still not excited about heat pumps!? I could go on (and on and on), but I will leave you with the punchline: Heat pumps can be 3-4x more efficient than gas equivalencies. Beyond that, our friends at MCE Clean Energy are offering some great rebates on energy-efficient winery-sized heat pumps, which is a win for the environment and your wallet.
Wanna learn more? Let me know megan@napagreen.org.
