In a country like China

In a country like China, with a rapidly developing economy and a mindboggling level of activity in the building sector, conditions are ideal for the development of an emerging heat pump and air-conditioning market. And there are many challenges for metropolitan Beijing, which is at the core of these developments. Beijing has an open eye for a better environment going hand in hand with city expansion and living and working space for its inhabitants and visitors. For the first time in the history of the IEA Heat Pump Programme, the conference was held in a country outside the IEA group of nations. But this may soon change, as China has announced that it plans to join the programme in the near future.
This overview article on the 7th Heat Pump Conference will focus on conference highlights and present some of the material submitted as well as the results of some of the discussions that took place. It consists of two parts: part 1 presents an overview of international market developments per region, with China, France and Sweden being highlighted, as well as a discussion of the energy and environment rationale behind using heat pumps; part 2 discusses various technological and related market developments and ground-source heat pumps in particula

electric utilities

electric utilities. The goal was to boost sales to 400,000 units by 2000. This goal was not achieved, partly because utilities were restructured, resulting in withdrawal of their support and marketing. Nevertheless, under this programme sales nearly doubled from 40,000 in 1994 to 80,000 in 1999, accelerating the growth of the industry.
In late 1998, the Federal Energy Management Programme established its ground-coupled heat pump technology initiative. Shipments in the US increased more than ten-fold from 1999 to 2001. It is the most cost-effective component of the overall DOE groundcoupled heat pumps programme that remains active today.
Ground-coupled heat pumps in the US remain possibly the best technology available today for reducing energy consumption from space heating and cooling, and from water heating: “Managing Btu’s with ground-coupled heat pumps - by moving them from room to room, from air conditioners to water heaters, or storing them in the ground for the winter - is a more prudent use of energy than dumping thermal energy into the air as virtually all conventional air conditioners do today