United States.
Due to the high costs of heating by fossil fuel, the Alaska SeaLife Center has transformed its operation with the use of heat pumps with a high-power CO2 system.
The SeaLife Center estimates that its combined heat pump systems save $15,000 per month at current oil and electricity rates, reducing carbon equivalent emissions by an annual output of 1.24 million pounds by not using fuel-powered boilers. To keep costs down, the SeaLife center installed the heat pumps (apart from the control system) with its own employees for a labor contribution of $52,965.
CO2 heat pumps provide heating for baseboards in offices and laboratories, for some heating coils in common areas, for preheating domestic hot water and for pavement on animal observation decks. The CO2 heat pumps also have air conditioning from the side of the evaporator, through a cold water circuit for two fan coil units, one in a mechanical room and one in an electrical room.
The first phase of the project consisted of the installation of a 180-ton heat pump system using R-134a refrigerant. In Phase II of the project, CO2 refrigerant replaces R-134a, drastically reducing the potential for environmental impact of the system.
