Comparative assessment of costs and CO2 emissions for various residential energy options

In this chapter, the heating and hot water demands of a North American residence are assessed and compared. Five specific systems are analyzed: ground and air source heat pumps, stand-alone PV, PV–fuel cell hybrid, and a wind turbine–fuel cell hybrid system. They are compared with traditional sources of energy such as natural gas, coal, and fuel oil. From the results, although renewable sources have no CO2 emissions, heat pump systems have significant cost advantages over the other systems.