CARROLLTON, Texas — As the summer heat stretches on, your A/C bills are no doubt getting bigger.
One way to cut big bills at home is more efficient heating and cooling.
On Friday, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited Carrollton to recognize the research and development team at Lennox International for winning a challenge to develop a more efficient heating and cooling system.
“Congratulations to your team for successfully having navigated this challenge,” Granholm said.
One way the Biden Administration is tackling climate change is by reducing the amount of energy we use to heat and cool our homes, which includes better heat pump technology.
While pumps are already more efficient than most A/C units or furnaces, what Lennox did was make them efficient in even the most extreme cases, like the five-degree conditions inside its Carrollton testing facility, by participating in the Department of Energy’s Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge.
When this new pump comes to market, Lennox says some customers will save 60% on their utility bills.
“We do this all the time. We set out big goals to be able to have a challenge. For example, we have a challenge going to reduce the cost of hydrogen. We have a challenge going to reduce the cost of long-duration energy storage. We have a challenge on heat pumps,” Granholm said. "It allows them to focus their efforts on these particular big challenges that we want to solve."
For the challenge that Lennox won, the government did not put up any money. But, for example, the government is investing billions in things like spurring development of a nationwide electric car charging network.
When it comes to developing new green technology, history shows that government support and investment can sustain promising ideas before and until they become profitable.
"We want to make sure we fill in the gaps. It’s part of the infrastructure of the 21st century," Granholm said.