Claire Halloran
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clairehalloran.bsky.social
Claire Halloran
@clairehalloran.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1.4K following 42 posts
Modeling the long-term future of the electricity system. PhD in planning a grid with lots of heat pumps. Electricity grid planning, heat electrification, renewable energy & maps. Personal account, my views. https://clairehalloran.github.io
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clairehalloran.bsky.social
Even with air-source heat pump efficiency improvements, peak demand increases are high in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and Rocky Mountains. Add electric vehicle demand and these areas could be facing huge distribution system upgrades.
Map of the electric peak demand ratio with all-electric space heating with heat pump efficiency improvements to the current peak demand in the contiguous US. Ratio is lower than 1 in the Southeast, Lower Midwest, throughout the Great Plain, and throughout Pacific states. Ratio is above 4 in the northern parts of the Northeast, northern parts of the upper Midwest, and in parts of the Rocky Mountain region.
December 24, 2024 at 4:44 PM
clairehalloran.bsky.social
In the blue and green regions, switching to all air-source heat pumps will increase peak electric demand 3-4x. Ratepayers will pay cost of electrifying heating in these regions via distribution system upgrades or by paying for thermal heat networks— depends what’s cheaper based on density and use.
Map of the electric peak demand ratio with all-electric space heating to the current peak demand in the contiguous US. Ratio is lower than 1 in the Southeast and on the Pacific coast. Ratio is above 4 in the Northeast, northern parts of the upper Midwest, and in parts of the Rocky Mountain region.
December 24, 2024 at 4:44 PM
clairehalloran.bsky.social
Since they’re missing out on lutefisk at the Halloran Christmas, I got my cats dried herring 😸
Sesame, a gray tabby cat, bites the head of a dry herring. Poppy, a black tabby cat, bites a dried herring.
December 21, 2024 at 8:58 PM
clairehalloran.bsky.social
Got this offer in Denver for a discounted furnace if I buy a heat pump… this doesn’t seem like the right incentive for decarbonizing home heating.
Mailer advertising 50% off furnace when you purchase and install an AC or heat pump
December 18, 2024 at 3:56 PM
clairehalloran.bsky.social
(The thumbnail is unhelpfully showing the electric fuel data, here is the map)
Chloropleth map of households with heat pumps in the US in 2020. Up to 45% of households in the Southeast had heat pumps, with high shares in Texas and Arizona as well.
December 16, 2024 at 9:38 PM
clairehalloran.bsky.social
Hi #EnergySky and #ClimateSky! I’m Claire, an energy systems modeler and map nerd based in Denver, US. I post about the future of the electricity grid, heat electrification, and my cats. Picture from my visit to the solar installation at the E. W. Brown Generating Station in Kentucky.
Claire, a white non-binary person wearing an orange hard hat, floral button-down shirt, and black jeans, crouches beside a herd of sheep under a solar panel.
December 2, 2024 at 5:09 PM