.png?sfvrsn=9eb6d222_0 "Payback, Performance, and Emissions What the Industry Is Learning About Heat Pumps. (2)")
More than 600 industry stakeholders registered for CIMCO’s Rethinking Thermal Energy webinars
The three-part series made the technical and financial case for replacing separate fossil-fuel-based thermal systems with low-carbon, more efficient heating and cooling across buildings and industrial facilities.
Led by CIMCO’s decarbonization team alongside industry guest speakers, the series drew professionals from across the industrial and institutional landscape, including energy providers, major manufacturers, municipalities, universities, and consultants. Live attendance and watch time both exceeded industry benchmarks, and sessions were interactive throughout.
Webinar Sessions
The first session was presented by Amal Jina, Senior Energy Engineer for Decarbonization and Business Development at CIMCO, joined by guest speaker Sarkis Platis, Project Manager at Smith + Andersen Footprint.
Jina made the case that fluorinated refrigerants, including newer HFOs, carry significant environmental and human health risks, from high global warming potential to the formation of toxic compounds that cannot be removed from the water cycle. Natural refrigerants (such as ammonia, carbon dioxide, and propane), she argued, offer superior thermodynamic performance, lower total cost of ownership, and what she called a trifecta effect on emissions: eliminating scope 1, reducing scope 2, and lowering scope 3. Third-party data referenced in the session indicated payback periods of 4 to 6.5 years.
Platis offered an industry perspective on adoption, noting that North America is still in early stages compared to Europe and Asia, but that the market is growing. His advice to organizations evaluating the technology:
"Don't just look at it from a single equipment swap perspective but take a more holistic view; look at it from a strategic financial risk management perspective."
Rodier's central argument was that most facilities use separate, siloed heating and cooling systems that waste significant energy, a point supported by results from a session poll. Integrating those systems, he argued, and pairing them with thermal storage and renewable electricity, is the path to net zero.
"Thirty years ago, that made sense," Kisor said of the coal-fired plant the heat pump replaced. "Today, looking ahead thirty years, the heat pump made more sense."
Naser pushed the conversation into territory that rarely features in mainstream decarbonization discussions: heat pump applications in industrial air drying, wastewater treatment, renewable natural gas production, and carbon capture. His core argument was that the strongest project cases are not single-purpose GHG reduction efforts but multi-benefit solutions that simultaneously address waste management, water conservation, and air quality.
Moe grounded the session in real examples from dJoule's portfolio, including a project at Seattle Pacific University that would use ice slurry to heat the campus and cool a temperature-impaired waterway to protect salmon migration.
"Your facility is more than a set of isolated systems. It's a holistic thermal network."
All three webinar sessions are available to watch on demand on the CIMCO Webinar Hub.