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TCAAP Energy Integration Resiliency Framew ork Policy White Paper – Energy Supply Alternatives 26 necessary for heating sources to absorption and adsorption cooling processes. Solar cooling through electric generation of a solar PV is best suited where electric costs are high or uncertain. Capital investments related to the installation of a solar PV system are offset by the avoided costs of electricity otherwise necessary for operating standard air conditioning units. 5.2.5. Ground and Water Source Heat Pumps for Heating and Cooling Heat pumps refer to a system in which refrigeration equipment is used to both heat and cool a space. As opposed to generating heat or removing heat, a heat pump simply transfers heat from one medium to another. By doing so, a heat pump is able to transfer more energy than needed to operate the equipment. This leads to fuel efficiencies greater than 100 percent water source heat pumps are very efficient while in heating operation. Ground source heat pumps utilize ground heat during the winter to heat the circulating water in order transfer heat from the water into the air through heat pump operation. The opposite is done in the summer with the same equipment to cool or remove the heat from the building. In addition to stand-alone ground source heat pumps, TCAAP has the opportunity to implement water source heat pumps utilizing ground water piped from the wells on the east end of the TCAAP site as the heat sink and heat source for building water source heat pump systems through a district energy network. An example district energy system that has implemented a water source heat pump district energy system is the Southeast False Creek Neighborhood Energy Utility located in Vancouver, BC. Thermal energy is captured at a central energy center using a heat exchange process that is integrated with the city wastewater pump station. This supplies 70% of the utility’s thermal energy production. The remaining 30% is supplied by high-efficiency natural gas boilers that provide supplemental heat on the coldest days of the year. A distribution pipe system sends thermal energy (heated water) from the energy center to district energy system buildings. Each building has an energy transfer station that transfers this thermal energy to the building's mechanical system via heat pumps, that in turn distributes heat and hot water to building occupants. Water-source heat pump systems typically range in size from 1.5 to 25 tons on a stand-alone basis, making them ideal for residential and small to medium-sized commercial buildings. Water source heat pumps are applicable across all climates as they rely on ground heat as opposed to ambient air temperatures. For TCAAP, water source heat pumps could be an option in the small commercial and residential customer buildings. 5.2.6. Air Source Heat Pump for Heating and Cooling Air source heat pumps operate identically to standard packaged AC units during the summer time. What differentiates a heat pump from a packaged AC unit is the ability to reverse the refrigerant flow