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Power Earth United States

Heat Pumps Are Now Outselling Gas Furnaces In America (cleantechnica.com) 155

Posted by EditorDavid from the power-plays dept.
CleanTechnicareports that last year Americans "bought 37% more air source heat pumps than the next most popular heating appliance — gas furnaces."

And Americans bought 21% more heat pumps than they did in 2023. Canary Media is quick to point out that in many homes, more than one heat pump is required, so that data should be interpreted with that in mind. Typically, a home uses only one furnace. Nevertheless, the trend for heat pumps is up. Russell Unger, the head of decarbonizing buildings at RMI, said, "There's just been this long term, consistent trend."

It's easy to understand why heat pumps are gaining in popularity. In addition to providing heated air in the winter and cool air in the summer, they are far more efficient than conventional heat sources — delivering three to four times more heat per dollar spent than oil- or gas-fired heating equipment or old fashioned electric baseboard heat. They also create far less carbon pollution. How much less depends on the source of electricity in the local area,
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader AmiMoJo for sharing the news.
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Heat Pumps Are Now Outselling Gas Furnaces In America More

Heat Pumps Are Now Outselling Gas Furnaces In America

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  • Heatpumps are a great way to heat/cool houses in temperate climates but when you start getting extremes then you have to be very careful about the type of unit you install.

    With simple air-sink heatpumps that have an air cooled/warmed radiator outside in the environment there are limits to their effectiveness in very cold temperatures -- as many people in the UK discovered to their cost during a recent cold-snap that saw temperatures fall to as much as -20 deg C. The effeciency of a gas furnace remains co

    • Re:Sometimes not that good (Score:5, Informative)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Saturday January 25, 2025 @05:04PM (#65118259) Homepage Journal

      Heat pumps are very popular in places like Norway, which has an extreme climate. Part of it is in the Arctic Circle.

      These days they work fine well below -20C.

      The main thing is just getting used to how they are different to gas boilers/furnaces for heating. You tend to just set the desired temperature and leave them on, rather than having them come on at specific times.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Heat pumps are very popular there because electricity is extremely cheap. Norway has a low population (~5.5 million) yet they're one of the top-10 hydroelectric energy producers in Europe.
        They're also one of the top electricity consumers per capita [iea.org] in Europe, and consume almost twice as much as the US per capita, at 22,085 kWh (Norway) vs 12,233 kWh (US) [worlddata.info].

        Yah, heat pumps may be popular there, but that's because they're paying ~$0.10-$0.15 USD per kWh [countryeconomy.com].
        Compare that to ~$0.37 USD per kWh in the UK [countryeconomy.com].

        You probably

        • Re: Sometimes not that good (Score:5, Informative)

          by ToasterMonkey ( 467067 ) on Saturday January 25, 2025 @09:30PM (#65118747) Homepage

          They're popular in Maine too, with electric prices way above the national average. You can drive down a rural road and see retrofitted mini-split systems everywhere. I'm sure many have backup gas or oil heat too because that would be smart for power outages or extremely cold nights.

          Heat pump hate is fucking weird.

          • Backup gas, even if it's just a small propane unit, would be a must-have for really cold temps.

            • Is that an easy thing to add outside of your house? Maybe put it close to the heat pump to get the best of both worlds. Small furnace outside, heat pump multiplies the heat by 3 when moving it into your house? It seems like district heating is an even better answer for this though. Of course Capitalism would never figure it out.

              • We don't get that cold around here so I haven't looked into it, but I would imagine there are air sunk heat pumps that have the option. It would be easy to hook up a few propane tanks for emergencies.

            • Backup gas, even if it's just a small propane unit, would be a must-have for really cold temps.

              I have a 410-a radiational reversible unit (A/C and Heat Pump). It's effective in moving heat until the temperature drops below 37F... then exponentially worse every degree below that. 40 or above is effective. It's not a specially-designed one so I'm unsure of the commonality of this problem. When you drop below about 36, frost starts forming and the heat pump is running 60% more than usual. Defrost kicks in and since the backup heat is gas, there is no electric heat to cover the cold air coming out d

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
          I would be carfull about teling Norwegians that electrcity is cheap here, most people remember 10-154 years ago whn prices were about 20-50% of today. You are partly right, traditionally electrucity has been really cheep here, resulting in ther being no infrastructure for NG so heating has mostly been electric heaters, and compared to them heatpumbps are way more efficient thus lowering energy costs. Seen another way when comparing hating costs here the question often polis down to heat/per KWh of electr

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by 2TecTom ( 311314 )

          with rooftop solar, electricity is even less expensive than the grid is, even in Norway

          insults speak volumes

      • Heat pumps are very popular in places like Norway, which has an extreme climate. Part of it is in the Arctic Circle.

        These days they work fine well below -20C.

        This is cherry picking. Norway is a global outlier with 90% of their energy from hydro. Heat pumps are an upgrade from resistive heating yet at -4F you are lucky to see a CoP of 2 from an air sourced heat pump. In most situations it would not be better than gas either in terms of financial or carbon cost.

        • Norway population is 5.5 million. Chicago metro area is 9.6 million. They're not a good template for a solution, more like a beta testing lab that can iterate fast.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
          well 90% wen we generate enugh and have the grid to move it from where it's generated to where t's used, which is not always the cease we might have a surplus in The north but no grid capacity to move it all south, so we have o import from Sweden (clines crossing arround Oslo) or via submarine cables from Denmark,Germany and The Netherlands, which creastes very spiky prices here, lockeley the government steps inn to shield households from the worst of it, but other costumers du struggle with the bills

      • Heat pumps are very popular in places like Norway, which has an extreme climate. Part of it is in the Arctic Circle. These days they work fine well below -20C.

        You are missing the distinction the GP made, an "air" vs "subsurface" based system. That one needs to go the subsurface route for cold environments, air only practical for very temperate areas.

        The main thing is just getting used to how they are different to gas boilers/furnaces for heating.

        That seems secondary to picking the correct type, "air" or "subsurface", in the first place.

    • Re:Sometimes not that good (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Knightman ( 142928 ) on Saturday January 25, 2025 @05:14PM (#65118281)

      Heatpumps are a great way to heat/cool houses in temperate climates but when you start getting extremes then you have to be very careful about the type of unit you install.

      By cheap crap, get crap performance. Equipment that can work on wider temperature-ranges are always a bit more expensive, but not much.

      In countries where sub-zero temps are commonplace it's often a better option to use a ground-based heat source. This means laying pipes underground where the temperature remains higher than above-ground. This can provide much better performance.

      If you have the money, because it's about 8-10x more expensive up front. There are also other considerations, do you have enough land to put the pipes in or do you need to drill a deep hole to extract heat from?

      Unfortunately, it's often much cheaper just to use an above-ground heat-pump with an air-based radiator/heat-exchanger setup and so bad outcomes can occur.

      An air2air heatpump can cover 95% of your cooling and heating needs, the last 5% is the expensive part to cover.

      You also have to wonder don't you... if a heatpump can effectively produce 3KW of heat with 1KW of electrical energy -- why don't we have over-unity perpetual motion (I know the answer but do you)?

      Why would one wonder? It's a heatpump, it moves heat around - it doesn't actually produce it.

    • With simple air-sink heatpumps that have an air cooled/warmed radiator outside in the environment there are limits to their effectiveness in very cold temperatures -- as many people in the UK discovered to their cost during a recent cold-snap that saw temperatures fall to as much as -20 deg C.

      That's why most (all?) heat pumps have a secondary heat source, usually either electric or gas, for when it's too cold to exchange heat. For example, I have a 3-stage heat pump -- a 2-stage (scroll) compressor for heating/cooling and a 3rd stage electric strip heat for extreme cold. My inside unit also has a variable-speed (DC) blower that ramps up/down.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by chill ( 34294 )

        No, it is definitely not "all". There are a lot that don't come with them because they flat out don't need them.

        Three nights ago we hit a low of 7.6F (-13.5C). I have two Mr. Cool DIY 4th Gen units, one a single zone 18K ceiling cassette, the other a 3-zone configured 12K ceiling, 9K wall, 9K wall. No issues and everything is warm, but the system has to work. I say that because I live in a 120 year old house and the insulation is terrible to non-existent and the windows are the originals. Always another pro

        • It's not all, but these days it probably should be because all bets are off. It's often kind of shocking what you pay for a heat strip, though. Even small ones seem to add a lot to cost. It's a relay and a resistor but it costs hundreds.

    • Re:Sometimes not that good (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Dixie_Flatline ( 5077 ) <vincent.jan.goh@ ... Ecom minus punct> on Saturday January 25, 2025 @05:56PM (#65118379) Homepage

      My heating/cooling bills are slightly higher in the winter than in the summer, but not meaningfully so, and we get temperatures down to -20C here occasionally. The heat pump is much slower at heating the house below -20C, but it's not too bad. (In actual fact, the reason why the bills are higher in the winter is because the cats still want to go out onto the catio and that means the door is often left propped open for long stretches of time. They want to do that in the summer as well, but the delta between room temperature and the outside temperature is smaller in the summer than in the winter.)

      IN PRACTICE, the reality is that a normal heat pump will be better for your heating and cooling and your bills almost all of the time. If you live even further north than me, like in my old home town of Edmonton, you might invest in a failover heating system. But if you're buying from a reputable local installer, they'll set you up properly.

      • Your feline overlords asked me to tell you they appreciate your devotion.

      • If you live even further north than me, like in my old home town of Edmonton, you might invest in a failover heating system.

        Here in Winterpeg where it routinely drops into the -30s C., heat pumps are sold as the AC part of an HVAC system - that is, a heat pump and a gas furnace are a typical package deal. The heat pump functions as an AC unit that can also provide some heat, and at colder temps the gas furnace kicks in. The biggest benefit of the heat pump comes in that window between AC and furnace weather (spring and fall), so the payback time here is far longer than it would be in BC.

    • Re:Sometimes not that good (Score:5, Informative)

      by Local ID10T ( 790134 ) <ID10T.L.USER@gmail.com> on Saturday January 25, 2025 @06:15PM (#65118423) Homepage

      if a heatpump can effectively produce 3KW of heat with 1KW of electrical energy -- why don't we have over-unity perpetual motion (I know the answer but do you)?

      Heat pumps do not produce heat. They move heat from one location to another. It is more efficient to move than to create. There is no magic involved.

      Heatpumps are a great way to heat/cool houses in temperate climates but when you start getting extremes then you have to be very careful about the type of unit you install.

      There are air-source heat pumps in common use in Canada and other arctic and near-arctic environments. They are designed with a different optimum efficiency range than ones built for semi-tropical environments. Buy a device designed to operate in the temperature range you expect in the area in which you live.

      Ground-source heat pumps are nice, because the temperature of the earth (below the frost line) is very stable, but they are expensive and complicated to install. Air-source heat pumps can be bolted on to a home in place of an existing central heating/air con unit -a cheap and easy upgrade (good ROI).

      • Heat pumps do not produce heat. They move heat from one location to another. It is more efficient to move than to create. There is no magic involved.

        Technically they do. Because they aren't magic and power is used to move said heat, that power ends up as heat as well and dumped into the home. IE 3 units of heat moved from outside in plus 1 unit of electricity, totaling 4 units of heat radiated into the house.

    • What you're saying applies to gas as well. If you size a system to warm your house at 0C you're not going to be able to warm your house to -20C. So you still need to be careful what you install.

      In countries where sub-zero temps are commonplace it's often a better option to use a ground-based heat source.

      Ground source heatpumps simply maintain a more stable efficiency. In places where freezing temperatures are common you can simply select an appropriate air source heatpump. Heatpumps are becoming very popular in frigging cold places as well. It's not a case of freezing or not, it's a case of how wide of an operating

    • Efficiency of gas burners remains the same in temperate climates?

      No, no, no. Air temperature and humidity are very much factors in how much energy can be extracted for each cubic meter of gas you burn.

      Cubic meter is the common measurement unit in the Netherlands mentioned on your bill.

      It varies so much that a recalculation of your yearly bill is needed. Well, you pay for your consumption each month, then the energy company recalculates the previous 12 monthly bills by taking into account the weather that pl

      • Efficiency of gas burners remains the same in temperate climates?

        No, no, no. Air temperature and humidity are very much factors in how much energy can be extracted for each cubic meter of gas you burn.

        Careful here. Temperature is the big factor, but that's simply because the density of natural gas increases inversely with (absolute) temperature. Colder gas is denser than warmer gas, and hence you get more energy out of a cubic meter of colder gas than a cubic meter of warmer gas.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hey! ( 33014 )

      I heard the same thing about the UK, but it also turns out retrofitting existing heating systems with heat pumps instead of furnaces is popular there for its low cost, but it's inherently less capable than the mini-split design popular in the US. It's cheap because you just swap out the furnace, but only works in very mild winters. The heating fluid in a heat pump only gets about 40 degrees F hotter than a typical target room temperature. That's fine if your circulating air through the room with a fan, bu

    • Most manufacturers make cold-weather-specific models which can handle sub-freezing temps these days. I presume they cost more but wouldn't know because I'm not shopping for one given my locale.

    • as many people in the UK discovered to their cost during a recent cold-snap that saw temperatures fall to as much as -20 deg C

      Thatâ(TM)s bullshit. There arenâ(TM)t millions of people living on a mountain in Scotland. In fact, for most people, overnight temperatures were a few degrees below zero.

    • This is why heat pumps almost always have an emergency heat function. Usually electric heat strips but could also be gas fired as well. When the heat pump is no longer efficient or freezes over the emergency heat kicks in to supplement or replace the heat pump heating.

    • You might familiarize yourself with a modern heat pump, rather than some 30-year-old piece of crap. Modern heat pumps are very good at reading coil temperature and if it's beginning to ice up, it will turn off the blower fan and reverse the coolant flow sending hot coolant to the coil and causing a cloud of steam to rapidly rise off of it before continuing normal heating operations.

      And if the temperature isn't rising, the controller board will activate the secondary heat stage - sometimes resistive coils i

  • bought 37% more air source heat pumps than the next most popular heating appliance — gas furnaces

    Hastily written Executive Order to block the sale of heat pumps in 3... 2...

  • Duct AC suits heat pumps much more than the hydronic heating we have in most homes in Europe. Just need a reversing valve and a different controller.

  • More than a decade ago, I replaced my furnace/AC with a heat pump/furnace. When it gets too cold for the heat pump to work, it fails over to the furnace rather than simple electric coils.

  • I got a heat pump over 15 years ago, back when few people had such a thing in my area. The people installing the system told me I was the first customer they had that asked for a heat pump. The installers knew what a heat pump was, and were trained in how to install them, but I was the first they had installed. I took this option because both my furnace and air conditioner were in need of replacement and natural gas prices were high and expected to only get higher. I expected the heat pump to be a money

  • Wrong data (Score:2, Informative)

    by ishmaelflood ( 643277 )

    "delivering three to four times more heat per dollar spent than oil- or gas-fired heating "

    Nope, they can have a thermodynamic efficiency of 3 or 4, that is true, but gas is much cheaper than electricity (obviously since gas is used to generate electricity). So yes, they use less energy, but are no cheaper to run. So whoever wrote that doesn't know what they are talking about, or is being deliberately misleading.

    • I put it into a calculator with my local electricity and nat gas rates, using 'typical' efficiency rates, and got $14.29 to produce 1 million BTUs from a heat pump vs $15.73 for gas. I'd call that a tie within the limitations of my simple calculation.

      For cooling (hypothetical 95F with low humidity) the Energy Efficiency Ratio came out at 12 for the pump vs 10 for A/C. This is a more direct comparison so I'd guess more accurate, and give the heat pump the nod for a small win.

      Mostly I'm surprised how clo

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by PPH ( 736903 )

        Mostly I'm surprised how close they are.

        Not so much of a surprise. Consumers can calculate the $$ per BTU and switch if one becomes cheaper. Ignoring the significant equipment investment, of course.

        What the utilities love about heat pumps is that now many people will buy energy to air condition as well as heat.

  • It's cool to see this as a general rule. Electricity rates don't change very often, while Gas rates fluctuate quarterly, or sometimes even more frequently, making it difficult to compare cost. I'm in Colorado, and the cost of Natural Gas doesn't *quite* offset the Electricity cost for raw therms output to heat the house, but they're within $30/month of each other as of the last month's billing. They might actually be break even after Xcel kicks in it's quarterly increase for the winter months.

    It's not enoug

  • No Contest (Score:4, Interesting)

    by bill_mcgonigle ( 4333 ) * on Saturday January 25, 2025 @06:03PM (#65118395) Homepage Journal

    There doesn't need to be a contest.

    I'm "going big" with solar, slowly, and when that is done I'll replace an air conditioner with a 48V mini-split reversible and use solar energy for heating and cooling. Biphasic verticals seem to be the snow solution.

    I'll probably add more in various rooms and run those off increased solar.

    I'd even like to put in a bigger domestic hot water tank and at least preheat that off of excess energy.

    When I do some landscaping I'll need lots of fill so might as well install PEX/AL/PEX coils under it and run a ground-source pump too.

    Not sure about using my 180' well for a source have to look into that.

    But I'm also keeping my gas boiler and woodstove. I don't see why this is a contest. Diversity of energy sources and methods is a net good. Increased maintenance is a factor but grid-down insurance is a factor too.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sinij ( 911942 )

      Biphasic verticals seem to be the snow solution.

      Can you explain this? (I did search it, nothing came up).

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rykin ( 836525 )
        Two stage heat pump. Outdoor unit is vertical (sucks air in from the sides and blows it up) as they are supposedly less likely to clog in snow.

        • My heat pump works like that. It works quite well, when in normal operation. Unfortunately I had the coil temperature sensor fail while we had mid-30s (F) temperatures and some heavy fog so it turned itself into a block of ice (the sensor thought the coil was 122F when the sensor itself was covered in an inch of ice so it never went to defrost mode). What was impressive is that it was still mostly keeping the home warm overnight in those conditions until the ice built up enough that the fan was causing s

  • Not viable in areas with high electricity costs (Score:5, Informative)

    by hwstar ( 35834 ) on Saturday January 25, 2025 @06:10PM (#65118415)

    I live in San Diego, CA.

    The local energy company charges very high rates for electricity 47-55 cents per KwH depending on the time of day. There is a baseline discount of 10 cents per KwH for up to 130% of baseline usage. I have solar on NEM2 to help mitigate my yearly bill, but the system was sized to cover my electric needs at the time of installation. Adding an electric heat pump will blow this model out of the water.

    I upgraded my insulation to help with gas heating costs. But the problem is is more and more homeowners upgrade their insulation, the utility will just raise the rates to keep the same revenue flowing in.

    I spend around $200 in gas usage for the winter season to keep my living spaces at 68 degrees F.

    Even with a 3-5X multiplier on BTU's for using an electric heat pump, I can't see a way to save any money. The electricity costs will be way higher than continuing to use natural gas. 1kW can theoretically yield ~3412 BTU. For a 35000 BTU furnace, this means the electrical resistance equivalent would be 10.3 kW not including any inefficiencies. If we divide 10.3kW by 4 (heat pump KwH multiplier) we get 2.575 KwH per hour of use. That translates to a cost of $1.21 per hour to run.

    For natural gas, you an get approximately 100K BTU for hundred cubic ft depending on the heat content. One hundred cubic feet costs $1.61 on the baseline rate and $1.91 on non baseline. Assuming no inefficiency This means I can run my 35000 BTU gas heater for 0.35 * 1.91 or 67 cents per hour.

    Of course, in the future California may prohibit the installation of new gas appliances in the future, or they may levy additional taxes on natural gas. At that point I would have to make a decision, stay and eat the additional costs, or move out of California.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by j-beda ( 85386 )

      I wonder if running a natural gas generator to power the heat pump would be financially cheaper? At a 3x multiplier as long as your generator was at least 33% efficient you would be net positive. At a 5x multiplier you could get by with a 20% efficient generator.

      I think natural gas power plants can be as good as 60% efficient, so anything better than a 1.7x multiplier would make it "better" to heat using generated electricity, but of course you aren't going to install that in your back yard...

      • Installing a whole-house natgas generator will require upgrading the flow valve at the street to get enough gas volume for the generator as well as anything else in your house using natgas - that's going to cost a few thousand dollars on it's own. Then, you have to buy and install the generator and have the work inspected, etc. which when I got a quote was going to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $40k.

        That's a pretty god damn long RoI with variable future natgas costs - you may never get to break-eve

    • Re:Not viable in areas with high electricity costs (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ObliviousGnat ( 6346278 ) on Saturday January 25, 2025 @10:12PM (#65118801)

      In San Diego, you don't need to heat all of your living spaces overnight, just the bedrooms. And you don't need to heat the entire bedroom, just the mattress. Maybe 100-200W average is enough to keep the bed toasty at night, so at 50 cents per kWh, that's about 5-10 cents per bed per hour.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by hwstar ( 35834 )

        We do exactly what you mentioned:

        Shut off the central heat and use a duvet, or if it is really cold, electric blankets while sleeping.

        Even with that its $200.00 for the entire heating season (4 months).

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      I always advise people to get the largest solar system they can fit on their roof and attach to a single inverter (typically max two strings of panels) when installing. Panels are cheap and adding a few more doesn't usually add much to the labour. Even if you don't use it all now, in future you will be able to add more electric consuming items, and more battery storage. Worst case, in most places you can export the excess to the grid.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by hwstar ( 35834 )

        There's a limit on the maximum nameplate power rating you can have. It is typically based on your prior yaer's usage. At the time of my installation I did exactly that and went for the limit. Now if I wanted to convert some of my appliances to electric, it blows that model out of the water.

        The only way out is to add an additional solar system which doesn't export any power to the utility, and stores it in batteries for use during peak rates. This is an expensive proposition. Additionally, you will have to

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Wow, what a crappy system. There are no such limits here.

          Why would the batteries need replacing after just 7 years? Around here they usually come with a warranty longer than that anyway.

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by hwstar ( 35834 )

            That's the typical expected life for an Enphase battery system which matches and works well with my Enphase micro-inverters. Assuming they're going to get cycled every day.

            You could oversize the batteries to keep the charge/discharge cycles within a narrower range., but then it would cost more.

            I'm under NEM2 which is net metering (full retail rate for export) . Systems installed after April 2023, are on NEM3. NEM3 only pays a small fraction of the retail rate for export.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

              Those are some shitty batteries. I wouldn't buy one with such a short lifespan, let alone warranty.

        • I don't know where you live that they would limit how much solar you can install by nameplate capacity.

          Usually the constraints are to do with roofing code - there has to be X inches between any other thing on the roof and the panels, that kind of thing.

          My proposed 9.2kW system turned into an 7.6kW system due to such local ordinances.

    • But the problem is is more and more homeowners upgrade their insulation, the utility will just raise the rates to keep the same revenue flowing in.

      That's not how ratemaking works in the utility sector, for either gas or power.

      There is a portion of your bill that is somewhat immutable, that relates to the cost of the system to exist and function. Ideally 100% of those base costs would be fully reflected in flat service fees, but it's actually somewhat political. For example, it's pretty common for solar installers to fight against accounting for costs in flat fees as that undermines the profitability of home solar. Anyway, at least in an idealized syst

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by hwstar ( 35834 )

        I'm aware that the utility can't unilaterally raise prices. The CPUC must approve tariffs which set rates.

        In California the utilities get most of the rate increases they request. This has been an ongoing problem.

        The rates may be reduced by 10-20%, but are never flat out denied. You would think that an outright denial here or there would be good to keep the utilities on their toes and not use rate increases to solve all of its problems.

        The CPUC commissioners are appointed by the Governor, they should be elec

  • Is that affecting the sales I don't know, but unfortunately my state of PA is so slow we might finally get access to heat pump rebates this coming spring - which assumes the money for it isn't outright cancelled by the new administration.

  • While discussing grid powered primary HVAC is well and good, failure to have ready independent backup can cost frozen pipes and much worse. (The fatalities from the Texas freeze show the cost of learned helplessness.)

    Firstly, own cold weather clothing far more than you imagine you'll need. (It's cheap enough in summer.) Grid powered (anything) are primarily for comfort not survival, so even if yours has never failed
    have at least one (oversized, there is no benefit to small backs in static locations while la

  • I have been slowly succumbing to old people's disease ("Kids these days....") But this gives me hope. Heat Pumps are obviously better devices than current equipment, having finally overcome their own psychological weakness (Originally they were designed to maximize energy savings even if that meant they took forever to heat or cool your house. That gave them a horrible reputation until people realized they had to prioritize comfort and accept only saving 80% instead of 95%.)

    Heat pumps -whether geo or air

  • Here comes all the weird luddites who are more interested in crazy politics than technology, but for some reason spend all their time in Slashdot.

  • Even back in the 70s we used what we called "reverse cycle air conditioner" in my parents home here in Australia for winter heating. And it was "Made in the USA.".

  • Whaddaya expect? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by groobly ( 6155920 )

    Well, whaddaya expect when the government threatens to ban gas, puts onerous "green" requirements on anything that uses gas, and gives you free money to buy heat pumps?

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