amazing
Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners
731–740 of 809 posts
Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners
#732It's really interesting how the task of heating a home (and providing hot water) is solved so radically differently in different parts of the world. Some areas seem to use only wall-mounted air-air pumps, and gas burning boilers for hot water, some times even without hot water storage i.e. direct burning (Something I have never seen in North Europe). I use a combined heat pump with hot water heater/tank. The whole thing is about the size of a regular closet and the heat pump has no outside unit. It uses only the heat in the return air leaving the house. So basically it handles ventilation, and cools the air being vented out, re-using it for heat. These cost $5-10k and last 15-20years. This to me is a pretty reasonable cost given they do all ventilation, space heating and hot water production in one. And there are no pressurized lines anywhere because it's a single self-contained unit without an outside part.
Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners
#733I love startups, but the value proposition is not here. I just had a heat pump installed and it was a much better price and higher efficiency. What is the benefit of direct to consumers is you are going to charge more? What makes your heat pumps better? Hepa filtering? Smart controls? They all have that. Is the market niche esthetics? They do look nice - maybe this company is trying to be the Apple of heat pumps? Cha…
> What is the benefit of direct to consumers is you are going to charge more? I'm going to guess there's a very specific target market for this, 'lazy' people with a lot of money who don't really do a lot of research before they buy stuff. They are aware of climate change and the need to reduce emissions and have heard of heat pumps as a solution. They've already installed solar panels through a similar service that…
A couple of companies like boxt did it in the UK with gas boilers. The appeal is a fixed price quote online, next day installation by a qualified plumber and not having to spin the roulette wheel of trying to call plumbers, negotiate a "fair" price and not have the customer support if things go wrong.
Can you get a cheaper install with another plumber? Not necessarily! boxt have massive volume discounts with boiler manufacturers and presumably keep the installation charge reasonable but the plumber gets steady work and doesn't have to manage their client list so it does work pretty well.
Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners
#734Why direct-to-homeowner? Your product requires installation by a licensed professional, it doesn’t make sense to sell it without the installation. And I don’t see any major benefits to you, the customer, or the contractor by doing it this way.
Supply HVAC contractors like the furnace companies do, work with contractors so that booking an installation is part of the sale process, or train your own installation team in each area.
Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners
#735I always wondered why the A/C units installed in the US do not make heat as well. In europe I have seen a push for this kind of units for at least 20 years now, to the point that I don't think anyone has bought anything else for the past 10.
It seems your challenge is more about changing a status quo market then introducing a technology disruption that it's already been there for a long time now.
Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners
#736I would only buy it if it has an API that I can access like NIBE does. It should have WiFI and also be able to run completely without internet connection. No functionality should be limited if internet is down except for functions that rely on external data such as live electricity prices etc. Also, it should be modular so it is easy to repair. Nibe sucks from this aspect and I would love a different heat pump that h…
Professional installer for NIBE products here. Your experience doesn't align well with what I hear from my customers. Out of curiosity, what product do you have?
I have the F370. It has noise levels of about 60db when compressor is running. Exchanging the compressor costs $3000 from quotes from installers in my city.
Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners
#737> The thermostat algorithm combines demand-response with weather and time-of-use rate plans to reduce monthly utility bills through pre-cooling and pre-heating.
In addition to this, have you considered also offering a simple model? I have very bad experience with heating systems lecturing me about the outside temperature. It is always a game of coercion to get them to do what I want.
I want no outside thermostat, no connection to the Internet. I want a single knob to set the room temperature. If I set it to 25°C after a long walk in winter, I want it to be 25°C within half an hour.
Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners
#738I have had two heat pumps in the last 20(ish) years. The first one worked ok for heating. Warm air I can only describe as tepid blew out of the registers. The second heat pump is amazing. We live in Madison, WI, so very cold. This heat pump blows out air that feels just like the gas furnace air and is able to heat our house down to around 5 degrees Fahrenheit. It consumes quite a bit more energy at that temp and cost wise gas is better.
I would second @quirkot in all of his points. I consider myself a good home re modeler. I have done plumbing, electrical including replacing all the wiring up to the pigtail at the top of the roof. I will not touch HVAC or gas.
Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners
#739I have had two heat pumps in the last 20(ish) years. The first one worked ok for heating. Warm air I can only describe as tepid blew out of the registers. The second heat pump is amazing. We live in Madison, WI, so very cold. This heat pump blows out air that feels just like the gas furnace air and is able to heat our house down to around 5 degrees Fahrenheit. It consumes quite a bit more energy at that temp and cost…
The technology has really improved in the last decade
Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners
#740I always wondered why the A/C units installed in the US do not make heat as well. In europe I have seen a push for this kind of units for at least 20 years now, to the point that I don't think anyone has bought anything else for the past 10. It seems your challenge is more about changing a status quo market then introducing a technology disruption that it's already been there for a long time now.
Heat pumps are very common in the US. That part isn’t really a challenge.