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Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners

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Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners

#181

Post by cmui »

soheil wrote: post #69

> we have the industrial design and also largely understand how this will be built. The core technology risk is quite low, it's really about executing the scope well and also finding the right product that homeowners find compelling How many HN readers are going to read this and think why not give it a try myself? Is this really a deposit collector campaign or more of a competitor generator.

Heat pumps are really important for reducing fossil fuel use in homes, and we need better products. Scaling this sort of company has unique challenges, but it would be a net positive if more people build good products/services in this space.

Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners

#182

Post by pagutierrezn »

londons_explore wrote: post #54
z3ugma wrote: post #12

Chris, one of my biggest worries is that your startup will get acquired or go out of business and then the firmware will leave me with a $14,000 brick. What if I want to keep using the cloud-based thermostat when your servers get shut off or moved to another system, or if something like Google Nest closing down their API happens after you've exited? This is an expensive system with an expected long life, and I'd want…

I'd want to see a guarantee of "We will either keep running the servers forever, maintaining all current features, or we will opensource all the server side code, so you or someone else can keep running it". I'd want the code handed over to a third party to guarantee this (so the company can't walk back on their promise).

This went by the name: Source Code Scrow https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_code_escrow

Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners

#183

Post by simplyaccont »

cmui wrote: post #123
heatpumpfan wrote: post #30

I recently purchased and installed a 3 ton MrCool Universal (Gree Flexx, I believe) with lineset for ~$4K shipped: https://hvacdirect.com/mrcool-universal-36-000-btu-heat-pump... Worked just fine during the Christmas arctic blast. We will see about longevity but at 1/3 of the price of your proposed units, I'm not worried about slapping a new one at any time. I am essentially on my own for service as no contractors wi…

My hats off to you for doing a DIY install. This is not a bad route to go if you enjoy/feel comfortable doing the work and don't care about air quality, smart thermostat integration, etc. Re contractors, we will have local contractor partners do the install and handle servicing, so you won't be left with an unserviceable system.

mr. cool has it's own smart thermostats/apps. you can use it also with nest/ecobee. with regards to air quality, usually this kind of stuff better managed by dedicated systems.

Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners

#184

Post by RicDan »

mabbo wrote: post #126
cmui wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's something we'd definitely consider. Is the desire to have thermostat control via any third party? edit - The current plan has been Matter/thread Homekit + Google Home integration. We can expose at least temperature control via this to everyone.

Consider it is as a competitive advantage. An API that is public, well-documented, and easy for other systems to securely integrate with would mean that customers get the integration they want. If someone builds a better way to utilize your system, then you just got value-add on your product at basically zero cost. Amazon can hook Alexa into it. Google can hook their Home thing into it. And whatever comes next, whate…

Completely agree on this point. I've worked over half a decade with smart home systems, and it's just so much easier (and cheaper!) to integrate well documented, open APIs (and please make them secure, I have nightmares of all the open, unencrypted UDP based alarm systems) that is purely local. This means we would highly recommend these products even tho we made zero money off them, and customers would actually prefer them as well - it's well beyond the time of people naively buying this stuff, and they know that clouds can just "go offline".

What also can't be underestimated is the tinker community. Many people in the smart home business are tinkerers themselfs; create a great product for them and they will inevitably try to use it at their job. But this really isn't only applicable to integrators, really.

Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners

#185

Post by lancesells »

cmui wrote: post #80
turtlebits wrote: post #15

Existing established companies offer centrally ducted heat pumps. You can purchase them direct, and are even sold by your big box home improvement stores. (search for "ducted heat pump) They are generally contractor only as homeowners generally can't DIY the 240v electrical and lineset hookup. What exactly is being improved upon by your startup?

A few major improvements - (1) Purchasing experience, we'll connect you with a local contractor, arrange financing and help with rebates. (2) HEPA filtration, fresh air intake and humidity control fully integrated into the system, actuated off PM2.5 and CO2 sensors in the thermostat. (3) A smart thermostat that is optimized for operation with a variable speed heat pump, and reduces your monthly bills. (4) Help for th…

I'm really not sure how any of this is worth the extra ~$8k in price difference. Not saying there aren't people out there willing to buy but it's not for me.

1 - I already have a local contractor and financing shouldn't be a reason it costs more. 2 - This is ~$500 and I already own a air purifier. 3 - This is ~$200 and I already own a thermostat. 4 - I can't speak to the value in this but in my case I don't have central ducts.

Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners

#186

Post by thehappypm »

epanchin wrote: post #145
thehappypm wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint — I have an app for my Mitsubishi heat pump and use it all the time. It’s way more convenient and lets me hyper optimize my house. I actually don’t even use the physical ones at all anymore

Are you tied to the app?

No, my phone is wireless

Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners

#187

Post by X-Istence »

cmui wrote: post #88
daredoes wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would your company be willing to provide an open-source local-first websocket-based integration with https://www.home-assistant.io/ or use the new Matter + Thread standard to provide it for everyone? If that's available, this would be my top choice as I'm actively shopping for all-electric heat pumps

It's something we'd definitely consider. Is the desire to have thermostat control via any third party? edit - The current plan has been Matter/thread Homekit + Google Home integration. We can expose at least temperature control via this to everyone.

I would like to be able to add it to HomeKit without it ever phoning home once. Matter + Thread help make that a possibility.

Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners

#188

Post by throitallaway »

cosmosisjones wrote: post #85
cmui wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair point, I should do a better job of communicating the unit sizes. Heat pump capacity varies as a function of outdoor temps. A standard unit is rated at 47F but the sizes I'm showing are at 5F (cold climate conditions). Also for this price you get the air quality module which does HEPA, fresh air intake and humidification and a smart thermostat that's designed to fully optimize this heat pump system.

so what about places like Duluth, MN where it can be -20F ambient, then -40F to -50F with a windchill for several weeks of the year?

Windchill is irrelevant here, it only indicates what the temperature feels like to warm blooded mammals.

Re: Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners

#189

Post by tutorialmanager »

criddell wrote: post #146

My HVAC is 14 years old so we’re actually planning on replacing it sometime in the next 24 months. I’ve talked to a couple of HVAC companies already because I want more cooling power. When it’s above 100F (which it is for 3+ months of the year) my current system struggles to hold 80F. If we use the oven on a hot day, we may not get the temperature back down for days. Our winters are relatively mild (we don’t get much…

How about just adding a small minisplit with heat. Warm day = use the minisplit. Hot day = existing central air. Very hot= use them both. If one goes down you still have something while you wait for repair. The mini split could also provide some heating when its mildly cold.
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