How a heat pump works • Hacker News Board

Re: How a heat pump works

#21

Post by hexmiles » Fri, Feb 10, 2023, 2:22 PM UTC

boringg wrote: post #7

What is going on? Is there a global push to get everyone to switch to heat pumps. It seems that there is heat pump content everywhere. Clearly there is a push. I understand that its for climate benefits but it feels very coordinated. edit: didn't realize the attention I would get. Let me add someone answered my question -- a good product market fit and people talking is probably where the push came from. That said HV…

I don't know if it applies everywhere, but two factor come to mind: the (somewhat recent) change in energy and gas price did make heat pump a lot more competitive with more traditional heating solutions, and recently there are a lot of economic incentives (at least, here in Europe) to renovate house for energy efficiency, which make solar panel and heat pump very attractive.

Re: How a heat pump works

#22

Post by Neil44 » Fri, Feb 10, 2023, 2:22 PM UTC

mastermedo wrote: post #3

I'm getting an error when trying to load the page: > Error establishing a database connection https://web.archive.org/web/20230210134443/https://hvac-lear... The archive.org is pretty slow on this one as well, as it is an interactive site.

OOM Killer strikes again - it always loves mysqld for some reason...

Re: How a heat pump works

#23

Post by MrMan » Fri, Feb 10, 2023, 2:23 PM UTC

mhb wrote: post #8

boringg wrote: post #7

What is going on? Is there a global push to get everyone to switch to heat pumps. It seems that there is heat pump content everywhere. Clearly there is a push. I understand that its for climate benefits but it feels very coordinated. edit: didn't realize the attention I would get. Let me add someone answered my question -- a good product market fit and people talking is probably where the push came from. That said HV…

That and gas stoves bad.

gas stoves are bad

Re: How a heat pump works

#24

Post by suoduandao2 » Fri, Feb 10, 2023, 2:24 PM UTC

kzrdude wrote: post #10

boringg wrote: post #7

What is going on? Is there a global push to get everyone to switch to heat pumps. It seems that there is heat pump content everywhere. Clearly there is a push. I understand that its for climate benefits but it feels very coordinated. edit: didn't realize the attention I would get. Let me add someone answered my question -- a good product market fit and people talking is probably where the push came from. That said HV…

Who do you imagine is pushing, and why? Don't you want to resist to turn to explanations like this, that require some invisible force to pull the strings? I think there are more realistic ways to imagine this happening. If for example a pop star is getting a lot of attention, in multiple countries, what is the mechanism behind that? And is it orchestrated?

Explanations like what? Op didn’t put forward much in the way of hypotheses. If you have a good explanation of the mechanism by which attention accumulates around topics that doesn’t require orchestration it would be interesting to hear, it seems like a poorly understood phenomenon.

Re: How a heat pump works

#25

Post by manojlds » Fri, Feb 10, 2023, 2:25 PM UTC

practice9 wrote: post #14

boringg wrote: post #7

What is going on? Is there a global push to get everyone to switch to heat pumps. It seems that there is heat pump content everywhere. Clearly there is a push. I understand that its for climate benefits but it feels very coordinated. edit: didn't realize the attention I would get. Let me add someone answered my question -- a good product market fit and people talking is probably where the push came from. That said HV…

The reason is that suddenly everybody understood that Russia is an unreliable partner for their countries energy needs (at least in Europe). For consumers it's also became clear that being slightly more independent from centralized heating and/or energy infrastructure is a good thing

Suddenly, as in Crimea didn't happen?

Re: How a heat pump works

#26

Post by Bhilai » Fri, Feb 10, 2023, 2:25 PM UTC

Definitely a lot of posts about heat pumps on HN recently that this topic has piqued my interest but only to the point that I want to know if I can install one in my home. Are there any legit resources out there that can help me understand if heat pump is a right choice for my home based on Geo, type of home, sqft and other factors to consider before replacing current systems (two ACs and two furnaces?)

Re: How a heat pump works

#27

Post by wongarsu » Fri, Feb 10, 2023, 2:25 PM UTC

boringg wrote: post #7

What is going on? Is there a global push to get everyone to switch to heat pumps. It seems that there is heat pump content everywhere. Clearly there is a push. I understand that its for climate benefits but it feels very coordinated. edit: didn't realize the attention I would get. Let me add someone answered my question -- a good product market fit and people talking is probably where the push came from. That said HV…

For a long time the main problem of heat pumps was that while they are more efficient, a kilowatthour of gas or oil is much cheaper than a kilowatthour of electricity. But in the last two years natural gas prizes have gone crazy, removing that price disadvantage.

Of course heat pumps emitting no particulates and being able to run on renewables are also good reasons, especially as the health impact of living in cities with high PM2.5 values becomes clearer. But I don't think those are the primary drivers.

Re: How a heat pump works

#28

Post by suoduandao2 » Fri, Feb 10, 2023, 2:25 PM UTC

jcstauffer wrote: post #5

WatchdogReset wrote: post #2

The heat pumps are one of the means of heating (and air conditioning) in the heart of the news. What is their principle of operation. You can ask questions here if there are points to clarify in the course

I'd like to get a heat pump to replace my existing baseboard hot-water system (currently powered by an oil furnace) without converting to a heated air system. From what I've read, that's not quite feasible yet, since current systems can't produce a high enough temperature. What are the prospects of that technology becoming viable in the next few years?

Solar hot water would probably be a better fit for your situation.

Re: How a heat pump works

#29

Post by atoav » Fri, Feb 10, 2023, 2:25 PM UTC

boringg wrote: post #7

What is going on? Is there a global push to get everyone to switch to heat pumps. It seems that there is heat pump content everywhere. Clearly there is a push. I understand that its for climate benefits but it feels very coordinated. edit: didn't realize the attention I would get. Let me add someone answered my question -- a good product market fit and people talking is probably where the push came from. That said HV…

My father has solar and a heat pump. His cummulative heating and electrical cost is practically zero over the year. On many days the solor panels produce more than he can use so he gets money for feeding it into the grid.

If the roof of your house produces enough electricity for the people living it and the heating (and cooling) of all rooms, it is a no brainer to switch to a form of heating that relies on electricity.

Re: How a heat pump works

#30

Post by helen___keller » Fri, Feb 10, 2023, 2:25 PM UTC

boringg wrote: post #7

What is going on? Is there a global push to get everyone to switch to heat pumps. It seems that there is heat pump content everywhere. Clearly there is a push. I understand that its for climate benefits but it feels very coordinated. edit: didn't realize the attention I would get. Let me add someone answered my question -- a good product market fit and people talking is probably where the push came from. That said HV…

I’ve been independently interested in heat pumps because I need to replace my old end-of-life system and I’ve been interested if a modern cold-weather mini split system is a better investment. There’s lots of conflicting info I’ve found on if heat pumps perform in freezing weather and at what kind of efficiency.

I’m sure there’s others in my position.