741–750 of 766 posts
I recently got heat pumps in the hopes that I could phase out my oil furnace. What I can say so far is: The temperature is wildly inconsistent. I don't know if this is a software issue, a hardware issue, or just the way heatpumps work. I've had the installer come back and look at it, I've had the heat pump rep come and look at it too. They basically checked everything and tried to convince me this is normal. With oil…
One of the big problems with heat pumps in New England is that our electricity costs 1.7x the US average ( https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.ph... ). If you're in the South, a heat pump makes perfect sense. You're going to want AC anyway and it'll be way more efficient and save a ton of money when you want heat. In most of the country, even if it gets cold your electricity prices are still a t…
Right, the heat pump will reduce energy use to maybe 1/3 of a gas furnace, but natural gas is something like 6x cheaper for the same amount of energy, so it is an expensive folly. If California is serious about this, they need to reign in the utilities to reduce prices and or stop the attacks on solar installation.
The classic thing is cogeneration. It's a thermodynamic sin to create a large temperature difference (say, furnace combustion chamber vs. house) without running that heat through a heat engine. In the Nordic countries, in parts of Russia, and on some university campuses in the US, that's done with a "neighborhood power plant" and district heating (steam pipes). Heat engines get less efficient as they get smaller, but possibly a house-scale cogeneration setup could still make sense?
But I'm also now curious about something more interesting: In the same way that you can have, say, a propane powered refrigerator, is it also possible to have a natural gas powered heat pump? Suppose it's a cold winter day, and you're burning natural gas in a combustion chamber in an appliance in your basement. There are three temperature reservoirs: The outdoors, the house, and the combustion chamber, at temperatures T1 From Q32, work
W = (1 - T2/T3) * Q32
is available. That can then be used to pump
Q12 = 1 / (1 - T1/T2) * W
= ((1 - T2/T3) / (1 - T1/T2)) * Q32
additional heat. And thus
Q = Q32 + Q12
= (1 + (1 - T2/T3) / (1 - T1/T2)) * Q32
= B(T1, T2, T3) * Q32 .
Here, B (a function of T1, T2, T3) is the coefficient by which the natural gas' energy is effectively multiplied, for heating purposes.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The only reason that natural gas prices in Australia have gone up in the past 10 years is that gas producers in the eastern states were able to start exporting gas as LNG. As of 2023, Australia is the world's second largest LNG exporter (source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1262074/global-lng-expor... ) after the US (take that Russia!) and ahead of Qatar. Great for the gas exporting cartel but not so great for…
What you seem to be saying is that Australians had gas that was artificially cheap because it wasn't being bought and sold at international market rates, and once that started happening and the market was no longer distorted by trade limitations, the fair market price was not longer attractive to Australian customers. (Personally, I think all countries, to the extent that they can, ought to both reduce domestic fossi…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There was an inefficient allocation of resources that was disrupted by technology.
How was it "inefficient"? A tech shock doesn't mean the old status quo was inefficient. E.g., conventional mail wasn't inefficient prior to email
I've had a Mitsubishi Hyper Heat mini-split system with 2 outdoor units and 3 indoor heads for ~7 years now. I'm trying to move houses to get away from it. It's crazy noisy during the winter, the temperature control is whacky, and it's 2-3X the price to run than a gas furnace with electric vs gas rates around here. Not only that, with new 95% or 96% efficient furnaces, I'm not sure heat pumps are any greener.
Don't get me started on the install costs and the fact that your average mini split unit is barely sized to heat a room, let alone a full house. For me, it was better than the electric baseboards I replaced, but I'd still prefer a standard furnace.
I think we need to be very careful forcing everyone to convert to these until the tech is more mature, especially in the Northern states and places like Colorado. I looked on forums recently to see if the tech has evolved in the last 10 years, but many of the recent buyers still had the exact complaints I listed here.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
How was it "inefficient"? A tech shock doesn't mean the old status quo was inefficient. E.g., conventional mail wasn't inefficient prior to email
Mail (physical means of communicating in writing and print) and email (connecting two people with digital signal) are similar but not a great comparison when comparing consumption of natural gas. Technology literally created additional markets for the same material, by modifying it so it could be transported more efficiently over long distances. I think you could say the new methods of natural gas production and stor…
What?
You are missing the point. We're talking about "markets" not the specific "tech/substitutes." It could be any technology disruption. Such disruption doesn't mean the prior status quo IN THE MARKET was inefficient. The tech shock just resets equilibrium.
Further, your explanation is circular, and I propose it has to do with muddling terminology and concepts.
Here's one inconsistency. Either the markets didn't exist (You said they need to be "created."), or they did exist, but a pipeline connecting them was too expensive.
> Technology literally created additional markets
> it would have been possible to pipeline gas from AU to markets across the ocean, but it didn’t make economic sense
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The only reason that natural gas prices in Australia have gone up in the past 10 years is that gas producers in the eastern states were able to start exporting gas as LNG. As of 2023, Australia is the world's second largest LNG exporter (source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1262074/global-lng-expor... ) after the US (take that Russia!) and ahead of Qatar. Great for the gas exporting cartel but not so great for…
What you seem to be saying is that Australians had gas that was artificially cheap because it wasn't being bought and sold at international market rates, and once that started happening and the market was no longer distorted by trade limitations, the fair market price was not longer attractive to Australian customers. (Personally, I think all countries, to the extent that they can, ought to both reduce domestic fossi…
Higher gas prices is good for fighting climate change - it makes renewable energy more competitive. Now, is the opposite the case for, say the Japanese, who import gas from Australia? Are they less incentivized to switch away? Probably somewhat, but less so, because of transaction and transportation costs.
I live in Colorado, so I'm in one of the colder climates with a decent amount of time spent below freezing each year. I've had a Mitsubishi Hyper Heat mini-split system with 2 outdoor units and 3 indoor heads for ~7 years now. I'm trying to move houses to get away from it. It's crazy noisy during the winter, the temperature control is whacky, and it's 2-3X the price to run than a gas furnace with electric vs gas rate…
Colorado is actually a relatively heat pump friendly climate; it can reach incredibly low temperatures some winter nights, but once the sun is up it’s back to 20-40F. Compare this to months of continuous deep cold near the Great Lakes.
I live in Colorado, so I'm in one of the colder climates with a decent amount of time spent below freezing each year. I've had a Mitsubishi Hyper Heat mini-split system with 2 outdoor units and 3 indoor heads for ~7 years now. I'm trying to move houses to get away from it. It's crazy noisy during the winter, the temperature control is whacky, and it's 2-3X the price to run than a gas furnace with electric vs gas rate…
Who is your utility? It really shouldn’t be 2-3x much more expensive to operate, but could depend on your rates. Colorado is actually a relatively heat pump friendly climate; it can reach incredibly low temperatures some winter nights, but once the sun is up it’s back to 20-40F. Compare this to months of continuous deep cold near the Great Lakes.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It wasn't "artifically" cheap nor was the market "distorted". It was merely the physical reality prior to the innovation of LNG. It would only be fair to say it was artifically cheap, say, if the Australian government was imposing tariffs or subsidising production. I don't think it was doing that, and as it was, the producers were sufficiently incentivised by the market to produce and sell gas domestically.
There was an inefficient allocation of resources that was disrupted by technology.