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There are some US states whithout an IKEA, such as Maine. Incidentally, in Maine, incandescent light bulbs are almost 100% efficient for much of the year as th

There are some US states whithout an IKEA, such as Maine. Incidentally, in Maine, incandescent light bulbs are almost 100% efficient for much of the year as they produce both light and heat.

Symbiote 10y ago
When using electricity for heating, a heat pump is more than 100% efficient. I live in Denmark, where regulations mean new buildings can't have simple electric heaters installed.
- TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
  Yep, modern heat pumps are up to and above 4:1 thermal efficiency. References in my other comment.
CalRobert 10y ago
100% is a bit of a deceptive claim, since 1) we can exceed 100% with heat pumps, and 2) pretty much _every_ electrical appliance in an enclosed space is 100% efficient at converting energy to heat. 3) For the most part, the electricity being used to power those incandescents is produced with 25-50% efficiency. Burning gas to make heat to run a turbine to produce electricity to transmit it to your home to heat a coil to make light is not very efficient. Ideally it's combined-cycle (waste heat boils water to spin another turbine) but it's still not as good as just burning that gas in your furnace. My apartment, lovely as it is, has vile, ancient, horrible resistive electric storage heaters. I live in a somewhat cold climate. I suck it up and pay for renewably-sourced electricity to assuage the guilt because there's no way I'm going to win in a fight to install heat pumps or gas-fired heating with my landlord. In this limited scenario, incandescents make sense. If I owned this place those hunk-of-crap heaters would be in the skip tomorrow and all the incandescent bulbs with them.
- douche 10y ago
  Electric heating is a huge red flag - living in the northeast US, that tends to indicate that whoever built the building is not from around here, and perhaps came up from the South, or some other area that does not have real winters. Usually where you find electric heaters, you'll also find wildly insufficient insulation, foundations that aren't up to frost, and any number of other design flaws that bite you in the ass when it is below freezing for four or five months out of the year. Natural gas or heating oil is far more economical, although nothing beats the warmth provided by a good wood stove.
  - CalRobert 10y ago
    I agree, though in this case it has more to do with Dublin apartments generally having crap heating facilities. The landlord knows full well the costs he imposes. Of course, I could also have looked for an apartment with gas heating, but the reality is the rent here is low enough that simply offsetting the environmental cost of electric heating with power sourced from wind (which is where almost all of this island's renewable energy comes from) is still a better deal. It may be worth noting that it gets cool, but not especially cold, here, at least by New England standards. In January the average low is 3C, so still above freezing, and snow is rare, though it does happen.

There are some US states whithout an IKEA, such as Maine. Incidentally, in Maine, incandescent light bulbs are almost 100% efficient for much of the year as they produce both light and heat.

Symbiote 10y ago

When using electricity for heating, a heat pump is more than 100% efficient. I live in Denmark, where regulations mean new buildings can't have simple electric heaters installed.

TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
Yep, modern heat pumps are up to and above 4:1 thermal efficiency. References in my other comment.

CalRobert 10y ago

100% is a bit of a deceptive claim, since 1) we can exceed 100% with heat pumps, and 2) pretty much _every_ electrical appliance in an enclosed space is 100% efficient at converting energy to heat. 3) For the most part, the electricity being used to power those incandescents is produced with 25-50% efficiency. Burning gas to make heat to run a turbine to produce electricity to transmit it to your home to heat a coil to make light is not very efficient. Ideally it's combined-cycle (waste heat boils water to spin another turbine) but it's still not as good as just burning that gas in your furnace. My apartment, lovely as it is, has vile, ancient, horrible resistive electric storage heaters. I live in a somewhat cold climate. I suck it up and pay for renewably-sourced electricity to assuage the guilt because there's no way I'm going to win in a fight to install heat pumps or gas-fired heating with my landlord. In this limited scenario, incandescents make sense. If I owned this place those hunk-of-crap heaters would be in the skip tomorrow and all the incandescent bulbs with them.

douche 10y ago
Electric heating is a huge red flag - living in the northeast US, that tends to indicate that whoever built the building is not from around here, and perhaps came up from the South, or some other area that does not have real winters. Usually where you find electric heaters, you'll also find wildly insufficient insulation, foundations that aren't up to frost, and any number of other design flaws that bite you in the ass when it is below freezing for four or five months out of the year. Natural gas or heating oil is far more economical, although nothing beats the warmth provided by a good wood stove.
- CalRobert 10y ago
  I agree, though in this case it has more to do with Dublin apartments generally having crap heating facilities. The landlord knows full well the costs he imposes. Of course, I could also have looked for an apartment with gas heating, but the reality is the rent here is low enough that simply offsetting the environmental cost of electric heating with power sourced from wind (which is where almost all of this island's renewable energy comes from) is still a better deal. It may be worth noting that it gets cool, but not especially cold, here, at least by New England standards. In January the average low is 3C, so still above freezing, and snow is rare, though it does happen.