4 ms·
I get that air conditioning is expensive in a place like Phoenix, but isn't heating similarly expensive in the Great Lakes and northeast?
by toasterlovin 8y ago
I get that air conditioning is expensive in a place like Phoenix, but isn't heating similarly expensive in the Great Lakes and northeast?
- eropple 8y agoThe answer, as with many things, is "it depends." All other things being equal, air conditioning is a little cooler on a degree-by-degree basis than some forms of heating...but it never is that simple. Heat pumps have a higher cost to entry but lower operating costs, air conditioners have a lower cost of entry but nontrivially higher operating costs. A common pattern is to use heat pumps, ducted or no, for high-efficiency cooling and heating, with a backup solution like a gas furnace for heating below the point where a heat pump can function.
- Xylakant 8y agoOne of the problems of aircon is that it deposits the heat into the surrounding air, adding more heat in the process and increasing the temperature gradient. Denser cities also heat up much faster since they restrict air flow and replace for example trees or other areas that can buffer or reduce heat. So cooling a city gets harder as it grows denser. If you want to warm up your city, all of this is in your favor.