3 ms·
> So we are looking at on order of magnitude more heat for the same electrical consumption 40% vs 400% efficiency. Instantaneous renewable energy prices are low
by maerF0x0 6y ago
> So we are looking at on order of magnitude more heat for the same electrical consumption 40% vs 400% efficiency. Instantaneous renewable energy prices are low, but rarely that low.
Wouldn't this imply that when heat is the goal we should always use these pumps? What is the limit of usefulness of these pumps? (eg, what if a whole city did it for all its heat needs?)
- whatshisface 6y agoFor one thing, heat pumps are more expensive than heaters. A heat pump is basically an AC unit that runs in reverse - way more expensive and complicated than a fire or a long thin wire.
- gnopgnip 6y agoIt depends how much of a temperature delta you need. In cold climates often the efficiency is comparable or worse than resistive heaters
- bluGill 6y agoThe big limit is temperature differential matters. The smaller the better!. 40C differential is about the max modern equipment can do with enough efficiency to be worth bothering with. Your home freezer might do more than 40C in extreme cases, but it isn't efficient (We also don't have many other options for this mode, for heating we have other options that work)