3 ms·

Heat pumps move heat around, that has to come from somewhere. Their performance is not measured in efficiency but the performance coefficient, which simply meas

• UncleMeat 6y ago
  The point is that I can heat my home by 10 degrees with a heat pump using less energy than electric resistive heating, except in specific conditions where it is too cold outside for the heat pump to function well. When I run my auxiliary heat (electric resistive heating), my bill skyrockets.
  • zaarn 6y ago
    Where I lived until like a year ago, it was cheaper to heat via electric heating than the heatpump by about 3-4%, the maintenance costs of the heatpump compressor did the rest after a decade. That is in a temperate region with winter not going below -10 or so.
    • UncleMeat 6y ago
      It isn't good for all regions. Just like swamp coolers aren't good for all regions. But the point is that "resistive heating is the best you can do if you want to heat your home" is just plain wrong.
      • zaarn 6y ago
        It's the best in terms of thermodynamical efficiency.
• IgorPartola 6y ago
  Due to heat pump inefficiencies, they only make sense if you can get like a 3-4x multiplier out of them. Beyond that you break even energy-wise. Basically if it’s -10F outside, your heat pump isn’t going to be cheaper than a resistive heater. On the other hand when it’s 50F outside you do better than 4X.