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Not important for electricity generation alone, but heating. Using electricity for heat may work for some as an alternative, but AFAIK it's not terribly effici

Not important for electricity generation alone, but heating. Using electricity for heat may work for some as an alternative, but AFAIK it's not terribly efficient and not well suited for cooler climates where it's needed more frequently. Natural gas is the common source of energy for heating in such areas. One more financial burden. Some of the forecasts I've seen have been calling for colder winters to come, so this will be unwelcome news to many who are just scraping by as it is.

toomuchtodo 5y ago
> Using electricity for heat may work for some as an alternative, but AFAIK it's not terribly efficient and not well suited for cooler climates where it's needed more frequently. It's actually incredibly efficient when using a heat pump, as you're putting little energy in to move a lot of energy. Newer air source heat pumps can extract energy from air as cold as -30F. But, as you mention, an additional financial burden. Living in colder climates has an inherently heavy CO2 burden to overcome. https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-and-cool/heat-pump-systems/air-source-heat-pumps https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-and-cool/heat-pump-s...
- ragingrobot 5y ago
  Right, and installing those systems may be a huge project. I had to look into things from your statement and links. They were of course different when I was replacing an old oil fired boiler in a home I purchased. Pretty much a gas fired boiler was my only option. IIRC heat pumps weren't there yet in colder environments. I went with a 93% efficient unit as opposed to a traditional 85% (at twice the cost) as the savings were supposed to be realized over a few years, paying for itself. Now, I can only hope things aren't as bad as the omen in the article. I'm sure there are many out there hoping same. Given that, the HE boiler may still turn out to be a godsend in this. I do appreciate you pointing it out - I see heat pumps can run hydronic systems now. Interesting, and something to look at.

toomuchtodo 5y ago

> Using electricity for heat may work for some as an alternative, but AFAIK it's not terribly efficient and not well suited for cooler climates where it's needed more frequently. It's actually incredibly efficient when using a heat pump, as you're putting little energy in to move a lot of energy. Newer air source heat pumps can extract energy from air as cold as -30F. But, as you mention, an additional financial burden. Living in colder climates has an inherently heavy CO2 burden to overcome. https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-and-cool/heat-pump-systems/air-source-heat-pumps https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-and-cool/heat-pump-s...

ragingrobot 5y ago
Right, and installing those systems may be a huge project. I had to look into things from your statement and links. They were of course different when I was replacing an old oil fired boiler in a home I purchased. Pretty much a gas fired boiler was my only option. IIRC heat pumps weren't there yet in colder environments. I went with a 93% efficient unit as opposed to a traditional 85% (at twice the cost) as the savings were supposed to be realized over a few years, paying for itself. Now, I can only hope things aren't as bad as the omen in the article. I'm sure there are many out there hoping same. Given that, the HE boiler may still turn out to be a godsend in this. I do appreciate you pointing it out - I see heat pumps can run hydronic systems now. Interesting, and something to look at.