3 ms·

This was a great answer and well thought out! Thanks for taking the time. My only rebuttal is heat pumps can heat the air directly. No need for a radiator or p

This was a great answer and well thought out! Thanks for taking the time. My only rebuttal is heat pumps can heat the air directly. No need for a radiator or plumbing.

namibj 5y ago
Germany basically didn't have central air heating. There is no way to deliver that to each room in a simple retrofit. You can't even do widow AC style units.
- munk-a 5y ago
  That is, in fact, one of the neat facts about Strassburg/Strasbourg - the Neustadt (lit. New Town) built during the German occupation of Alsace Lorraine between the Franco-Prussian War and WWI was designed specifically as a capital of the west and outfitted with the latest technologies - as a result it's one of the oldest european city districts constructed entirely with in-building heating via distributed radiators connected to central boilers. This isn't at all a counter to your statement, just an interest fact nugget.
- hedora 5y ago
  Minisplit heat pumps solve this problem. You run compressor lines from shared outdoor compressors to each room, and each room gets its own thermostat / blower. They're relatively affordable and extremely popular in places where retrofits of buildings without central air are common.
  - ajmurmann 5y ago
    German homes already have pipes that go to every room for heating and already have pipes in the floor or radiators installed. Most people wouldn't want air to be blow around and wouldn't want a compressor outside. This would totally clash with German housing standards.
cycomanic 5y ago
That's a disadvantage. Radiative heating using radiators or floor heating actually enables you to have a lower temperature because it feels warmer. That said you can run heatpumps with radiative heaters, still moving to heatpumps from on day to the other is completely unrealistic, that's sort of like saying we should switch over all cars to electric immediately to get rid of the dependency on Russian oil.
ajmurmann 5y ago
But German homes already have pipes to move hot water for heating. German homes also usually are made of concrete or stone, not wood sticks and sheet rock. It would be an enormous effort to put air ducts in that instead. If that's even possible. A quite frankly most Germans wouldn't want air to be blow around their rooms. All Germans who visit my home in the US are weirded out by the blown air and also complain about the noise.
- diordiderot 5y ago
  > also usually are made of concrete or stone, not wood sticks and sheet rock Touché

This was a great answer and well thought out! Thanks for taking the time. My only rebuttal is heat pumps can heat the air directly. No need for a radiator or plumbing.

namibj 5y ago

Germany basically didn't have central air heating. There is no way to deliver that to each room in a simple retrofit. You can't even do widow AC style units.

munk-a 5y ago
That is, in fact, one of the neat facts about Strassburg/Strasbourg - the Neustadt (lit. New Town) built during the German occupation of Alsace Lorraine between the Franco-Prussian War and WWI was designed specifically as a capital of the west and outfitted with the latest technologies - as a result it's one of the oldest european city districts constructed entirely with in-building heating via distributed radiators connected to central boilers. This isn't at all a counter to your statement, just an interest fact nugget.
hedora 5y ago
Minisplit heat pumps solve this problem. You run compressor lines from shared outdoor compressors to each room, and each room gets its own thermostat / blower. They're relatively affordable and extremely popular in places where retrofits of buildings without central air are common.
- ajmurmann 5y ago
  German homes already have pipes that go to every room for heating and already have pipes in the floor or radiators installed. Most people wouldn't want air to be blow around and wouldn't want a compressor outside. This would totally clash with German housing standards.

cycomanic 5y ago

That's a disadvantage. Radiative heating using radiators or floor heating actually enables you to have a lower temperature because it feels warmer. That said you can run heatpumps with radiative heaters, still moving to heatpumps from on day to the other is completely unrealistic, that's sort of like saying we should switch over all cars to electric immediately to get rid of the dependency on Russian oil.

ajmurmann 5y ago

But German homes already have pipes to move hot water for heating. German homes also usually are made of concrete or stone, not wood sticks and sheet rock. It would be an enormous effort to put air ducts in that instead. If that's even possible. A quite frankly most Germans wouldn't want air to be blow around their rooms. All Germans who visit my home in the US are weirded out by the blown air and also complain about the noise.

diordiderot 5y ago
> also usually are made of concrete or stone, not wood sticks and sheet rock Touché