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I wish governments worldwide would boost this industry and get these heat pumps in the hands of people as fast as possible. I live in the Netherlands that has

I wish governments worldwide would boost this industry and get these heat pumps in the hands of people as fast as possible. I live in the Netherlands that has one of the highest use of rooftop solar and generally energy conscious government and people. I bought a house recently and while doing some changes before moving in, my top priority was to get rid of Gas for heating and replace it with an all electric solution and supplement the power by as many solar panels as possible. As good as my intent is, I literally have €25K in the bank waiting to be spent for this, and the government gives a subsidy for essentially halving the cost of a heat pump, I could not get one until day mid next year!!! It is such a disappointment. The intent is in the right place to encourage people to buy heat pumps, people are also willing. However, the chip shortage, and the insane labour crisis of qualified people who could install this is making the end result unattainable. My wish is for the European Union to use any emergency powers it has to subsidise/mandate/beg the companies to mass manufacture heat pumps and solve the installation problem- train more people on this trade for free? Make it tax free to earn money by working as a heat pump installer? Anything… Now, there is added incentive in the form of the need to get rid of Russian Gas. The time is now. Heat pumps already makes economic sense, it helps with climate goals, it boosts economy. I wish things happen sooner than later.

orbital-decay 4y ago
I'm actually surprised to see heat pumps gaining so little traction in Europe over time, perhaps excluding Baltics. I'm in Russia myself and I have a heat pump installed in my house for about a decade and a half already. In the long run, it was far cheaper than gas in my case. Not to mention it was faster to install; the gas pipeline bureaucracy alone would have taken several months. That said, there are environmental concerns about geothermals at scale (see the earthquake in Landau). Not sure how much of it carries over to residential heat pumps, though.
- porker 4y ago
  The "In the long run" bit is the problem. Here in the UK people stay in a house for about 10 years before moving. It's impossible to get payback on many investments in that time, and when you sell your house the improvements aren't valued high enough to return the money you spent.
benj111 4y ago
It's crazy to me that in the west; geo politics, national defense, people's budgets, and the economy are all in alignment, but no one in power seems to be capitalising on that. Here in the UK we've had nothing like that and seem to be going the other way with things like fuel duty cuts. Another issue here at least is that it seems financially better to pair standard heating with battery storage than invest in a heat pump.
skue 4y ago
> I wish governments worldwide would boost this industry and get these heat pumps in the hands of people as fast as possible. > … > My wish is for the European Union to use any emergency powers it has to subsidise/mandate/beg the companies to mass manufacture heat pumps and solve the installation problem. Can’t speak to other governments, but earlier this month the US invoked the Defense Production Act to do exactly this: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/biden-order-will-boost-heat-pumps-and-building-insulation/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/biden-order-will-...

orbital-decay 4y ago

I'm actually surprised to see heat pumps gaining so little traction in Europe over time, perhaps excluding Baltics. I'm in Russia myself and I have a heat pump installed in my house for about a decade and a half already. In the long run, it was far cheaper than gas in my case. Not to mention it was faster to install; the gas pipeline bureaucracy alone would have taken several months. That said, there are environmental concerns about geothermals at scale (see the earthquake in Landau). Not sure how much of it carries over to residential heat pumps, though.

porker 4y ago
The "In the long run" bit is the problem. Here in the UK people stay in a house for about 10 years before moving. It's impossible to get payback on many investments in that time, and when you sell your house the improvements aren't valued high enough to return the money you spent.

benj111 4y ago

It's crazy to me that in the west; geo politics, national defense, people's budgets, and the economy are all in alignment, but no one in power seems to be capitalising on that. Here in the UK we've had nothing like that and seem to be going the other way with things like fuel duty cuts. Another issue here at least is that it seems financially better to pair standard heating with battery storage than invest in a heat pump.

skue 4y ago

> I wish governments worldwide would boost this industry and get these heat pumps in the hands of people as fast as possible. > … > My wish is for the European Union to use any emergency powers it has to subsidise/mandate/beg the companies to mass manufacture heat pumps and solve the installation problem. Can’t speak to other governments, but earlier this month the US invoked the Defense Production Act to do exactly this: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/biden-order-will-boost-heat-pumps-and-building-insulation/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/biden-order-will-...