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I watch the PBS show This Old House which takes place in the Boston area. The plumber / HVAC guy Richard Trethewey is a fan both ground ("geothermal") and air

I watch the PBS show This Old House which takes place in the Boston area. The plumber / HVAC guy Richard Trethewey is a fan both ground ("geothermal") and air source heat pumps including the air source heat pumps that work at 0F and heat water for radiant floor heating. I'm surprised that more companies aren't doing it there.

maxerickson 4y ago
The majority of their projects are pretty high end (and they tend to want to demonstrate new technology, because it's more interesting).
- throw0101c 4y ago
  For the 'project homes', perhaps, but if you're going to go through the effort of building new or re-doing an entire structure, you might as well use the latest and greatest stuff/practices/code. They also have many segments of smaller DIY jobs for simpler fixes/maintenance, e.g.: * https://www.thisoldhouse.com/plumbing https://www.thisoldhouse.com/plumbing
  - lazide 4y ago
    They most likely get funding (in the form of steep discounts or free equipment) from the equipment manufacturers to do those installs. They’re called demo homes in the trades. It’s a good way to buy a bunch of headaches if you do it on your own without manufacturer support.
panzagl 4y ago
The 'cast' of 'This Old House' is mostly MIT MechE grads who figured out they could make more money doing renovations for Route 128 techies than burning themselves out working at their companies.
- throw0101c 4y ago
  Oh yeah, Richard Trethewey and Tom Silva are definitely MIT guys: * https://www.thisoldhouse.com/21071273/richard-trethewey https://www.thisoldhouse.com/21071273/richard-trethewey * https://www.thisoldhouse.com/21071309/tom-silva https://www.thisoldhouse.com/21071309/tom-silva * https://www.thisoldhouse.com/cast https://www.thisoldhouse.com/cast
  - panzagl 4y ago
    Well, they've done episodes like this: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/season-20-ask-toh/23197052/s20-e35-crown-molding-future-of-solar https://www.thisoldhouse.com/season-20-ask-toh/23197052/s20-...
    - throw0101c 4y ago
      Advanced technology being developed at advanced research labs: who would have thought? But that doesn't change the fact that hosts are mostly 'regular folks' in the trades that hook up a bunch of wiring and pipes (or glue/nail/screw together a bunch of wood).
      - panzagl 4y ago
        I had 'cast' in quotes for a reason- I was half thinking of Norm (though I don't think he went to MIT) and more of the various sub contractors that filter through the show (some of which seemed to be thinly disguised product reps). Still, you can't deny they were higher quality outfits than anything most of us are likely to run into.
  - tangjurine 4y ago
    I'm not seeing anything about mit... were you guys being sarcastic?
- caycep 4y ago
  I haven't watched since a kid w/ the Bob Villa days....

maxerickson 4y ago

The majority of their projects are pretty high end (and they tend to want to demonstrate new technology, because it's more interesting).

throw0101c 4y ago
For the 'project homes', perhaps, but if you're going to go through the effort of building new or re-doing an entire structure, you might as well use the latest and greatest stuff/practices/code. They also have many segments of smaller DIY jobs for simpler fixes/maintenance, e.g.: * https://www.thisoldhouse.com/plumbing https://www.thisoldhouse.com/plumbing
- lazide 4y ago
  They most likely get funding (in the form of steep discounts or free equipment) from the equipment manufacturers to do those installs. They’re called demo homes in the trades. It’s a good way to buy a bunch of headaches if you do it on your own without manufacturer support.

panzagl 4y ago

The 'cast' of 'This Old House' is mostly MIT MechE grads who figured out they could make more money doing renovations for Route 128 techies than burning themselves out working at their companies.

throw0101c 4y ago
Oh yeah, Richard Trethewey and Tom Silva are definitely MIT guys: * https://www.thisoldhouse.com/21071273/richard-trethewey https://www.thisoldhouse.com/21071273/richard-trethewey * https://www.thisoldhouse.com/21071309/tom-silva https://www.thisoldhouse.com/21071309/tom-silva * https://www.thisoldhouse.com/cast https://www.thisoldhouse.com/cast
- panzagl 4y ago
  Well, they've done episodes like this: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/season-20-ask-toh/23197052/s20-e35-crown-molding-future-of-solar https://www.thisoldhouse.com/season-20-ask-toh/23197052/s20-...
  - throw0101c 4y ago
    Advanced technology being developed at advanced research labs: who would have thought? But that doesn't change the fact that hosts are mostly 'regular folks' in the trades that hook up a bunch of wiring and pipes (or glue/nail/screw together a bunch of wood).
    - panzagl 4y ago
      I had 'cast' in quotes for a reason- I was half thinking of Norm (though I don't think he went to MIT) and more of the various sub contractors that filter through the show (some of which seemed to be thinly disguised product reps). Still, you can't deny they were higher quality outfits than anything most of us are likely to run into.
- tangjurine 4y ago
  I'm not seeing anything about mit... were you guys being sarcastic?
caycep 4y ago
I haven't watched since a kid w/ the Bob Villa days....