5 ms·

Technology Connections has a good video on heat pumps. (Actually several of them, I link the newest one.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFEHFsO-XSI https://w

by yreg 4y ago

Technology Connections has a good video on heat pumps. (Actually several of them, I link the newest one.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFEHFsO-XSI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFEHFsO-XSI

generaltsos 4y ago
That channel is fascinating. They have created some incredibly interesting projects.
- manigandham 4y ago
  What have they created? You might be thinking of Tech Ingredients - https://www.youtube.com/@TechIngredients https://www.youtube.com/@TechIngredients
  - generaltsos 4y ago
    You're spot on - I am subscribed to both so I confused them without opening any links. Technology Connections is fascinating in its own right as well.
pkulak 4y ago
I just found this guy too. He answered a lot of questions I had about efficiency and use below freezing. https://youtu.be/fxEqVuiHhM0 https://youtu.be/fxEqVuiHhM0
- kenmacd 4y ago
  I like his videos, but I don't trust his numbers in this one. He shows a COP of ~1 when it's 10 degrees out. These are the easiest possible conditions for the HP, and where all the specs show the highest COP. His graph showing the HP is running equal to a baseboard heater seems very suspect.
  - pkulak 4y ago
    Are you thinking 10 degrees Celsius? I think all his numbers are Fahrenheit.
    - kenmacd 4y ago
      He's located in NB, so I assumed it was Celsius. To check I just compared them to the Environment Canada data it seems to match pretty close for NB in Celsius.
      - pkulak 4y ago
        Ah, yeah. I thought I saw some "60s" and so forth on one of the graphs, but I may have read it wrong in the moment.
      - jeffalyanak 4y ago
        Edit: nevermind, thought this was still about Technology Connections.
  - rovolo 4y ago
    The issue with the COP graph (9:05) is that it's comparing the mini-split system to the prior system. The mini-split doesn't have radiators in the same place as the prior system, so he runs it 1-2˚ hotter (7:50) to get the rest of the house to the same temperature. Also, the system isn't using much electricity on warm days (8:48), so the inefficient placement of the minisplit is more dramatic. The more interesting graph is the total kWh saved per day (8:07). The colder it gets, the more energy he saves. That's because more heat needs to be pumped into the house, so a worse COP multiplied by more total heat equals more electricity savings (at least for the temperatures he's measured).
- ASalazarMX 4y ago
  Can't recommend this channel enough, it's like the Captain Disillusion of home appliances. The video about hurricane lamps was the first I saw, and it solved questions I didn't know I had about their weird shapes.
  - ASalazarMX 4y ago
    Disregard my comment, I thought that guy was Alec Watson of Technology Connections.
- barbazoo 4y ago
  Their main channel is http://youtube.com/user/matthiaswandel http://youtube.com/user/matthiaswandel
Casteil 4y ago
He does, but he omits a lot of important considerations that make heat pumps impractical for normal Americans. If he touches on them, it's briefly - if at all, e.g.: - More expensive units, and more expensive to run power wise. It's always difficult to get adoption of new technology that's "better" but more expensive to buy & repair - to the point where RoI may never happen. - Power grid implications during very low/record low temps e.g. shortages/blackouts, likely worse than those in summer if heat pump uptake is widespread. - With a heat pump, you -need- an alternative source of heat - since some days when it's particularly cold, they just won't work, or work very inefficiently. Plus, if the power goes out... you're definitely not powering a whole house heat pump with a small generator like you could a natural gas furnace. Edit: FWIW, I'd researched this topic heavily & seriously considered getting a heat pump to pair with a solar power setup. For a number of reasons (chief among them: no return on investment before the end of the heat pump's expected service life), I will not be getting a heat pump any time soon. That may change if prices drop dramatically, but that seems unlikely given their increased mechanical/electrical complexity.
- nly 4y ago
  - Better than resistive electric heating for the grid. Gas is going away so this is a problem that has to be solved anyway. - Economies or scale will solve the repair and maintenance burden... hell, it's not like a gas boiler is maintenance free...fucking things requiring serving every year and break down all the time in the UK. - almost noone has a generator when the power goes out anyway. This is a very wealthy American perspective.
  - Casteil 4y ago
    - Sure, at least when it's not super cold. Electrical grid may be a "problem that has to be solved" but it's one that carries staggering price tags and will have to be gradually transitioned into over decades. Natural gas will likely still be used as a heat source for many well into the late this century if not longer. - Gas boilers are far simpler units. Less moving parts, simpler electronics, all in all fewer points of failure than a cutting edge heat pump that can actually produce heat when it's below 20f (-7c, i.e. the only kind of heatpump that might stand a chance at heating throughout the cold winters most of the northern US gets). - Be that as it may, heat pumps at this time are cost prohibitive - making them largely something only "wealthy Americans" can afford. Many people still run old 80% efficiency units because of similar reasons to boilers: they're cheaper, simpler, and less likely to fail.

by yreg 4y ago

Technology Connections has a good video on heat pumps. (Actually several of them, I link the newest one.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFEHFsO-XSI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFEHFsO-XSI

generaltsos 4y ago

That channel is fascinating. They have created some incredibly interesting projects.

manigandham 4y ago
What have they created? You might be thinking of Tech Ingredients - https://www.youtube.com/@TechIngredients https://www.youtube.com/@TechIngredients
- generaltsos 4y ago
  You're spot on - I am subscribed to both so I confused them without opening any links. Technology Connections is fascinating in its own right as well.

pkulak 4y ago

I just found this guy too. He answered a lot of questions I had about efficiency and use below freezing. https://youtu.be/fxEqVuiHhM0 https://youtu.be/fxEqVuiHhM0

kenmacd 4y ago
I like his videos, but I don't trust his numbers in this one. He shows a COP of ~1 when it's 10 degrees out. These are the easiest possible conditions for the HP, and where all the specs show the highest COP. His graph showing the HP is running equal to a baseboard heater seems very suspect.
- pkulak 4y ago
  Are you thinking 10 degrees Celsius? I think all his numbers are Fahrenheit.
  - kenmacd 4y ago
    He's located in NB, so I assumed it was Celsius. To check I just compared them to the Environment Canada data it seems to match pretty close for NB in Celsius.
    - pkulak 4y ago
      Ah, yeah. I thought I saw some "60s" and so forth on one of the graphs, but I may have read it wrong in the moment.
    - jeffalyanak 4y ago
      Edit: nevermind, thought this was still about Technology Connections.
- rovolo 4y ago
  The issue with the COP graph (9:05) is that it's comparing the mini-split system to the prior system. The mini-split doesn't have radiators in the same place as the prior system, so he runs it 1-2˚ hotter (7:50) to get the rest of the house to the same temperature. Also, the system isn't using much electricity on warm days (8:48), so the inefficient placement of the minisplit is more dramatic. The more interesting graph is the total kWh saved per day (8:07). The colder it gets, the more energy he saves. That's because more heat needs to be pumped into the house, so a worse COP multiplied by more total heat equals more electricity savings (at least for the temperatures he's measured).
ASalazarMX 4y ago
Can't recommend this channel enough, it's like the Captain Disillusion of home appliances. The video about hurricane lamps was the first I saw, and it solved questions I didn't know I had about their weird shapes.
- ASalazarMX 4y ago
  Disregard my comment, I thought that guy was Alec Watson of Technology Connections.
barbazoo 4y ago
Their main channel is http://youtube.com/user/matthiaswandel http://youtube.com/user/matthiaswandel

Casteil 4y ago

He does, but he omits a lot of important considerations that make heat pumps impractical for normal Americans. If he touches on them, it's briefly - if at all, e.g.: - More expensive units, and more expensive to run power wise. It's always difficult to get adoption of new technology that's "better" but more expensive to buy & repair - to the point where RoI may never happen. - Power grid implications during very low/record low temps e.g. shortages/blackouts, likely worse than those in summer if heat pump uptake is widespread. - With a heat pump, you -need- an alternative source of heat - since some days when it's particularly cold, they just won't work, or work very inefficiently. Plus, if the power goes out... you're definitely not powering a whole house heat pump with a small generator like you could a natural gas furnace. Edit: FWIW, I'd researched this topic heavily & seriously considered getting a heat pump to pair with a solar power setup. For a number of reasons (chief among them: no return on investment before the end of the heat pump's expected service life), I will not be getting a heat pump any time soon. That may change if prices drop dramatically, but that seems unlikely given their increased mechanical/electrical complexity.

nly 4y ago
- Better than resistive electric heating for the grid. Gas is going away so this is a problem that has to be solved anyway. - Economies or scale will solve the repair and maintenance burden... hell, it's not like a gas boiler is maintenance free...fucking things requiring serving every year and break down all the time in the UK. - almost noone has a generator when the power goes out anyway. This is a very wealthy American perspective.
- Casteil 4y ago
  - Sure, at least when it's not super cold. Electrical grid may be a "problem that has to be solved" but it's one that carries staggering price tags and will have to be gradually transitioned into over decades. Natural gas will likely still be used as a heat source for many well into the late this century if not longer. - Gas boilers are far simpler units. Less moving parts, simpler electronics, all in all fewer points of failure than a cutting edge heat pump that can actually produce heat when it's below 20f (-7c, i.e. the only kind of heatpump that might stand a chance at heating throughout the cold winters most of the northern US gets). - Be that as it may, heat pumps at this time are cost prohibitive - making them largely something only "wealthy Americans" can afford. Many people still run old 80% efficiency units because of similar reasons to boilers: they're cheaper, simpler, and less likely to fail.