3 ms·
Got all your numbers wrong too, not just your units. Modern combined cycle power plants mean that 100 J of chemical energy turn into more than 40 J of electrici
by elil17 4y ago
Got all your numbers wrong too, not just your units. Modern combined cycle power plants mean that 100 J of chemical energy turn into more than 40 J of electricity (depends on your energy mix, but could be as high as 60 J). Then you also get a third of your energy from nuclear in some places, or hydro, or solar and wind (that is happening now - not just in the future). Heat pumps can be 300% or 400% efficient for most of the year (it's those few coldest nights of the year where they really struggle).
So even if you don't have any nuclear or renewable energy in your mix, just natural gas, you get 60*3 or 4 = 180 to 240 J of heat energy from your 100 J of chemical energy.
For most people in America, heat pumps are currently the most efficient option.