15 ms·

Ground-based ones are extremely expensive and require excavation work. Not a practical or affordable option for most (maybe unit is bulky as well but I don't kn

Ground-based ones are extremely expensive and require excavation work. Not a practical or affordable option for most (maybe unit is bulky as well but I don't know). Air-based ones are quite bulky when you consider many people in the UK live in small houses or terraced houses where having to install the unit means they pretty much lose a lot of their yard, and they are still expensive. The problem is that everything quickly becomes a sacred cow these days. Heat pumps are one these days. They may make sense in some situation but they also don't in others. Some countries had been pushing for all electric at home for a long time, e.g. France. No heat pumps but plenty of affordable electricity off the grid (which also works equally well in a house or a flat). So why the change? Again the reality is that this is because of general issues with production and/or grids with investments lacking. Frankly, from a British perspective, telling people to install heat pumps at the moment is a bit of a "let them eat cake" approach.

local_crmdgeon 3y ago
None of what you've said is true. It's trivial to mount heat pumps to a wall - they're fairly light. I recently did it on the outside of my brick apartment in NYC. No special equipment needed.
solardev 3y ago
I take this to mean that in the UK there is some sort of government propaganda pushing for mass heat pump adoption? How interesting. In the US it seems like a bottoms up effort, where homeowners and small businesses are gradually learning shout the benefits of heat pumps (especially air sourced mini splits) and voluntarily upgrading to them. Though in some states, energy efficiency rebates and new building codes do encourage them (especially for those communities targeting net zero). You're right though that it's not right for every situation. Renters, for example, often have to live with resistive electric space heaters if the apartment has insufficient heating.

local_crmdgeon 3y ago

None of what you've said is true. It's trivial to mount heat pumps to a wall - they're fairly light. I recently did it on the outside of my brick apartment in NYC. No special equipment needed.

solardev 3y ago

I take this to mean that in the UK there is some sort of government propaganda pushing for mass heat pump adoption? How interesting. In the US it seems like a bottoms up effort, where homeowners and small businesses are gradually learning shout the benefits of heat pumps (especially air sourced mini splits) and voluntarily upgrading to them. Though in some states, energy efficiency rebates and new building codes do encourage them (especially for those communities targeting net zero). You're right though that it's not right for every situation. Renters, for example, often have to live with resistive electric space heaters if the apartment has insufficient heating.