4 ms·

Around me, the bottleneck is with drilling, not the heat pumps themselves

• toomuchtodo 3y ago
  Air source heat pumps require no drilling or ground loops such that geothermal heat pumps do. https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/air-source-heat-pumps https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/air-source-heat-pumps https://www.rewiringamerica.org/app/ira-calculator/information/heat-pump-air-conditioner-heater https://www.rewiringamerica.org/app/ira-calculator/informati... https://www.energystar.gov/products/air_source_heat_pumps https://www.energystar.gov/products/air_source_heat_pumps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_source_heat_pump https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_source_heat_pump
  • rnk 3y ago
    Thank you. The bloomberg article didnt mention anything what was different from conventional heat pumps.
    • tcbawo 3y ago
      I am looking into it for my own home. Air sourced heat pumps are slightly more energy efficient than traditional forced air, but geothermal heat pumps are significantly more energy efficient than other options. But hey, I thought this was about addressing the climate crisis. Edit: clarified efficiency
      • FooBarBizBazz 3y ago
        Did you mean that air source heat pumps are more capital efficient, but ground source heat pumps are more energy efficient? When I try to parse the sentence I get "efficient vs. efficient", so I think you must be referring to different kinds of efficiency? Well -- the air source ones are somewhat easier to install; I guess that's what you're referring to? So, like, "air source is easier, but ground source is more energy efficient"? That must be it...
        • tcbawo 3y ago
          I was comparing air sourced heat pumps to traditional forced air systems. Geothermal heat pumps are much more common outside of the United States, have a much higher upfront cost, but significantly lower operating and energy costs after the install. My original point is that if you want to combat the climate crisis, you need to utilize the free heat source in the winter and heat sink in the summer that is the earth below us. Drilling for this type of heat exchange is a specialized skill, requiring specific equipment. In my area, very few people do it, they have a long backlog, and they are using drilling equipment that is not produced domestically.
          • toomuchtodo 3y ago
            > My original point is that if you want to combat the climate crisis, you need to utilize the free heat source in the winter and heat sink in the summer that is the earth below us. I believe this is a false dichotomy. Air source heat pumps can work anywhere where the weather is above -15F most of the time, but if you have the capital available and the equipment to install ground loops, that is a better option. Not everyone can install geothermal heat pumps, whereas everyone can install air source heat pumps and that is a reasonable measure to contributing towards the climate crisis. Any efficiency loss can be mitigated with more renewable or low carbon energy generation to offset the aggregate efficiency delta. We should not let perfect be the enemy of good enough.
            • tcbawo 3y ago
              I didn’t say anything about making a choice. My point is that if you’re utilizing wartime powers to combat climate change, there are additional options left on the table. FWIW, there is a federal 30% tax credit for installing geothermal heat pumps. Not possible for everyone, but drilling vertical cores for geothermal ground loops is surprisingly accessible. However, I can’t get a driller to call me back.
              • FooBarBizBazz 3y ago
                > I can’t get a driller to call me back. Makes mental note in case the whole software engineering thing stops working out.