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There are many YouTube videos of people installing heat pumps by themselves in a few hours. Your quotes are likely inflated by permit requirements and price dis

by NavinF 3y ago

There are many YouTube videos of people installing heat pumps by themselves in a few hours. Your quotes are likely inflated by permit requirements and price discrimination. Keep in mind that heating with natgas is way cheaper for most Americans so the HVAC guys know that you have money to spare

Scoundreller 3y ago
> Keep in mind that heating with natgas is way cheaper for most Americans so the HVAC guys know that you have money to spare Where natgas can lose its lustre is on delivery/standing charges. And sometimes transmission and distribution charges (those usually scale with use, but can make cheap gas expensive). On smaller/well insulated homes, the fixed gas connection cost can really improve heat pumps economics if you're already on electric grid and can cutoff gas entirely. Or have an aux source like oil/propane/wood. The fun part is that utilities are generally a regulated rate of return business, so as users disconnect, the base costs go up on the remaining subscribers. Pushing more subscribers to disconnect from the gas grid, pushing cost up on the remaining... I wouldn't invest in natgas distribution companies in mild-moderate climates.
- NavinF 3y ago
  AFAIK the fixed cost of keeping a gas line active is ~$4/mo in most places and many homes still need gas for stoves and dryers so I expect ~0% of Americans to cancel gas in the next decade Of course the maintenance costs and the amortized cost of infra is a much larger proportion of the gas bill, but the utility can't pass that on to customers as a fixed monthly fee. Gov't tariffs usually make that illegal
  - Scoundreller 3y ago
    CAD$24 or ~US$18 in most of Ontario Canada. But that's every month, so could be 10% or 100% of your bill. But oddly gas stoves and especially gas dryers aren't that common here, despite gas being cheaper than electric (historically, dunno about today).

by NavinF 3y ago

Scoundreller 3y ago

> Keep in mind that heating with natgas is way cheaper for most Americans so the HVAC guys know that you have money to spare Where natgas can lose its lustre is on delivery/standing charges. And sometimes transmission and distribution charges (those usually scale with use, but can make cheap gas expensive). On smaller/well insulated homes, the fixed gas connection cost can really improve heat pumps economics if you're already on electric grid and can cutoff gas entirely. Or have an aux source like oil/propane/wood. The fun part is that utilities are generally a regulated rate of return business, so as users disconnect, the base costs go up on the remaining subscribers. Pushing more subscribers to disconnect from the gas grid, pushing cost up on the remaining... I wouldn't invest in natgas distribution companies in mild-moderate climates.

NavinF 3y ago
AFAIK the fixed cost of keeping a gas line active is ~$4/mo in most places and many homes still need gas for stoves and dryers so I expect ~0% of Americans to cancel gas in the next decade Of course the maintenance costs and the amortized cost of infra is a much larger proportion of the gas bill, but the utility can't pass that on to customers as a fixed monthly fee. Gov't tariffs usually make that illegal
- Scoundreller 3y ago
  CAD$24 or ~US$18 in most of Ontario Canada. But that's every month, so could be 10% or 100% of your bill. But oddly gas stoves and especially gas dryers aren't that common here, despite gas being cheaper than electric (historically, dunno about today).