Published Monday in the scientific journal Joule, the research found that heat pumps are two to three times more efficient than their oil and gas counterparts, specifically in temperatures ranging from 10 C to -20 C.

Oxford study proves heat pumps triumph over fossil fuels in the cold::Published Monday in the scientific journal Joule, the research found that heat pumps are two to three times more efficient than their oil and gas counterparts, specifically in temperatures ranging from 10 C to -20 C.

  • @[email protected]English
    16•2 years ago

    A/C guy who’s the son of an A/C guy here. Heat pumps lose efficiency the colder it gets. I wouldn’t bother with one if you’re in a northern climate. Lower midwest, you might be able to save money with a heat pump over natural gas, but it will depend heavily on the cost of the respective energy. For me, in the central US, we have great prices on gas and somewhat crappy prices on electricity (vs most surrounding regions) and it’s definitely cheaper for me to stick with gas heat.

    • @[email protected]English
      15•2 years ago

      Thankfully heat pumps have gotten better since your father’s day. And natural gas is only going to keep getting more expensive. For a price of equipment that will last you 15-25 years it’s becoming harder to justify gas heating.

      For new builds ground source heat pumps should become more standard, they cost more, but they’ll save a lot in the long run.

    • @[email protected]English
      6•2 years ago

      If you’re on propane, it’s more likely to be cheaper. Particularly over the course of an entire heating season, because they’re more efficient in fall and spring than the coldest part of winter.

      But yeah, this study wasn’t looking at cost per therm but just raw COP, which is a pointless metric. It doesn’t even compare the number of watts of heat from burning natural gas in a furnace vs in a modern power plant that supplies a heat pump. Although since we don’t have a carbon tax, that’s only a theoretically interesting comparison.

      Heat pumps work fine for most people in the north. Mitsubishi’s cold climate heat pumps supply 85% of their rated heat at -13F. Buffalo is a city known for its winters, and the last time Buffalo’s lowest temperature was below that was 1982. They’re just going to be a more expensive option for most people right now.

    • @[email protected]English
      9•2 years ago

      But its all irrelevant because the most effective way to keep warm is to continue with global warming. Soon we wont have a cold season to worry about. 😜

      • TWeaKEnglish
        10•2 years ago

        I know you’re joking but the reality is we’ll probably get worse cold weather alongside the warmer weather - the weather will be more extreme at either end.

      • @[email protected]English
        0•2 years ago

        Continue? You can’t stop it even if you wanted to, unless you pervert the natural climate cycles somehow. We are exiting a cold period and it has nothing whatsoever to do with using gas or come farts.

    • @[email protected]English
      3•2 years ago

      My father in law went to a heat pump instead of propane this year. No natural gas where he lives.

      But he also dropped 20k on a solar system to power it.

    • @[email protected]English
      6•2 years ago

      Well, some people don’t put money higher than the ability of humanity to survive.

      So the cost is less relevant than the pollution.

    • @[email protected]English
      19•2 years ago

      Your information is outdated. It is even clearly mentioned in the one-sentence summary in the OP:

      Oxford study proves heat pumps triumph over fossil fuels in the cold::Published Monday in the scientific journal Joule, the research found that heat pumps are two to three times more efficient than their oil and gas counterparts, specifically in temperatures ranging from 10 C to -20 C.

          • @[email protected]English
            7•2 years ago

            And the naysayers don’t actually run calculations to see what their true costs might be, they already decided gas is king. A couple of good ol boy type HVAC folks that all say “just get a furnace” is all they need to know, reality be damned.