Re:You and the planet need a heat pump
by jqpabc123 on Sunday March 20, 2022 @08:56PM
(#30748740)
Seeing as freezers can successfully extract energy from the side that is below freezing...
Invalid assumption.
Whether it can or not depends on the environment.
Most ordinary freezers are designed to operate within a relatively luxurious temperature controlled in-door environment. Stick one in the sun on a Florida back porch in August and you may well discover it can no longer successfully "extract energy from the side that is below freezing". Same thing (only in reverse) can happen with a home heat pump in an Alaskan winter.
There is another important element here --- energy loss and insulation.
At a certain temperature (whatever it may be), the energy lost to the surroundings will start to exceed the capacity of the heat pump. At some point; speaking in practical terms, the heat pump becomes essentially worthless. You need either a bigger heat pump or you need more insulation to stop the loss --- both of which cost money and can't be obtained/installed immediately.
Re:You and the planet need a heat pump
by Siecje on Monday March 21, 2022 @07:15AM
(#30752654)
When the heat pump can't keep up you use resistance heating in the air handler. Since this only runs for a short period of time it doesn't make a big difference in cost.
Invalid assumption.
Whether it can or not depends on the environment.
Most ordinary freezers are designed to operate within a relatively luxurious temperature controlled in-door environment. Stick one in the sun on a Florida back porch in August and you may well discover it can no longer successfully "extract energy from the side that is below freezing". Same thing (only in reverse) can happen with a home heat pump in an Alaskan winter.
There is another important element here --- energy loss and insulation.
At a certain temperature (whatever it may be), the energy lost to the surroundings will start to exceed the capacity of the heat pump. At some point; speaking in practical terms, the heat pump becomes essentially worthless. You need either a bigger heat pump or you need more insulation to stop the loss --- both of which cost money and can't be obtained/installed immediately.