Re:US companies are producing heat pumps that work below -20...
by Scoundreller on Wednesday December 28, 2022 @10:39AM
(#34162052)
I think it’s the opex of 2 grid connections that messes with the numbers.
Depends on how your utility charges, but I feel like many/most sell you the gas roughly “at cost” and then some fixed monthly delivery/connection charge that covers their regulated rate of return on their network equity.
Oil or propane supplemental heat might be cheaper than Natgas supplemental heat. My money is on wood pellet stoves for supp heat for those that don’t require full automation. Or maybe even dirty coal…
Re:US companies are producing heat pumps that work below -20...
by BobbyJo on Wednesday December 28, 2022 @10:45AM
(#34162109)
Also, the capex of gas delivery. Not needing infra to deliver gas to each and every house would likely be a pretty big win.
Re:US companies are producing heat pumps that work below -20...
by bombcar on Wednesday December 28, 2022 @08:49PM
(#34168520)
For new construction sure - for existing it’s already there and apparently needs little maintenance.
Re:US companies are producing heat pumps that work below -20...
by mrep on Wednesday December 28, 2022 @10:54AM
(#34162204)
You generally have an air conditioner though as well as a furnace and you can get those that can also work as a heat pump. Mine supposedly works as both but they only set it up for cooling and my gas furnace does all the heating :(
However, in some really cold places like Chicago, Minneapolis, etc - the days where current heat pumps are inefficient might be enough to make it cheaper to always run gas.
OP is proposing to have both systems and only run the gas furnace on extreme days - which would lead to a ~30% reduction in running costs.
I suspect the CapEx of having two heaters wouldn't make sense, though.
It'd be better to just have a hear pump that can run efficiently at colder temps.