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Re:Hitachi launches CO2 heat pump water heaters with solar-f... by autoexec on Thursday September 10, 2026 @01:26PM (#49647356)
Anyone who has used a nice Japanese toilet knows the US is behind in terms of bathroom tech, but personally I'm glad that nothing my bathroom is controlled by app and that I don't have to spend my time worrying about what time of day it is when I want hot water or air conditioning. I hope my power company never decides to start with "surge pricing" so they can hike up my rates any time it's too hot or cold outside.
Re:Hitachi launches CO2 heat pump water heaters with solar-f... by maigret on Thursday September 10, 2026 @01:37PM (#49647503)
Solar + batteries is cheaper than ever. Americans are often full preppers and DIY but when we speak about energy autonomy and efficiency they immediately get some weird allergy.
Re:Hitachi launches CO2 heat pump water heaters with solar-f... by rconti on Thursday September 10, 2026 @08:43PM (#49652109)
Some of us still believe in market incentives.
Re:Hitachi launches CO2 heat pump water heaters with solar-f... by foobarian on Thursday September 10, 2026 @09:04PM (#49652263)
People keep saying this and yet I struggle to find a decent sized house battery that doesn't cost as much as a new car.
Re:Hitachi launches CO2 heat pump water heaters with solar-f... by maigret on Friday September 11, 2026 @06:01AM (#49655906)
What kind of electricity usage do you have? Because a used electric car probably around 20k provides you with easily 50+kwh in car to grid, + you get a working car for free.
Re:Hitachi launches CO2 heat pump water heaters with solar-f... by kvuj on Thursday September 10, 2026 @11:36PM (#49653256)
Electricity here in Quebec is dirt cheap, state owned and 100% renewable. Our first 40 kWh per day is 7 cents per kWh which is roughly 0.05 USD.

Any calculations I've done made it unfortunately useless to buy solar and instead favoured investing the money in the stock market.

Re:Hitachi launches CO2 heat pump water heaters with solar-f... by maigret on Friday September 11, 2026 @08:19AM (#49657184)
Absolutely in that case it would be more for fiddling and having a conversation starter with friends. It also depends on how reliable your grid is etc.