Yet Another Heat Pump Headache For Fossil Fuel Stakeholders

[hunter]

A new coalition of nine US states has joined forces to promote electric heat pumps, with the aim of decarbonizing thousands of buildings by pushing oil and gas out of the heating, air conditioning and hot water business. That still leaves 41 states to go, but members of the coalition anticipate that their heat pump action plan will smooth the way for others to follow. Much to the dismay of fossil energy stakeholders, HVAC industry leaders are eager to pitch in.

The Heat Pump Revolution Is Happening, Regardless Of The Weather

Prying the cold fingers of the fossil fuel industry off the global economy has been a tough row to hoe. Here in the US, it’s also been a game of whack-a-mole as a rise in natural gas activity has dampened the effect of a decline in coal production.

Greenhouse gas emissions from buildings represent a particularly hard nut to crack. Although power plants and automobiles grab much of the decarbonization spotlight, commercial and residential buildings account for a 13% share of US greenhouse gas emissions.

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https://cleantechnica.com/2024/02/09/yet-another-heat-pump-headache-for-fossil-fuel-stakeholders/

It's pretty easy to imagine a future where residential natural gas service is being abandoned, the same way residential "landline" telephone service is being abandoned now. But I don't see it as any threat to "Fossil Fuel Stakeholders." The natural gas industry will quite happily shed its residential gas customers to become LNG exporters, the suppliers of "back-up" power to the solar and wind industry, and as source of hydrogen for nitrogen fertilizers, increasingly synthetic fuels, and the chemical industry.

[True Dough]

1. We have a heat pump in our current home

and had two in our previous home because it was better configured for one in the basement.

We swear by them! Big savings on the electric bill, so it gradually pays for itself.

[Think. Again.]

2. If I were a fossil fuel shareholder...

...I would be very angry that the companies that I am invested in are not jumping head first into the ground floor of the non-fossil energy industry before the fossil fuel industry starts dying.

And methane is only one aspect of that "sell-by-date" industry.

[GreenWave]

3. John Denver

&list=RDtcNz8eB1jXQ&start_radio=1

[Laurelin]

4. We have 4 heat pumps

One downstairs, in the living room, one in the main bedroom one in the office and one in the attic guestroom. I'm really happy with them.

[getagrip_already]

5. Our house is plumbed for forced hot water.....

No air vents, so heat pumps would be a very expensive upgrade.

On the other side, we also have no air conditioning. So we don't burn in hell later by cooling our house now.

In New England, it is very common to have either forced hot water or steam heat. With either system, you don't have air ducts throughout your house.

If you have added a/c, it was via window units or half splits. A half split could use a heat pump, but I don't know of anyone heating their homes up here with one.

[ratchiweenie]

7. I love hot water radiated heat. We had a house with it and it was the coziest heat of all time.

[NickB79]

6. We replaced our central AC with one 4 yr ago

Took a few months to get it set up properly (bad motherboard that was covered by warranty) but it's run great since. It's a Carrier unit that functions down to 20F before the smart thermostat switches over to the propane furnace, which is happening less often now as our Minnesota winters are getting more mild. We burn half the propane we once did, to the point our 500-gal tank only gets filled once a year. And it cools and dehumidifies great in summer as well.

The next step is replacing the 20 yr old water heater with a heat pump version, which apparently is very efficient as well.

By the time we need to replace the furnace and heat pump again in 15 yr, heat pump tech may be so advanced we won't even need a propane furnace any longer.