How heat pumps leave some homes so cold people are ripping them out

[rangerrebew]

How heat pumps leave some homes so cold people are ripping them out
MARCH 9, 2023
tags: heat pumps
By Paul Homewood
 

To heat pump, or not to heat pump? That is the question. The answer is a resounding: NO.
That is what readers have told us in response to our article questioning heat pumps and the Government’s £450 million scheme to convince us to install the eco-friendly boiler alternatives.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme, launched last May, offers grants of up to £6,000 if homeowners rip out their gas boiler and install an air or ground source heat pump.

Homeowners who have bought homes with heat pumps already installed – or purchased new builds where pumps were part of the package – have told us about a litany of problems associated with the technology.

This is despite their overwhelming desire to do their bit to save the planet from self-destruction.
Some have got so fed up with them they have had them removed — or installed additional heating systems to step in when the pumps don’t generate enough heat.

Many of the critics are knowledgeable. They include retired engineers and current installers of heat pumps.

https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2023/03/09/how-heat-pumps-leave-some-homes-so-cold-people-are-ripping-them-out/

[massadvj]

I have a heat pump in my Texas place, and I have to supplement it with room heaters and a wood stove on the coldest days. No way it can heat my place if the temperature gets below 45 degrees.  It works great for cold air in the summer, though.

[Cyber Liberty]

I have a heat pump in my Texas place, and I have to supplement it with room heaters and a wood stove on the coldest days. No way it can heat my place if the temperature gets below 45 degrees.  It works great for cold air in the summer, though.

Just about every home I've had in AZ had heat pumps, and they work very well here.  Mine will cool down a house in 120F Summer heat, and comfortably warm the castle when it's 30F outside.

That said, I think our climate is very different from places in the North, where it gets much, much colder in the Winter, and I would think the heat pumps would not work as well.  JMHO.

[roamer_1]

I have a heat pump in my Texas place, and I have to supplement it with room heaters and a wood stove on the coldest days. No way it can heat my place if the temperature gets below 45 degrees.  It works great for cold air in the summer, though.

That deficit is well known in the North. Heat pumps do come with an electric element which takes over (or supplements?) ... But unfortunately, the cost of electric heat when needed greatly offsets summertime efficiencies.

Also unfortunately, a gas-over-heat pump or even propane-over-heat pump seems to be beyond the ken of manufacturers. 

[Hoodat]

I am seeing this in North Alabama.  I'm finding lots of homes that have gas for stove or fireplace, but still use electric heat.

[Smokin Joe]

That deficit is well known in the North. Heat pumps do come with an electric element which takes over (or supplements?) ... But unfortunately, the cost of electric heat when needed greatly offsets summertime efficiencies.

Also unfortunately, a gas-over-heat pump or even propane-over-heat pump seems to be beyond the ken of manufacturers. 

About the only way to do it here is with wells with loops in them. Frost depth is 6', so ground loops don't work.

[Bigun]

Heat pumps don't work when there is no heat to pump!

[Smokin Joe]

Heat pumps don't work when there is no heat to pump!

The deeper well-type units work up here, but the setup costs are significant. The tribal center nearby saved half their utility costs (heating/cooling) their first year over previous years. The problem is you have to go down a couple hundred feet or more to get a heat sink that will work, and that's cost prohibitive for a lot of single family dwellings.

[Lando Lincoln]

Heat pumps don't work when there is no heat to pump!

Well, there you go again, making things complicated.

[roamer_1]

About the only way to do it here is with wells with loops in them. Frost depth is 6', so ground loops don't work.

Ground pumps work alright here... Once you get past the hard part, which is in fact getting it in the ground. We consider frost line at 4 feet here in the valley. But there are plenty of places around here where you'll run into a piece of Montana long before you get to 4 feet. 

[Smokin Joe]

Ground pumps work alright here... Once you get past the hard part, which is in fact getting it in the ground. We consider frost line at 4 feet here in the valley. But there are plenty of places around here where you'll run into a piece of Montana long before you get to 4 feet. 

Even the soft stuff is still bits of Montana... But  I see what you're saying. Not much regolith on the way to bedrock. (makes for better placer mining in the right spots).