This is Why Heat Pumps May NOT Be The Future
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN uses it mostly as a contrarian or skeptical reference, with some commenters noting it glosses over details.
What it is
A UK tradesman's rant on the disadvantages of air source heat pumps, covering grants, heat pump types and whether they are worth it. He argues they are impractical for many British homes.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2021 to 2022.
What Hacker News said
Cites neilwilson · 2021-08 · on “Warmth from the earth and air: could heat pumps replace our gas boilers?”
Few domestic buildings in the UK have the space to install the huge and noisy air conditioning fan required, never mind the insulated piping to get the heat into the house. It's a nice idea, but the reality is that most people will end up heating their water with a good old immersion heater. See [this video] The real problem is our buildings are badly built and insulated - and the new ones just aren't good enough.
Cites kblev · 2021-12 · on “New York City bans natural gas in new buildings”
Heat pumps are rather inefficient according to this video [1]. Are you not bothered by all the noise it generates? Why not just use electric heater instead of a heat pump? 1 - [this video]
Cites politelemon · 2022-03 · on “You and the planet need a heat pump”
I don't know how true this is since I'm no expert, there's a YouTube video explaining why heat pumps may not be so simple a solution at least in the UK [this video] Interestingly the prediction he made, regarding gas prices, did come true.
Critical hasmanean · 2022-07 · on “Heat pumps are efficient and eco-friendly. So why are they so rarely used?”
For a video that glosses over the details but loudly proclaims this “ugly truth” there’s this one. I can’t tell if he is a paid shill for the gas industry or just obtuse, or maybe a voice of common sense in the wilderness…. [this video]