Electric heat pumps + insulating to PassivHaus standards is very much competitive with carbon based fuels in colder climates. The operating cost is very low. But the up front investment can be steep.
The problem is that heat pump based heaters and cooling devices are still produced, marketed, and priced for the green and well off crowd, not the general public.
In the general public has no concept that the same technology they use for cooling could be used to heat their homes.
So far the manufacturers of heat pumps seem content with their well-off niche, and don't seem interested in scaling production so that the technology is available to regular folks.
Perhaps the margins on heat pumps aren't as good and they don't want to cannibalize their existing businesses selling natural gas powered heating systems, which they probably manufacture for a song (recall how Carrier ended up moving their home furnace production to Mexico anyway despite the political show that was made of them supposedly staying in Indiana)
In other parts of the world many split heat pump systems are much cheaper.
Or a fridge/freezer that dumps out heat indoors during A/C season, and/or a hot water heater that isn’t combined with the refrigeration system.
A single heat pump could run it all: fridge, freezer, pool, HVAC and hot water. Maybe even a pre-heat element on a stove top.
Going a little far there. The preheat loop would have to survive regular heating element temperatures, and most common refrigerants decompose above 500C.
When I was growing up I lived in a suburban American house that was built in 1982 and had a heat pump. It was a middle class suburb and none of the adults were environmental activists. Every house in the neighborhood had a heat pump. I thought this was totally normal.
With hindsight, I see that there was significantly more American concern about energy efficiency in the late 1970s and early 1980s than in the early 1990s, probably due to resumption of relatively low oil prices in the mid 1980s. It's sad that the attention to efficiency did not continue after the immediate crisis had passed.
None of the above problems are inherent in energy efficiency, but they did give the whole field a bad name.
The PassivHaus stuff is a really good example of the derangement you get when people try to optimize for only one metric. PassivHaus's are expensive, mandate the use of petroleum based insulation (you're living in a plastic burger box), prone to water intrusion mold and sick building syndrome and the supposed efficiency gains disappear when you open a window.
Telling is the PassivHaus nutters response to builders wanting to use solar panels to build houses with low external energy needs. AKA why spend $100k on insulation when you can put a $20k worth of solar on the roof and a ground sourced heat pump. PassivHaus response is to get regulators to ban that option.
Passivhaus is not focused on one metric. To achieve passivhaus there are many metrics measured. Energy use, overheating, air quality, thermal bridging... The list goes on. I'm not sure what one metric you're referring to.
Passivhaus does not mandate plastic based insulation. Many are built with cellulose, wood fibre,straw bales...
They are not in any way more prone to water intrusion any more than any other building.
They are far less likely to suffer sick building syndrome because ventilation standards are far higher than for 'normal' houses.
You can open the windows if you want. Sure, if you do it in -10 temperatures you lose some heat.
Passivhaus 'nutters' are generally apathetic about PV. You don't need PV ; simplicity is part of the point. The marginal cost on insulation is generally pretty low. The difficult but it's getting builders diligent enough for the challenge.
Hope that helps to encourage you to continue researching the subject.
So, I presume that in the case of a fire, they go up like a match?
Where is your sacred R value now?
Can you clarify what specifically this refers to - i.e. a particular law or regulation?
Yeah, you could have some sophisticated ventilation with a heat exchanger but that's one more piece of equipment to maintain and if it fails without you noticing it then the air quality could decline very rapidly.
It's a good habit to get into, no matter how old and drafty or new and tightly sealed your house is.