Hacker News Reader

Thanks. We're considering building our ideal home to live part-time and eventually retire to, and we'd like it to be free of natural gas. Obviously heating w/ natural gas is the norm up here, but induction cooktop, solar water heater, and a heat pump can replace that. The heat pump coupling is the high order bit I need to research. Ground is the pricy but default option.

View on HN

Check your prices, that's more likely to be a bigger determiner than other things. For me it wouldn't make sense just because natural gas is so much cheaper right now. That is however subject to change. That said if I was installing AC I'd probably still do it just because Natural gas prices have been a touch volatile lately.

If you skip the gas entirely you can make the house envelope tighter since you don't need to pull in cold oxygen for burning and vent the toxic emmisions.

If it's a new build, and you have the ability to make that decision early and adjust everything else, it tilts heavily away from gas or any other combustion within the home's envelope.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com