Hacker News Reader

Comment by 0xbadcafebee | Hacker News Reader

Please explain to me how an electric heat pump - even one designed to be highly efficient in a cold climate - is supposed to keep me from freezing to death when my power goes out every winter from an ice storm taking down trees (which take down my power lines) when it's -17F outside. If I didn't have a propane furnace I'd have to fly to Florida every winter.

View on HN

In my case at least, my natural gas furnace doesn't work without electricity. I'd need a backup generator for it.

Mine also uses electricity but a very small amount. When the power goes out I use a car battery, with a mini generator or my car to recharge. Also use it for my well water pump. (Afaik I'd need substantially more power for an electric heat pump for 2 weeks)

Interesting. My well water pump is 220v and draws quite a few amps. At least on start. I don't think I could run it off my "backup generation" (12amp 120v outlet coming out of my Outlander PHEV). It's also hard wired right to the panel.

Some pumps can be connected to some sort of soft start circuit. Others, especially three phase pumps, can run off a VFD that will start it quite gently. (And those VFDs run off single phase power just fine — they create a third phase internally.) And some pumps (e.g. Grundfos SQE) have their own drives down the hole.

I actually have no idea how old my well pump is, but it predates both myself and the previous owners. So probably 1970s or 80s.

Doesn't the heating system need electricity as well, for the electronics, fans/pumps etc.? Or is it more like a gas stove with a simple valve to open the gas line, and manual lighting?

> If I didn't have a propane furnace I'd have to fly to Florida every winter.

Keep the propane. Use it 5 days every year. You still have 95% of the reduction in CO2 and pollution that a heat pump brings, and reliable heat. Nobody is saying you have to be totally reliant on the heat pump. They don't even work the same way.

This is like refusing to get an air conditioner because you'll have to get rid of your heater. KEEP BOTH! You aren't even really replacing your heating, you're replacing your air conditioner, because a heat pump is an air conditioner. It just also happens to be incredibly good at keeping your home warm as well as cool.

Actually I think that's exactly the concern - that people won't be allowed to keep their carbon-fuel heating systems, even as a backup.

Then the people who think that are hysterical. Nobody is going to be forced to freeze to death over CO2 emissions.

People (in the US) freeze to death every winter (cut off utilities, or power outages and only resistive baseboard heaters). No regulations needed.

Reliable electricity is hard, and we’ll need it more and more as we travel down our increasingly electric future.

I don't know of any gas furnaces that do not require electricity for the blower.

> Please explain to me how an electric heat pump - even one designed to be highly efficient in a cold climate - is supposed to keep me from freezing to death when my power goes out every winter from an ice storm taking down trees

The warm fuzzy feeling you get inside from knowing you're saving the planet should keep you warm enough. /s

Reply on news.ycombinator.com