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Comment by wood_spirit | Hacker News Reader

Heat pumps are used extensively in Scandinavia, including up in the polar circle. These are usually ground source heat pumps, which is the essentially the same pump technology but connected to an in-ground loop instead of taking heat from outside air.

Nowadays the air con uses the same heat pump to extract heat from the house and pump it into the ground, which not only chills the house but also helps a little recharging the ground source.

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Ground source heat pumps install cost is very high when used in cold areas because of the frost depth caused excavation costs; significantly higher than the cost of the heat pump unit and parts themselves. It can be good if that disproportional initial cost is paid. But it's not the same class of purchase. This cost is reflected in the lack of demand and so lack of (solvent) installers.

If the big initial cost is rolled into home construction it would be less daunting and more normal. So I expect newer homes to adopt heat pumps in cold areas but with little adoption in existing homes.

I read somewhere that you can just drill a well and install a big coil?

News to me. But probably similarly expensive once the environmental regulations for wells, etc, and it's excavation are considered. And even fewer installers who are qualified to do it.

You are making this up as you go :)

Yes they are often installed in bores into bedrock.

All those pesky Scandinavians must be doing it because it makes economic sense.

Step back and think that if you don’t know the details then all the excuses you can imagine are probably misleading or wrong.

I see you just skipped to responding to the end of the comment chain instead of reading it. Common mistake. Here is what you missed,

>If the big initial cost is rolled into home construction it would be less daunting and more normal. So I expect newer homes to adopt heat pumps in cold areas but with little adoption in existing homes.

In Scandinavia heat pumps are often replacing wood burners in existing houses. Source: I live there

Yes, ground sourced is an excellent option, and I would also consider it for new construction in my area (Northern New England, US). The problem is finding installers that can do it.

I had a large house that was heated by electric and wood and replaced them with a ground source heat pump with a loop zigzagging under my lawn. Relatively expensive to install but paid for itself in 5 years.

YMMV. Good luck, hope it works out for you too :)

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