Free Republic

President Biden invoked a Cold War-era law in a surprising move Friday to pour taxpayer funds into domestic manufacturing of electric heat pumps, an alternative to gas-powered residential furnaces. In a joint announcement with the White House, the Department of Energy (DOE) said the federal government would award a "historic" $169 million for nine projects across 15 sites nationwide in an effort to accelerate electric heat pump manufacturing. The significant level of funding was made possible after Biden utilized the 1950 Defense Production Act (DPA) to increase domestic production of green energy technologies. Under the actions announced Friday, the DOE...

He's got heat meters fixed to the pipework. Room temperature monitors. And gadgets tracking how much electricity his solar panels are generating. The jewel in the crown of this system, though, is a recently installed heat pump. "It's like a geek's paradise, really," says Mick Wall of his 1930s semi-detached house in Sheffield.

DYI Mini Split Heat Pump, I did it! And it works very well! My existing Trane AC sadly died an early death at a very young 27 years.; RIP. I did have the need R-290(Not the old Texas R-1bbq refrigerant, real R290, no water vapor) to revive it, but then the fan solenoid gave out. And we said our goodbyes. Our daughter and HVAC guy S.I.L. put on an addition and went with a Mitsubishi/Trane mini split system, the Cadillac of heat pumps $$$. They love it! And last year my brother an MIS, installed his own Pioneer mini split...

Apart from heating and cooling the house, water heating is one of the biggest energy drains in the average home. But what if you could literally use cold water to create hot water? That’s just what San Diego inventor Hal Slater claims to have done with the creation of a water heater system that promises to improve water heating efficiency by as much as 50 to 100 percent. The system works on the basis that cold water supplied to households in temperate climates averages around 70° F (21° C), which the researchers say is 15° to 20° F (8° to...

This was a tough one to figure out what category this should go in! Well .. Anyway .. I need some advice from an expert on electrical use. Been out of work for over two years now and I am 'squeezing' every dime to survive! Here is my question: I live in a two story, vinyl sided home. I have an electric fireplace downstairs (12.5 amps +120 volts= 1500 watts) and the same upstairs. I also have .. what I think is a 2.5 ton 'Heat Pump'. I have No Clue, (being from Florida) What or how a heat pump...

Anyone who ever tried to dig a hole in January knows how hard the cold earth can be. However, underneath that top layer of soil, the earth is a warmer, more constant temperature no matter what the calendar says. Home builders are starting to take advantage of that by introducing geothermal heat pumps into homes new and old. The concept is simple and dates to the 1800s, but not until the 1940s did any buildings start delivering on its promise.