Posted on 10/23/2021 4:33:44 AM PDT by dennisw
Boris told us this week that if we are to meet the Government’s targets for reducing carbon emissions we must abandon our gas boilers and install heat pumps. Well, I was ahead of the game.
The conditions were ideal. We were rebuilding the house from scratch so we laid the underfloor piping before the floors went down.
The walls were stone, but strict building regulations meant our insulation was state of the art.
And better still, the field behind the house was perfect for laying the pipes needed for a ground source system, which is far more efficient than the air source alternative that has to be used in the vast majority of homes in towns and cities.
It cost a small fortune, but it was worth it. I was helping to save the planet and saving myself the cost of buying nasty, polluting oil.
The perfect win-win, I told myself. A toasty house whatever the weather and a minuscule energy bill.
But I was wrong. For a start I had not allowed for the electricity needed to run the pump.
Not a big problem because I’d also installed an array of solar panels. But you can’t do that in a small semi or a flat.
The real killer was that it didn’t do its job. I have not ended up with a toasty house in mid-winter.
If my lovely neighbour switches it on a couple of days before I arrive, it takes the chill off the downstairs rooms. But that’s about it.
To get really warm, I have to fire up the log-burning stove. Again, not exactly an option in your typical suburban semi.
The sad reality is I’ve spent a small fortune and have not ended up with a cosy house.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
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And I wonder: how many of us would — or even could — pay at least £10,000 for a heating system to replace our polluting but efficient gas boiler for something that just takes the chill off?
Yes, that’s what it costs. The promise of a £5,000 grant from next April is only for the lucky few. The Government’s own target is 600,000 heat pumps a year.
The handouts will cover just 30,000. And only for three years. Perhaps the tooth fairy will help out.
I jest but this is no laughing matter. The world is facing a real crisis.
It’s true that this country accounts for less than 1 per cent of the carbon that’s wrecking our precious atmosphere. China accounts for 28 per cent and is massively increasing its use of coal to generate power.
But it matters here at home because this is a moral issue. We must do everything in our power to repair the terrible harm we have already done and, above all, stop it getting even worse.
That’s why Boris Johnson’s statement this week should fill us with both despair and anger — specifically at the lack of detail. He promises that this country will be ‘net zero’ by 2050, but does not tell us how.
That’s because he’s scared of the electorate. He knows that if the targets are to be met there must be enormous technical advances in crucial areas such as carbon capture and storage, and producing hydrogen without fossil fuels.
It will cost vast sums, and he wants us to believe that the private sector can and should pick up the biggest bills.
Otherwise taxpayers will have to, which will not be popular — and Boris wants very badly to be popular.
He’s hardly unique. But he obviously believes if he can jolly us along with his feel-good approach, throwing in the odd joke, we’ll sit at his feet like an adoring puppy gazing up at its master.
MANY GOOD COMMENTS AT THE SOURCE >>>> https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10121865/JOHN-HUMPHRYS-heat-pump-left-cold-Im-hot-bothered-PM.html
2600 COMMENTS TOTAL
The writer is both.
I do not doubt the bottom line of this story, BUT who considers a ground-sourced geothermal heat pump system without thinking about the cost of electricity?
Boris told us this week that if we are to meet the Government’s targets for reducing carbon emissions we must abandon our gas boilers and install heat pumps. Well, I was ahead of the game.
Trusting government was his first mistake.
Otherwise taxpayers will have to, which will not be popular — and Boris wants very badly to be popular.
The man isn’t stupid but is still an idiot or thinks his audience is.
Either way the the public pays. Sure the private sector will do it more efficiently and find the cheapest way.
But any government forced and massive project like this has enormous opportunity cost.
These government mandated projects redirect resources and redirect them to specific industries to which they other wise not go. These industries then balloon in size out of proportion to their normal societal requirements.
As with any Government directed move in the economy there will be a boom in on sector followed by a bust after which the industry is saddled with excess capacity that will not be redirected elsewhere.
These government mandates create nothing but waste and pain.
It’s true that this country accounts for less than 1 per cent of the carbon that’s wrecking our precious atmosphere. China accounts for 28 per cent and is massively increasing its use of coal to generate power.
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To believe man can wreck the atmosphere one must deny the existence of a Creator God. If God then then man is not in control of the planet. If no God then one must simply live for today, everyday, therefore why worry since the Chinese don’t.
As for heat pumps, they are a terrible solution in an area of high humidity for winter or summer they never remove the moisture that creates the clammy cold or the sticky heat. They didn’t work 50 years ago and they are not the solution now.
Good luck to you, dehumidifiers may help.
Government is and will remain the problem in the land of good intentions.
WWG1WGA!
It’s true that this country accounts for less than 1 per cent of the carbon that’s wrecking our precious atmosphere. China accounts for 28 per cent and is massively increasing its use of coal to generate power.
@@@@@@@@
To believe man can wreck the atmosphere one must deny the existence of a Creator God. If God then then man is not in control of the planet. If no God then one must simply live for today, everyday, therefore why worry since the Chinese don’t.
As for heat pumps, they are a terrible solution in an area of high humidity for winter or summer they never remove the moisture that creates the clammy cold or the sticky heat. They didn’t work 50 years ago and they are not the solution now.
Good luck to you, dehumidifiers may help.
Government is and will remain the problem in the land of good intentions.
WWG1WGA!
You cannot run modern civilization on wind and solar. It cannot be done. The people agitating for it are agitating for energy poverty and freezing in the dark.
What an ignorant hitpiece and not one mention how his system was designed/engineered.
Heatpumps aren’t some magic. They have known performance numbers and if properly implemented do save a great deal of energy during conditions you find in Britain.
If properly engineered for your home, heatpumps will keep it toasty in 99.6% of conditions. If not, you can sue the engineer and have it corrected.
Of course many owners do not have the proper engineering done and make a mistake during design. Heatpumps are more difficult to calculate than a fuel or electrical resistance heater. If doing geothermal instead of air source, good engineering is even more critical.
If they didn’t hire engineers, they have nobody to blame but themselves if their equipment falls short. Blaming the equipment TYPE for their poor math is an utter joke...
“Stupid is supposed to hurt.” Lurker’s Granddad.
L
Extensive experience with air/air heat pumps in Florida. When the temp drops below 1°C you will need supplemdntary electric heat source, gets expensive. Best heat pums air/water. Need well down into freshwater table, powerful.in-well pump. You then need a means to disperse exhaust water. Cheap and effective to run, expensive install. There are no free rides.
People have been propagandized about CARBON CARBON CARBON for decades at this point. It has literally been decades now where scientists couldn’t get a government grant unless they parroted the party line that you must give government more taxation and control over energy because CARBON CLIMATE CHANGE!
Eisenhower warned us of government and big science working together against us in his farewell speech, the same one in which he also warned of the military industrial complex (endless wars in the Middle East, anyone?). He was a very prescient man.
My experience with heat pumps...they’re expensive and horribly ineffective. Max heat output is 92degrees means its on constantly and doesnt keep up in a cold place. I keep mine off and heat with two 1500watt ceramic space heaters that keep me warm and my heat bill down by $20-$50/month over the heat pump. Walmart $50ea.
"I was helping to save the planet and saving myself the cost of buying nasty, polluting oil."
Dumb as a post and less useful.
“...the carbon that’s wrecking our precious atmosphere.”
Beg the question much, John? Nitwit.
Heating cannot actually remove moisture and in cooling mode a heatpump is the same as an AC.
Heatpumps are far more advanced than 50 years ago and work amazingly efficiently when properly engineered. I do high end construction and installed them for homes costing dozens of millions in very humid climates.
Had not one complaint about comfort in decades of business that required a change to design. This is because we do not skimp a dime on the engineering.
It’s just a matter of properly doing the math and bringing in the right equipment.
That's all that matters.
Many heatpumps are junk but a high quality properly installed heatpump will only use 25%-50% of what an electric resistance heater would.
Depending on your climate and energy cost, the cost of higher end equipment may not be worth it however
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