Comments
giabollc t1_j33ha5b wrote
At the current electric rates it doesn’t make sense for me to install a heat pump. I’ll keep on burning wood.
[deleted] t1_j33ryl0 wrote
maybe this will turn people to solar. :( the increased demand will probably raise prices.
modernhomeowner t1_j33wufj wrote
The hard part is Net Metering. In our northern state, you make most of your solar in summer, but with a heat pump, most of your use is in Winter. This will continue to raise winter electric rates. When you net meter, you gain the dollar value of the electricity in summer, but then have to pay the actual cost in Winter. Currently, with National Grid, The summer rate (minus the MassSave, since MassSave won't give you credits), was 22¢, and the winter is near 48¢, meaning you pay the grid (plus MassSave) 26¢ for power in winter, plus your cost of solar, depending on financing and such anywhere from 10-20¢, we'll use my personal 13¢ for my panels over 25 years, and you've paid 39¢ for electricity in winter, which is still higher than nearly any state. If you look at another comment I made above, pellets cost the equivalent of 21¢ of electricity, so 39¢ per kwh to run a heat pump is just crazy.
[deleted] t1_j33x5ad wrote
heat pumps also operate as air conditioners and electric vehicles may increase year round energy needs
modernhomeowner t1_j341cku wrote
I have a heat pump and an ev. Last month, I was only in town about 11 days, so I had my heat turned way down and didn't charge my car very much - in fact, I drove my gas car mostly those days since gasoline is cheaper than electric right now, and there was some time I used my oil boilers just to keep the pipes from freezing.
I used 1594 kWh and generated 520kWh from my solar, which annually produces 80% of my needs. If I were home and had the heat higher, and charged my car a little more I would have used nearly 2000kWh, producing only 25% of what I used in December. By the way, before my heat pump and EV, my home used an average of 354kWh in December, so my solar panels would have covered my use, and still had some left over for my EV.
In July, I on average would use 1192 kWh, and produce 1825kWh.
Having an EV doesn't "balance" the year, it actually makes winter electricity more expensive, when they need fossil fuels to generate the electricity that my solar panels aren't making in the winter, but my heat pump needs. More expensive winter electricity means less people getting heat pumps and EVs.
[deleted] t1_j342ye1 wrote
The transition to renewable energy sources will take time and money. They are planning large scale off shore wind farms.
GWS2004 t1_j33k064 wrote
Oof, not good for you indoor air quality if that's your primary source. Wood ain't cheap either.
modernhomeowner t1_j33vu2y wrote
High efficiency wood stoves don't put the smoke inside the house, they have heat exchangers that put the heat into household air and blows it back in.
On the price, a bag of pellets is $6.40, providing 264,000btu in an 80% efficient pellet stove - that's 41,250 btus per dollar. With my Mitsubishi heat pump, the seasonal average is 8940 btu per kwh, which means I need electric to be under 21.7¢ to be cheaper than pellets. Standard rate from national grid is a hair shy of 48¢, even my super cheap supply rate that I locked in the day national grid announced their increases, my rate is 26.5¢, and I don't think that will be available next year.
Intrepid_Priority154 t1_j33a7sk wrote
What happens when we run out of electric for those heat pumps though?
Bobbydadude01 t1_j33c031 wrote
......what
Intrepid_Priority154 t1_j33drt1 wrote
Sad this needs to be explained. I hear my house with oil, you force me and all my neighbors to switch to heat pumps, now we use electric. What happens when too many people are pulling from the grid? Here is a hint…they ask you to stop using power then you have rolling blackouts. Look at NJ on Christmas Eve they were asking people to turn off Christmas lights to ease the strains on the system.
Bobbydadude01 t1_j33e2ku wrote
Sad you think that would be an issue.
A change like this doesn't happen overnight. Having everyone change off of heating oil in the next 10 years let alone 30 years wouldn't crash the grid.
The change needs to happen eventually. Get the fuck over ot.
GWS2004 t1_j33jpbi wrote
Heat pumps are the new conservative boogyman.
Intrepid_Priority154 t1_j340kju wrote
It happened in NJ just over Christmas. But yea otherwise just a “boogeyman”.
GWS2004 t1_j343qyf wrote
Yeah, it IS the new boogyman from the right. Alln they do it attack alternative energy because of their ties to oil companies. It's very well documented. Texas sure faired well from natural gas a couple winters ago, didn't they? And don't try to spew the right wing lies about it being due to wind energy. It was natural gas.
modernhomeowner t1_j35206i wrote
"Oil companies" are just energy companies. They will provide whatever energy we want. I have Shell as my electricity supplier, supplying 100% solar energy (of course with offsets since we don't have 24 hr sunshine in MA).
Texas failed from not having enough natural gas capacity to meet the high electric heating use on a cold day, not that the natural gas itself failed. It's the same issue we can run into in MA if we don't start approving these peaker plants. If we have more heat pumps, we need more natural gas power plants as a backup to heat homes when the sun isnt shining (night time, snowy days, cloudy days like we've had this week) and when the wind isn't blowing (we won't have the issues of windmills freezing like Texas did because we have heated windmills unlike warmer climates that have cheaper windmills without heaters). The only way green energy works is with natural gas peaker plants; anyone who is against peaker plants, is against green energy.
[deleted] t1_j347zy4 wrote
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GWS2004 t1_j34lnbd wrote
Way to avoid the facts.
[deleted] t1_j34nq1w wrote
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GWS2004 t1_j3819d9 wrote
You keep proving my point! Keep it up!
Intrepid_Priority154 t1_j381jjl wrote
What is your point? You aren’t making it.
GWS2004 t1_j3adgze wrote
Thank you again!
-Horatio_Alger_Jr- t1_j343ya0 wrote
>Having everyone change off of heating oil in the next 10 years
What problem do you think this will solve?
Bobbydadude01 t1_j34nwh7 wrote
Heating oil...not renewable. Runs out. Very bad. C02 emmisoons...bad.
Electricty can be as close to renewable as possible....less c02 emmisions. Good. More efficient at heating houses. Good.
-Horatio_Alger_Jr- t1_j34sc8a wrote
>The fact I need to explain this is sad.
Lol, really? Are you 12?
>Heating oil...not renewable. Runs out. Very bad. C02 emmisoons...bad.
How many houses in the Northeast heat their homes with heating oil?
15 of the 9000 or so container ships in the world create as much pollution per year as the world's vehicle fleet (1 billion or so).
Do you really believe that changing the heating source of northeastern homes will put a dent in solving CO2 emissions?
You created more CO2 obtaining the smartphone you are using to respond to me than the average household will create in home heating oil usage.
>Electricty can be as close to renewable as possible....less c02 emmisions.
I guess you have never looked into how any of this stuff is made, shipped, or disposed of. What makes the majority of electricity in this state? What is the energy loss in transmission?
>Good. More efficient at heating houses. Good.
So you have no idea about anything and basing you worldview on emotions.
Bobbydadude01 t1_j37cbmp wrote
Just because something doesn't fix everything doesn't mean we shouldn't improve it. Lots of small changes lead to big changes. We can get off of heating oil for heat. We can not stop using shipping containers. We can switch to more reliable energy sources. We can not switch everything to renewable energy all at once.
>I guess you have never looked into how any of this stuff is made, shipped, or disposed of. What makes the majority of electricity in this state? What is the energy loss in transmission?
Hey guess what. That's planned to be changed too! Its like things don't happen overnight or something. CRAZY!!!
>So you have no idea about anything and basing you worldview on emotions.
Ironic.
modernhomeowner t1_j33jqkm wrote
I have a heat pump, I love my heat pump. I also have multiple backup options for electricity and heat. I'm not under any false impression that more electric use in the winter in MA won't continue to raise costs and destabilize the grid; it certainly will. Analyzing solar production in our northern state in the winter time, seeing our anti-peaker plant mentality, regular folk are headed for rough times in an all-heat pump and green energy environment. As a two-income-no-kid and heavy saver couple, we can afford whatever challenges these policies bring... The average person can't and that's who I feel bad for.
Cobrawine66 t1_j33koms wrote
Getting a great pump in the Spring!
seanwalter123 t1_j34h1ta wrote
Always nice to be told to spend 10x the current rate on something that’s needed to not freeze to death by government bureaucrats. Anyone seen the electric bill from grid or eversource recently? Maybe we should focus on more municipal power companies and getting current rates down before we jam the most expensive way of heating down the throats of the state, which the majority cannot afford to pay for this. A large portion of people making good money can’t even afford to buy a home to heat nevermind spend 10x on heating.
eightfingeredtypist t1_j346fcd wrote
Who is "Energy Need Network" (OP)?
icebeat t1_j33fglp wrote
In Eversource are very happy with everyone installing heat pumps!