SynbiosVyse

SynbiosVyse t1_j0it0ol wrote

Reply to comment by tkshow in Holy $#!^ Eversource by Xaphas

A large portion of natural gas used in Massachusetts comes from Western Canada, so it would have helped. How many people against additional pipelines are making use of the existing ones right now?

Massachusetts is highly, highly dependent on natural gas, and has no reserves or production of its own. It's one of the least energy independent states in the country.

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SynbiosVyse t1_izxscp8 wrote

Reply to comment by mp246 in Holy $#!^ Eversource by Xaphas

The marketing of COP (coefficient of performance) being greater than 1 for heat pumps is exactly the kind of marketing they want you to believe as being important. COP is a good way to compare heat pumps to other heat pumps, since standard energy-in/energy-out doesn't make sense. If you're talking about relative efficiency, central heat pumps are going to drop to about 50% in terms of the amount of electrical power they use for the amount of heat they produce. For example, if it uses 2 KWh to raise 1 degree from 54 to 55 F, it will use 4 KWh to raise 1 degree from 10 to 11. Because of this sharp decrease in efficiency you're going to be paying up the nose in electricty compared to a furnace or boiler which efficiency curve is completely agnostic to the temperature outside.

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SynbiosVyse t1_izxkno8 wrote

Reply to comment by mp246 in Holy $#!^ Eversource by Xaphas

They are bad in cold weather. You can't argue the physics of it. If you look at the efficiency curves the top of the line Bosch drops to 50% efficiency below freezing. I'm not sure what variables you speak about, this is a fairly controlled experiment. Mini splits are about 30% more efficient than central heat pumps so I could see those being more desirable. I think the longstanding conception that heat pumps suck below freezing is true. It's blowing cold air for first 15-20 minutes of the cycle and never really gets up to the temp that the furnace did. It needs to run for a long time just to raise one degree. I understand they're designed to run more frequently than a furnace for more air circulation but it's using more electricity as a result with the condenser and fan running. It's just a stupid appliance unless you have solar or cheap electricity. I don't see how anyone is expected to save money with this thing.

For clarification it was $150 on top of average electricity bill so approximate cost just to run heat pump.

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SynbiosVyse t1_izsg3an wrote

Reply to comment by fcoibFarmer in Holy $#!^ Eversource by Xaphas

If your windows are a problem you can try putting cling wrap over them. It looks awful but it might help. Also get door sweeps. Just a little bit you can do within your control as a tenant.

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SynbiosVyse t1_izrzbsk wrote

Reply to comment by THINKFR33LY in Holy $#!^ Eversource by Xaphas

I'm so tired about hearing about how wonderful heat pumps are. I have both a brand new ducted central heat pump from Bosch and a gas steam boiler, each for different areas of the house. The area that the heat pump serves is half the size and the bill last month was $150 (on top of normal electric usage). Gas bill was $100 and that includes domestic hot water too which is served by the boiler via indirect.

Here's the icing on the cake: the gas boiler cycles between 68 and 64 (night) and the heat pump is set to 64 all the time. It just can't keep up. I'm really regretting my heat pump now. It's only going to get worse in the colder months coming up.

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SynbiosVyse t1_iyw0ysx wrote

Reply to comment by human8060 in Why are houses in Randolph so cheap? by Clementine823

Stoughton has some pretty wooded areas near the Easton and Sharon borders. You can get a house with good acreage over there that's not really an option in Randolph which is considerably denser. Also don't you think the Stoughton schools are better than Randolph or are they the same?

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