That massive spike of 50c/kWh at the left looks tiny compared to today even though that’s already insanely expensive

  • The_v@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Not quite, in my experience on really cold days my heat pump struggles to keep up. This is expecially true when the outside unit is frosting up. The unit has to reverse and pump heat out of the house.

    That’s one of the reasons i run my wood pellet stove on those days. The secondary source of heat takes the load off the heat pump.

    • Critical_Insight@feddit.ukOP
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      11 months ago

      Sure, but as I said it’s just a handfull of days in a year. If the heatpump alone struggles to keep my house warm I can just switch on one or two electric radiators.

    • dan@upvote.au
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      11 months ago

      In an area that gets very cold, a geothermal heat pump (which uses the ground rather than the air for heat exchange) would work better than an air-source heat pump. More expensive to install though, and you need a good amount of land

      • [email protected]@feddit.de
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        11 months ago

        It’s basically what modern homes should have built below them. Then it doesn’t need extra space. Wonder if it’s already enough to put some pipes a meter below the basement?

    • Socsa
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      11 months ago

      Most heat pumps will use the aux coils to defrost. It’s also ok for the heat pump to literally run 24/7 if it needs to. A lot of people freak out when the heat pump runs all day and blows “cool” 80F at from the vents, but it’s still working as intended. Though I totally get how that can make a place feel “drafty” without some backup running