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Heat pumps twice as efficient as fossil fuel systems in cold weather, study finds
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2023
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Technology
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So, what happens when high winds or a blizzard takes down the power lines
I lived through the 98' Ice Storm in the Northeast US Didn't have power for three weeks
I've got news for you.
Even if the gas lines work, your furnace still needs power to open the fuel lines, ignite the fuel, circulate the inside air through the heat exchanger, and, above all else, do it safely.
You're screwed either way if you don't have power.
Sure, you can run a gas fired furnace on batteries far easier and more cheaply than you could with an all electric system (regardless of how it's generating the heat), but in every case, you need electricity to run the systems.
This is all dancing around the very real fact that we need to upgrade the grid. Between air conditioners, heat pumps, and electric cars, adding to the already increasing demand from so many computers and computerised gadgets that we have today, sucking back so many more kilowatt hours more power per day, per household than ever before. About the only thing that's going to work when the power shuts off is your toilet.
Thats the rediculous thing. I constantly see people argue about power outages (which realistically aren't even common in many countries). My parents had a power outage, and couldn't use their Gas heaters. When I had one, I couldn't use my instantaneous gas water heater (although, my heat pump based one, can keep water warm for 3 days apparently, so its actually better). My old gas heater actually apparently has been known to burn down houses when there is no power (because the fan stops, and apparently in some circumstance, they overheat)
People don't realize how dependent many of their gas appliances are on power
People don't realize how dependent they are on power in general. It runs basically everything, with the exception of your car.
Yet, nearly nobody has any plans for what they're going to do if the power stops working.
Most households, almost everything is electric or electrically assisted.... the only real exceptions I can think of, are your vehicle, barbeque, and water systems (not including hot water). So toilets flush, you can cook on the BBQ, and you can drive away from the collection of wood and bricks you call a home, and go somewhere with electricity.... that's about it.