The UK government really, really, really, really is attempting to force the citizens to switch over to heat pumps. Using the taxpayer’s money, of course. Without showing that government is switching over at government buildings nor elected politicians and bureaucrats are switching at their own homes (via Dana Pico of The First Street Journal)
Another heat pump myth has just crumbled
Net Zero will, of course, eventually save us all a fortune. We know that must be true because the green lobby keeps telling us so. It is just that the journey there seems to be costing us ever more money in taxes and levies. The Government has decided to sting taxpayers for another £1.5 billion in order to encourage homeowners to switch from fossil fuel central heating to heat pumps.
At £7,500 a time, the original pot of money for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme would only have funded 60,000 installations. The additional pot will fund a further 200,000 – assuming, that is, that enough people want to take the bait. That is looking questionable at the moment. In the first 18 months that the scheme, only 27,443 homeowners had applied for the grants and only 16,096 installations had been completed. (snip through a paragraph about seriously dropping EV sales as subsidies are withdrawn)
Even with taxpayers forking out £7,500 to help you green your home a heat pump is still a pretty expensive piece of kit. The median cost of heat pumps installed under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme so far has been £13,140. In other words, homeowners are still having to find around £6,000 – which is a lot of money, especially if you don’t actually need to replace your oil and gas boiler because it is working just fine as it is. And, of course, it comes with the risk that the heat pump won’t actually heat your house – while some people report a happy experience many others tell of ending up shivering in a lukewarm home. Moreover, a lot of the people who say they are happy turn out to have other forms of heating available: gas, wood-burners and so on.
One day heat pumps might be ready for primetime, but, they are not something mean to be run a lot. If it’s running quite a bit all year long it’s going to need to be replaced in half the time as separate units. If you only need it for, say, heat in the winter and never really need it much for cooling, you would be fine. If it can keep up with the heat. Vice versa in a place where you run a lot of AC but rarely need heat. And if you really do not need it, do you want to pony up what amounts to $7,600?
As with electric cars, it should be obvious by now that heat pumps are not going to sell themselves. If it wants to reach its targets, the Government is going to have to bully us with fines and cajole us with taxpayer-funded grants. Not that that will stop government ministers and the wider green lobby perpetuating the fib that going green is saving us money.
That median price is $17K. That might make sense for a top end AC/heating system for a large house, say, 2,000 square feet, which should last you 10-15 years. Not for a heat pump. But Green will totally save money, right?
* Pats self on back *
The Weather Channel noted, just a few minutes ago, that there are 280,000+ customers without power in my mother’s home state of Maine. It’s currently 26ºF in Portland, which is on the southeast coast of the state, one of the warmer parts of the state, which raises the question of how cold it is upstate and in the interior. So, naturally, everyone should dump their heating oil or natural gas furnaces, and get heat pumps.
What’s that you say? Even heating oil and natural gas furnaces require sparktricity? Yes, that’s true enough, but a small, portable generator can provide the 110 volts and 15 amperes required to operate that equipment, but not the two 220 volt, 50 amp circuits needed to run a heat pump.
Our gas fireplace uses electricity to run the blower which helps circulate the heat better throughout the house, but does not require city power to start the fire itself; that’s accomplished by batteries and a battery-powered thermostat.
One reason for slower than hoped for acceptance is that some people may be waiting for the next generation hest pumps that do not use compressors but are entirely solid state.
Technology is improving so rapidly that with with solid state batteries in EVs that it might make sense to wait, as better/cheaper models arrive each day. Heat pumps/ gasoline fueled engines will look quaint in a few years as solid state batteries and heating/cooling technologies improve. Look what solid state LEDs did to those old timey incandescent bulbs that had a life expectancy of 4% that if an led. Compressors in heat pumps and refrigerators will die offihectge dinosaurs
If what you say is true and why the big rush to force everybody to buy the crap they want us to buy now?
And does the government have to mandate and subsidize heat pumps if they’re such a good deal?
Bwaha! Lolgf
James the AVERAGE age of a car on the US roads is 12.5 years, so yeah, a lot of people must be driving 20 yo cars.
Batteries get better and cheaper every year. Who drives 10000 miles a year? About as many as drive 20000, as the average is 14000 miles per year.
The Tesla mod Y will be either the #1 or #2 selling passenger car sold in the USA for 2023. It will rank either above or below the Toyota. Tesla sales increase every year, it will take other car companies 4 years to play catch up.
H
People driving 20 year old cars can’t afford EV’s or hybrids. Tesla Y is number 4, other models don’t make the top 25.
The public is catching on. Replacing the batteries in a 2010-2014 Ford Fusion is around $4000, depending on who does the change out. This means a car that should sell between $4000-$8000 with around 120,000 miles on the odometer carries an expected battery replacement cost of $4000 for a forecasted life of another 10 years…. But that is with an expected yearly mileage of only 10,000 miles.
That is for a hybrid. For a Tesla..
The cost of a new Tesla battery ranges from $5,000 to $20,000, and you’ll need to replace the battery every 10 to 20 years.
Catch a clue, H. You have a 10 year old car and you are facing a $10,000 battery replacement? Really??? And that doesn’t consider other maintenance… You’d have to be stupid to spend…. You’ll just trade it in and get a new one…… Oh wait, no one wants a 10 year old car which is gonna need $10,000 spent on batteries.
H, are batteries getting cheaper and better? Lots of yammer out there but its mostly smoke based on
” X university (or start up) is working on new tech……’
And no one is facing up to the reality that the grid cannot handle the projected load…
The article cited said the dealers taking the buyouts were mostly smaller dealers in rural areas. SOROS has taken control
They use a lot of heat pumps in Canada. Your mileage may vary.
Genocide Joe I am unsure why you feel that there is pressure on you to install a heat pump NOW? Utilities and governments are offering rebates and incentives. Quite frankly I can see good reasons NOT to buy either EVs or heat pumps at this time. The technology on both are advancing quickly, unless a purchase MUST be made as in I am building a new house, or I need a new car now. I would advise waiting a few years, In 2 years the first heat pumps without mechanical compressors but are entirely solid state, with bigly increased efficiency will become available. Service life without a mechanical compressor will be extended
Times change faster than do peoples minds.
Brandon’s transparent agenda.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/12/19/biden-admins-latest-spending-spree-amounts-to-a-backdoor-ban-on-gas-powered-appliances-experts-say/
#LGBFJB
#Trump2024
Bwaha! Lolgf
H
Comparing LED bulbs with solid state heat pumps is like comparing a Douglas DC-3 to a Boeing 787.
In the meantime Telsa, Ford and Panasonic have dropped plans for battery manufacture.
EV demand is dropping. EV dealer inventory is at a dealer all time high of 114 days. 60 days is the ideal.
The public is catching on. Replacing the batteries in a 2010-2014 Ford Fusion is around $4000, depending on who does the change out. This means a car that should sell between $4000-$8000 with around 120,000 miles on the odometer carries an expected battery replacement cost of $4000 for a forecasted life of another 10 years…. But that is with an expected yearly mileage of only 10,000 miles.
Do you keep a vehicle 20 plus years???? How many people drive only 10K per year??
https://www.fastcompany.com/90999268/unsold-evs-are-piling-up-at-car-dealerships-what-does-that-mean-for-the-auto-industry
People don’t just run out and buy a whole replacement HVAC system when what they have is working perfectly fine. HVAC systems are expensive and not an impulse buy and certainly not something one does just to be one of the cool kids with a heat pump. Nor does anyone put off buying one because they are waiting for something better to be invented in the future. They buy one only because what they have failed and they are freezing now. And since most furnaces are easily repaired at a much lower cost than full replacement, furnace users are not going to be seen running out to buy whole new systems. You are mostly going to see them in new installations and to replace other failed heat pumps or to add AC to homes that are getting by with window units.
I installed a new heat pump in the summer to replace a failed one and I am really happy with the performance, even in temperatures down to 20. I didn’t bother even installing the second stage electric heater. It is very efficient and quiet and doesn’t even need to run all the time to keep the house warm. I may not even use my wood stove this season.
There must be one hellva lotta profit in heat pumps. During a service call, in the Portland area, I explained why I would NEVER own another heat pump. The Service manager went on a 15 minute rant about how what I was saying was true 20 years ago but is no longer true because of new technology. Arizona house had heat pump only. There were times in the winter when we had to leave the oven door open all night to keep from freezing. Portland winters are a lot colder than Arizona winters. Not buying that heat pump line of horse poop.
General Motors said nearly half its Buick dealers took buyouts this year rather than invest in selling and servicing electric vehicles as the automaker’s brands transitions to all electric by 2030.
That means GM will end 2023 with about 1,000 Buick stores nationwide, down 47% from where it started the year.
Late last year, Buick said it would be asking dealers to commit a minimum investment of $300,000 to $400,000 to prepare their stores to sell and service EVs.
I’ve driven Buicks for over 40 years but I’m done doing business with a company that is committing suicide.
Thank you, EPA.
Merry Christmas! Ho ho ho!
Bwaha! Lolgf
Unless you’re talking about a ground water heat pump… $$$$ I don’t see it. When the outside air temp is too low, it’s not going to work without electric resistance heating, the most expensive kind.
James Lewis
AS of Sep 30 2023 Tesla had 57 days inventory. Americans WANT Teslas. Americans apparently do NOT want EVs made by other companies.
discoverci.com
that seems to be about their average from 2018
H
What does than mean?? 57 days of Tesla’s of various types? 57,000??? And what is the “turn?” (If you don’t understand that then it is obvious you’ve never ran a business.)
Do Americans want Tesla’s?? As compared to what? Has anyone educated them to the expected cost when they have to replace the battery???
And what is the warranty? Ten years?? And is it repair or replace at Tesla’s option? Is the warranty prorated or 100% borne by Tesla??
And who does the routine maintenance? Tesla? If the owner does it or has an independent service center is the warranty voided?
Lots of questions and very few answers.
Mr Lewis,
Did you ever acknowledge that your reportage of GA Gov Kemp finding over 20,000 fraudulent votes was fraudulent? If not, why not, and how can anyone believe anything you type here?
Good day!