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I have a sanden heat pump hotwater system, installed mid winter in Melbourne Australia, it took 3.5 hours to heat a completely cold 250 Lt tank using 1.1kw per hour. In mid summer it can only take 35 minutes after a day's use by my wife and I, but our daughter hour long showers can make it run longer.
Great You Tube video with simple explanations that can be followed. Back in 1976 I moved into my first property, a Victorian flat (apartment). There was a sealed cast iron tank around 12 by 12 by 24 inches buried in the upper part of the chimney. Heat from a coal fire would provide hot water there was no pump simply due to the convection effect of having 2 inch diameter pipes. There was no thermostat either presumably it was not too close to the actual flames to overheat the water. It was fed from a riveted zinc water tank that had an open top end to allow for any pressure build up. No moving parts, no need for electricity or physical controls anywhere, Victorian Geniius!
That is from a time when flue gases could exceed 1000 degrees. Today even what is left of chimney venting devices flue gases will not exceed 350 degrees. When you oxidize a hydrocarbon (burn fuel) you create water and co2. In old equipment you could not let this exhaust drop to the point of condensation as the water you created was acidic from the co2 and would eat away the chimney,so high exhaust temps were needed. Modern equipment no longer uses chimneys as they vent through the wall with pvc. The flue gasses are encouraged to condense in order to pick up that latent heat that he describes in the video thus eliminating chimneys and bringing the efficiency of modern boilers up to 96%. A similar idea was used on wood stoves, someone got the bright idea to put an exchanger with a fan on the smokepipe of an indoor wood stove, big Mother earth news thing lol. This caused the flue gases to condense, create creosote and numerous homes burned down from chimney fires.
The simple fact of the matter is most houses/ buildings across the entire world are in desperate need of a better exterior building envelope, i.e. insulated windows, VASTLY more insulation and better air sealing. This will DRASTICALLY increase the efficiency of ANY heating/cooling system. Also, proper building practices such as only having ductwork in the conditioned space rather than in the attic or crawlspace will help as well!
Yeah, real modern properly built houses cools & heats themselves. Just thru proper insulation and ventilation, reduces energy drastically for heating & cooling
the hard part on the removing ducting from the crawlspace/attic is convincing the homeowners to put the duct where it is visible. Most people don't like the look of the duct nor do they want a chase to protrude from the corner of the ceiling/wall .
HVAC Contractor here... Thank you for putting out this information for people. I think it's great. One thing I'd add is we actually have natural gas furnaces that are well over 90% efficient. They have a secondary heat exchanger that recycles the flu gas to pull more heat out of it. The end product is condensate and very little heat loss. If these systems are installed properly they can be great. Thanks again
all fun and games until a jack leg puts one in the attic without insulating it and you have to come in behind him and tell the customer their secondary heat exchanger is cracked
@@mattdawson630 Hahaha! True. Any system is only as good as the person who sizes it and installs it. Unfortunately there are jack legs everywhere...lol. Retired 41 years in HVACR. Residential-Industrial.
Hey, have you heard of the MR. Cool heat pumps? If so, do you think they're better than the usual brands? My heat pump (Rudd) just can't keep up when the outside temp is below 40.
Good vid, thanks. I'm here to say we've been on a 3 ton geothermal system (forced air) for ten years in Upstate NY, USA and it's been great, and probably the best investment I've made in our home. Only thing lacking is the ducting for the house that looks like it was done by 5th graders; an ongoing work-in-progress to patch it up, find blockages and breaks. Anyway we recycled the air circulator from the air-source heat pump we inherited, and replaced it with a ground source heat pump and a couple underground runs of something like PEX. Air is always comfortable (68F heated and 74F air conditioned) regardless the outside temps, which could be anywhere between -15F to 100F. And it makes all the noise of a modern refrigerator, but in the basement.
Love your take on topics regarding EVs and renewable energy. We downsized in 2012 to smaller home, eliminated the new natural gas Furnace/Water Heater, and replaced both with electric heat pump and heat pump water heater. We have never regretted that decision. We also added 13.2 kWh solar PV system complemented with two PW2's in 2018, which enable us to operate independent of grid for ~9 months of the year in Edmonds, WA. We also produced 350% of our electricity needs for all electric home last year, which included charging two Tesla's (MS and M3), and exported >50% of our excess electricity back to grid.
wow David that's amazing! 13.2kW solar system! I'm Jealous, I have less than half that, but always want to upgrade ;) congrats on such a renewable and sustainable living arrangement!
@@guguigugu never mind the relevant question, I'm pretty sure you'll never ask the same question when anyone is presenting his shiny 6 cylinder truck or noisy Harley
@@nicoschadjidemetriou4373 belief isn't knowledge! At least 20 years and very often +30 years is KNOWN as production time. But why care about long and widely known facts, when you have an agenda...
My father worked on refrigeration systems for dairy farms as a sideline while I was growing up, so I've known about heat pumps systems since I was about 6. I also learned about Geothermal from a Mother Earth News article in the 70's. So I knew all about all of this before I clicked. Got to say you did an excellent job presenting this material! Apparently the efficiencies have changed. We always used to say, " put in 1 unit of energy and draw out 3 units of heat" (or negative heat as the case may be). I suspect the efficiency increase has a lot to do with both more efficient compressors along with the interface between the heat exchange materials. Even though I came into this video with a thorough understanding of the subject matter, you STILL kept my interest AND taught me something along the way! Well done Maestro!
Yeah the smaller Split units (Heat pumps with sometimes having electric heating backup) ones, (as cooling size goes up the BTU rating, the SEER seasonal energy efficiency rating goes down) can go as high as 40 SEER compared to regular central ac units (non heat pumps) that usually can get up to about 20 SEER at the most
I've been an HVAC/R technician and educator for 29 years, and this is the best non technical explanation of the refrigerant cycle and heat pumps I've ever seen on RUclips, good job! Re. back up sources of heat, I've got an inverter driven variable capacity heat pump backed up by a multistage gas furnace. The furnace is cheaper to operate here in Texas, but the variable capacity heat pump is more comfortable heat delivery in our mild winters. The furnace is good for especially cold weathers, and since I can supply its electrical needs with just a small 500w generator, is handy during a power outage. Amusingly, I was completely prepared for loosing power during the big freeze, but never did.
Because I work in the industry, a couple of corrections. You mentioned that gas fired furnaces are about 70% efficient. Gas fired furnaces that have a standing pilot light were 70% efficient and they aren't even manufactured today because they don't meet today's efficiency standards. Also, the furnace that you did show at 12:44 is a high efficiency furnace, looks like a Lennox model EL296, and is extremely efficient. Notice the pvc flue? By the time the combustion gases reach the flue they are cool enough to vent through pvc rather than double wall metal that still gets very hot on 80% efficient furnaces. Another issue. Most clients that I have that were accustomed to a gas fired furnace are sorely disappointed with the performance of heat pumps unless they have auxiliary heat strips and a thermostat that can be programmed for comfort, meaning the heat strips will be energized quickly to assist the heat pump but the system does cost more to operate. The big reason for the disappointment is that furnaces blow hot air and heat pumps blow warm air. Therefor, when it's cold, heat pumps will have very long run times while a gas furnace will cycle on and off due to it's ability to quickly satisfy a thermostat. Heat pumps and mini splits do have situations that are appropriate like a small addition to the house such as a sun room, basement or in-law suite. However, heat pumps also have other drawbacks such as more electrical and refrigerant cycle components to fail.
Bill, Don't garbage it up with facts! LOL tell them what your hourly rate is to replace a compressor on a 10 degree day. TXV's on the outdoor unit, defrost times when it is snowing.
@@anthonyspadafora1384 No kidding. $44.10/quarter hr. for planned maintenance customers. Better hope it dies in the first year while it's still under parts and labor warranty but that's very rare. I'll go as quickly as I can to do it properly but I refuse to do a rush job and look bad.
@@bill944 Oh I hear ya, then with the POE oil being so hygroscopic makes it just about impossible with snow on the ground. I've been doing this for 40 years and now at 60 I just tell them to turn on the backup coils and call me in the spring lol Then when they get that next bill the tears begin to fall. A nice condensing gas boiler and floor heat. Quiet , dependable and very efficient. It really is a shame, all this nonsense and if they really wanted to conserve some energy they could start with a small exchanger after the compressor on the a/c and throw the damn heat into a domestic water tank. Basically you would get free hot water all summer long and increase your subcooling but they cant even do that but they fill everyones head with these super whacked out ideas that will never work in the real world.
Thank you Ricky. Also thank you Michael Faraday for first noticing and recording the refrigeration cycle. I think the fluid he had was ammonia. He didn't drop everything and start an air conditioning or refrigerator business though. He simply wrote that this could be useful in future as a refrigeration system and moved on to study the next interesting thing.
Heating your house to 76ºF and you are still wearing a jacket? I cracked up laughing at you when you tripped on the corner of the rug and your popcorn went flying! I am so sorry, but you did a fantastic dramatic opening scene to this video.
@@TwoBitDaVinci not everyone rich spend alot , install it. government fail too give rebates help them too get too install faster then cheaper . blame the government fail. so say goverment give rebate 40% then yes American's do way faster. same with ev government give 15k instant rebate then ev flying of the sales floor . same with solarwith batterry if government say 50 % instant rebate then american install LIKE CRAZY.
This is n excellent video... lesson. I’m an architect / contractor, and well understood this subject, but I have never seen it presented so clearly and insightfully! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this clip, heat pumps are pretty much a step in the path to a more environmental friendly world, we (living i Sweden) have had a Geothermal pump since 2008- it was soo nice to trow that stinky oil cooker away, and put a nice silence high- tech thing, that looked just like another fridge in the house. We have two 100 m holes (330 feet) and a 9 KW pump. The very nice thing with this is that in the summer we are reusing the flow of Brine which goes into the holes (a alcohol/water mixture, that doesn't freeze in temperatures over -40° C, in our case) - meaning we just pump it through our fan enhanced radiators, getting could air for (almost) nothing, the brine is never warmer than 13°C, meaning that the radiator deliver that temperature(in ideal circumstances), the circulation pump is 4W and the radiators fans are somewhere around 1W/radiator... meaning pretty cheap cooling.... And we put some energy down into the holes for next winter.... Love it!
Have your Swedish Nibe heat pump with cooling option. Works just wonderful!!! Cooling is not so effective as air conditioner but still makes difference (max 7 C). Heating? Living in almost passive house with solar power plant on the roof - 0$ bills. Thank you my European neighbors :)
All these environmentally friendly devices have their downsides in using up resources and creating waste. There is no magic wand or perfect answer that will suit all countries and conditions. People must be left to choose what is best for them, not be forced into paying for expensive equipment which may not be efficient in their situation and cost them more to run. For we cannot put people in debt or poverty just to satisfy our own environmental conscience. Gas boilers and petrol cars may be the best for some people. Governments have no right to dictate what we may buy or use because of some imagined future scenario. The Earth is a volatile entity and is changing all the time including the weather, and this has always been. For what melted the ice ages when there was no industrialisation around? Most of what we are being told by ‘experts’ is only speculation and guesswork at the very best - and I am not a ‘denier’, far from it. I am concerned as anyone about pollution and the degradation of the natural world . But many of the ‘solutions’ put forward by the so-called experts are deeply flawed and create waste and pollution, and also use up massive natural resources. ‘Balance’ is what is required, there is no need to panic.
@@petercollins7848 : A bail of strAW dipped in fire retardant and used as a building block on the outside of your house will turn your house into a place where you can HEAT it with a candle in cool IT with an ice cube !! This is not a joke , this is been out for as long as I can read , I am almost 60 now … ( local building cO DES are not For this , ect ect Ect ect ect ect)
Another great video. I will be hitting the like button fairly often on your content. I might have to advocate for this channel within my pool of family and friends so that you get the views and the likes your content deserves.
My personal experience with home heating is you cannot beat natural gas floor heating. They have outlawed floor and wall furnaces because they use fossil fuels, but you don't have to use electricity to warm your house which is way more efficient than a heat pump. Air Conditioner condensers runs on 240 volts AC which use way to much energy and the exchange unit also runs on 240 volt AC, which uses way to much electricity to heat a home. Gravity fed gas heaters are the most efficient way to heat and it does-not require electricity.
@@Dave5843-d9m yep that sums it up...and any heat pump and coil can be used for Thermal coefficient molecular attention... including Soundwaves..at the right decibels
@@666dynomax Furthermore Hayton Upton alak chuba in the medical clear canuten Val's client with the gibbous rod and huddle fitted out alabandata Hampton untin each spine iron valden filter
If you still have power (some type of bypass from grid power to a small "jackery" battery type product )to trigger the ignitor on a boiler/steam radiator system (no forced air) even if you lost grid power you'd only have to have enough battery power to run the thermostat and the ignitor until you got your power back. (or maybe use a generator for the same purpose).
Hi out there, the heating pump which I use at home has coefficient 7,6 (760%) efficiency and its working since 2009 :) it’s water/ground system, where are just two circuits one for freon and other for water. Freon circulates around the garden and water circulates on the flour. :)
Natural gas/ Propane furnaces sold in the US today for home heating have between 80-96% efficiency. I have installed only 90+% efficient furnaces for over 2 decades. I usually also install a heat pump with them so they can utilize the least expensive fuel available at the time. Looks like you have a great channel.
lol the problem with furnaces is that the METAL DUCTS lose the heat, even if it's insulated- unless it's only inside the house. mine is under the bottom floor without any basement. EXTREMELY INEFFICIENT. i just plug in some portable electric heaters. the electric bill is much lower than the natural gas.
Viessmann also has an ice storage system, extracting heat from water stored in a tank in the garden. This setup is as efficient as geothermal but cheaper. It has the advantage that it can also store heat from thermal solarpanels.
Tanked systems like that are super efficient if you have the space and control them properly. I have designed a few for commercial sites and the savings are enough to get a payback period of around 4-5 years with pure savings for 15-20 years after that. The system works even better if heating and cooling are required at the same time in different locations and condenser heat is dumped into the store. VRF systems give a limited version of the same functionality at a much lower price where budget is a major issue.
Thanks for this overview! I’m in an earth sheltered home with a heat pump plus have electric heat strip option in that system. Regarding natural gas furnaces not being able to have an HVAC blower during an electrical power outage, Honda solved that problem when they developed a natural gas reformer/hydrogen fuel cell module in the 1990’s. It can strip hydrogen from the inbound natural gas and then run it through the fuel cell to generate electricity. While Honda has a large system powering their Torrence, CA headquarters, they also developed a miniaturized version for Trane natural gas furnaces so that the HVAC blower fan can still operate in the event of an electrical power outage (as long as natural gas is still flowing into the unit,) while also allowing natural gas for the burner simultaneously. Not sure if this is still offered by Trane, but it was really innovative. Natural gas is not available in the remote area where I live in or I would have purchased the Trane system. When my current system fails, I intend to go with a split system.
Well, you're actually embracing the refrigeration cycle. You're just reversing it for the heating season. In summer, you're rejecting heat into the warm outside air to cool the indoor air. In the winter, you're rejecting heat into the indoor air to cool the outdoor air (or, for geothermal, you're heating and cooling earth instead of outdoor air). Point being: it's the vapor compression cycle being used for both heating and cooling (which it always is anyway). And you're not getting "500%" efficiency. Not even close. That's just a shell game you're playing because you're disregarding the heat being "stolen" from the outdoor air (or soil) by heating it up for cooling and cooling it off for heating. Big problem, of course, is in cold climates you're stuck having to go with geothermal because the air is too cold to try to cool to get heat from. In reality, in most climates, you'll still need to supplement in the winter time with resistance heaters or combustion of fuels because the availability of energy is just too low for high quality heat. I'm going to wait for ultra high efficiency thermoelectric heat pumps. No moving parts, same high level heat pump principles, and much more friendly to DC, low voltage sources like photovoltaics. No damned motors and coils and compressors and refrigerants and such. It's a couple of decades down the road, but it's coming. Then, kiss your R-whatever number chemicals goodbye for good! 👍
@@mc2engineeringprof Gas fired refrigerators are surprisingly efficient but they do use the refrigeration cycle. A small heater evaporates ammonia. This loops over to the condenser wher it’s cooled. Liquid ammonia takes up 100th of the space so creates a suction evaporating ammonia in the cold boil gives the cooling.
We talked about heat pumps in my thermal mechanics class and how they work. The issue of them is depending on their environments temperature will affect on how effect it can be. like how -30 C you still may want a furnace to keep the house warm, but you may not need to run it as nearly as long.
Nearly every home in America has a heat pump, it is called the refrigerator. :) We are currently building a home with a geothermal heat pump (had them in our last home as well). The main reason for us is not the efficiency, but the lack of outdoor noise. We are on a river with the wonderful white noise from the water flowing. The last thing we want is outdoor heat pump fans turning on and off. The geothermal unit will be in a sound deadened utility room. We do not have access to natural gas, only propane, which in our area is about a wash compared to electricity when it comes to the price per therm. Enjoyed your video!
I often day dream of having a heat pump power plant in which the heat concentrated by the heat pump in a tropical area or hot desert is used for generate electricity part of which is used for running the power plant in a sustaining manner while liquid air is produced to be use for air-conditioning and for powering vehicles that run on liquid air.
@@nielsunnerup7099 You have a wrong idea about heat pumps. You obviously have no idea that a heat pump can create useful heat more than the amount of heat that can be produced by passing the same amount of electricity used by the heat pump to a heating element. In other words, the useful heat produced by a heat pump can be greater than 100 % of the heat produced by a heating element of 100% efficiency using the same amount of electricity. It is not against the law of physics. The heat above the 100% created by the heat pump comes not from the electricity but from the latent heat of air. That's why cool or cold air is created during the operation of a heat pump. If the heat above the 100% is used for generating electricity, then we have more electricity than we put in. If you use a blow torch to heat up and light up a large piece of wood, the large piece of wood will release more heat than the blow torch had release. That is not against the law of physics either because the extra heat comes from the wood not from the blow torch. In fact the sleeping prophet Edgar Cayce had predicted that there will be a liquid air economy in the future in which engines and some vehicles are powered by liquid air that expands when it absorb heat from the surroundings. I believe the liquid air economy will be possible with the use of powerful heat pumps possibly aided by solar power. The liquid air economy will have a beneficial effect in balancing the heat on earth even though I don't believe there is a problem of catastrophic global warming. If there is going to be a global warming problem, the liquid air economy will be a perfect solution because heat in the air is concentrated for heating and generation of electricity while the liquid air, a by-product produced, stored in carbon fiber tanks will be useful for air-conditioning and for powering air-engines in hot areas. I hope you are able to understand what I talked about. If you don't, it's no problem because the aim of my comment is for people who do understand what I talked about, such as the people who gave likes to my previous post.
@@simon6071 But you see, I'm a prophet too. You must trust my word that this Edgar was a false prophet and that the clever phycisists knew what they were talking about when they described the law of thermodynamics.
@@nielsunnerup7099 Now I tell tell that you are just an ignoramus who knows neither scientific matters nor the spiritual matters. GOOGLE: why can a heat pump produce more heat energy than it consumes "Heat pumps can seemingly defy the laws of thermodynamics, because they can deliver much more than one unit of heat (or cooling) per unit of electrical energy consumed. This is because they are extracting heat from around the evaporator and dumping heat to the environment around the condenser." GOOGLE: How can a heat pump be more than 100 efficient? "By contrast, heat pumps seemingly undertake the impossible: you get more heating out than the energy you put in. This is possible because we are using energy to move heat - rather than converting the energy directly to heat. As a result the apparent efficiency in terms of heat output is greater than 100%." VIDEO: Edgar Cayce Documentary You are an abomination to false accuse Edgar Cayce of being a false prophet without even attempt to learn about who he was, his amazing healing power and his accurate predictions.
The light from the resistive heater still ends up as heat in the house. Only the tiny bit of heater coil light that escapes a window would be lost. The other light will be scattered and absorbed in the house as heat
@@BigRed-MWA Well... When water becomes steam it expands at a ratio of about 40:1 and that massive expansion can be utilized for driving pistons and turbines. But I was interested in how the boiling point changes due to pressure. That happens before the process that you mentioned.
Nicely done! When learning Boyle’s Law in school it’s application to heating and cooling was a revelation to me. You combined it with the basic mechanics well without confusing details. Really well done. Continuing in thermoD applied to everyday home life?
Your speaking, attitude and production quality is great. I hope you can grow further especially as there are plenty out there who don't present information as clearly or well as yourself
I have to disagree here. If you take lifespan en costs into consideration, then the attractiveness quickly dissappears. Also you will have to do some very serious insulation to your home/building before a ground based heatpump becomes a viable option.
@@atnstn using a High Efficiency Boiler that runs on natural gas. This is used for hot tapwater and heating the house. Upstairs heating is combined with an ac unit that can cool and heat. Living in a house from 1935 in Europe btw.
@@bm5994 11 years now on a ground source heat pump and I can only but rave about it. Granted we have a modern home (~35yo) that's well-insulated and being well-insulated was part of the criteria for NYSERDA qualification. The house is also all electric so we really benefited financially. But I can see that the energy needed to do what an older air-source heatpump struggled with is a fraction. Our electric bills have been cut in half since we bought the place (also due to other measures, like LED bulbs, updated appliances, etc.) An added benefit is that electric rates have been far more stable over the past ten years than fossil fuel prices. They've risen, but not like the rollercoaster ride that are gas and oil pricing.
@@bm5994 I think you might be focusing on ground-to-water heat pumps. Ground-to-air is an option even if insulation isn't top grade, and it's highly efficient. Water based heat pumps are pushed hard in the UK through grants etc and air to air or ground to air are largely ignored by agencies tasked with energy management, grant distribution etc. This may be because air based systems can be used for cooling and a cooling energy load in Summer would bugger up the government's rosy picture of progress towards targets for reductions in CO2 production.
Had my heat pump for three years, loved it so far. I got it because I failed to get my wood that year. To buy wood would've cost $1000 at least. The pump only cost $4000 installed and only $80 a month to operate, even at minus thirty!!🥶 The temperature my system is rated for. Was thinking of getting a second one for the basement, it's good as a dehumidifier also!!😁👍🇨🇦 I approve of heat pumps !
"What if I told you there was a type of heater, that breaks the laws of physics?" I would say that immediately do not trust anything else you say after saying that BS.
@@ScarletFlames1 not at minus 5 degrees they aren't you are talking rubbish. What qualifications do you have in thermo dynamics ? Before you ask me I am a retired refrigeration engineer ,technical Director and consultant I was involved with the design and installation of heat pumps as far as back as the 1970s till I retired in 2013 and have worked for one of the worlds largest manufacturers so I do know little bit about it.
Great video and info, thanks! I’m in Texas and the mega freeze last year is exactly why I’ll never own an all-electric house (although 100% of local new construction houses don’t have gas)! We at least had our gas fireplaces and gas water heaters (until they shut off our water too)! I’m currently shopping for a generator!
You learned what we living in Northern NY always knew.. You always need 2 ways to at least minimally heat the house to a point where the pipes can’t freeze. One of them has to be not dependent on electricity.. The best last ditch method I know of is a good old unvented propane radiant rig that’s adjustable and sits right on top of a 20 lb barbecue bottle. Mine is 10-40000BTU. Add a cheap Battery powered digital CO alarm and you’re in business. We have a portable Generator as well always stocked with under 6 month old gas. We managed well enough through 11 days of February ice storm in 1998. I was working at US Customs on the night shift during that time . The tales I heard from people coming out of Montreal every night scrounging for generators, gas and goods were pretty ugly. Lots of burning porches and furniture for heat , sleeping stuffed in closets ect. Plenty of thievery too running generators in particular. . One thing for sure. It’s better to live in the country when things go to crap like that.
We have heated out home north of Winnipeg, MB with a ground source heat pump since 1995. Expensive at installation time, but paid off several times over.
Their was a heater out 30 years ago that worked on the pressure cooker type. It was very energy efficient, but the company was bought out buy one of the big guys. It still operates under the same name but they did away with the tech and started making resistive heaters.
I'm starting to explore geothermal heat pumps and your excellent presentation has gone a long way in helping me grasp the concept. Keep up the good work!!
Thanks for making this video. I am deciding between a heat pump vs gas furnace. Thank you for your calculation. Looking the PG&E (California) rates it was $2.07 to run a gas furnace and $8.79 for electric heat pump furnace when looking therms to kWh. Gas is so much cheaper. But the kicker that you stated a gas furnaces still needs electricity to run the blower. So I don't feel so bad since I am getting solar panels with battery backup. My AC and blower can run off the PV, and then go with the cheaper gas furnace, not net-zero emissions, but I think its the best hybrid setup when crunching the financial numbers.
I don't think your calculations account for the heat pump's COP. A heat pump with say 24kW output will have an input of 6-10kW. A gas condensing boiler with 24kW output will have around 24kW input, so even though gas is much cheaper per kWh the heat pump and the boiler will cost around the same to run, averaged over the year. Depending on your local climate the heat pump may end up being marginally cheaper.
This video is a great explanation of the refrigeration cycles and heat pumps! I've been explaining this crap for years in the HVAC industry and now have a video I can tell and trust interns or new tradesmen to watch. Great job Ricky! Thanks for making this so easy to understand.
@@spinnymathingy3149 you would be surprised. We hire intern mechanical engineers who are learning a wide spectrum of mechanical knowledge. Also this industry is a high retirement industry. It's hard to find good help so we higher based on work ethic over knowledge. It's easy to teach someone who wants to learn but hard to find someone willing to put in the time.
@@AK8BLANK , I fully agree regarding finding suitable apprentices, I’m in the industry too and feel your pain. My previous comment was referring to basic 1st year apprentice hvac trade schooling, here in Australia 🇦🇺 this stuff is the first principals that are taught
Really wanted a geothermal heat pump when my home was built. Unfortunately the ROI just wasn't there because the added cost of putting in the ground coils was so high. It's a great idea though and I'm glad you included it in this video.
Check out Dandelion Energy, they are using closed loop bore holes 200m deep instead of ground coils. Less disruption to the surface and more consistent temperatures too make it a more efficient system. Still very expensive, but as they hone the technology the prices will come down, so keep an eye on it.
@@MrGonzonator Yeah much like solar initially was, there just is no real ROI unless there are huge rebates from the government, just doesn't make sense and you might as well use the air for your heat pump at that point. That said I really don't see how the price will come down terribly much, unless a lot more people do it then there's competition involved, and it's doubtful there will be a huge surge in geothermal installations to warrant lots of people doing it. The technology isn't going to really change, you dig a hole in the same fashion that you dig any hole that's deep, and stuff something down that hole. One might say once the equipment side is paid off they can finally offer their service for a cheaper cost but that's just not going to happen, because now their company is making more profit.
Mine crypto with your video card, get paid to heat your house. Electricity = money = crypto. Input - output equals a positive, therefore perpetual energy. 🤔 Q.E.D.
Well, if you're not a paid educator or in publicity, you should be. Excellent all around. Graphics, humor, technical quality, presentation--all good. I learned and refreshed a lot.
I'm heating my home with an air to water heatpump for some years now. It works more than just fine and in summary it even uses less electricity than my old oil burner before had to invest in heating the oil, transporting it from the tank to the burner, running its old control unit and running the circulating pumps.
@@eugeniustheodidactus8890 in terms of heat pumps follow the same principles as Tesla does: keep it simple. Here in Austria I have a 5kW Panasonic Aquarea WHMDC05H3E5 monobloc heat pump installed outside my house and it cost me around $3k and another $1k for installation (around 3,5k Euro). I can't speak for the US, but I'm pretty sure you could get a Panasonic heat pump over there as well.
Julia Engel You forget that the average American favours a ridiculously large, poorly constructed and badly insulated house though! Your heat requirements can be met by a sensibly sized and affordable heat pump. The average US home probably uses (wastes!) three of four times the amount of heat that you do, hence the crazy prices they are always quoting- their installers are all quoting for massive systems three of four times the output that would be needed if they built their homes properly!
@@spencerwilton5831 In fact I did not forget that, I just did not mention it. This is a problem that needs to be solved, but thanks to the larger buildings they have larger roofs for solar. Batteries are becoming cheaper nearly every day so they could get themselves a Tesla solar roof and a Tesla powerwall. Or maybe two of these, they are stackable. :)
When doing quantitative thermodynamic efficiency calculations on a system, it is necessary to define a “Control Volume”, which has to include all sources of energy flow in and out of the system. The sum of those has to be zero. So if the heat exchange with the outside environment is omitted, the “efficiency” can exceed 100%, but should be called something other than “efficiency”, for example effectiveness.
Another great video, Ricky! I only have one side note: You say that heat pumps do not create heat 13:45. This is not entirely true, running the compressor actually does add some heat. The coefficient of performance actually combines 1 unit of heat provided by the heat generated in the compressor with 4 units of heat from the outside, adding up to a coefficient of performance of 5. So some heat is generated, but the heat being moved far exceeds the heat being generated. As you'll always have the heat from the compressor, COP actually cannot drop below 1 (as long as you are ignoring losses (e.g. defrosting) of course)
Excellent video sir! Here in the State of Washington (King County) where we have winter wind storms that blow down trees into our power lines and we lose power, I have a gas furnace and gas water heater (CHEAP to operate!) but I have a generator to provide the electricity to run the blower fan in the furnace. I ALWAYS have hot water and heat when many of my neighbors do not. They come here to shower, get warm, cook their food, etc whenever the power goes out. Yeah, I'm that guy!
So to think of a whole house design, having a heat pump that also incorporates the refridgerator and freezer in your house might save additional money, and gain your more control as well.
Before you go there, site the house for optimal Passivhaus design, correct energy absorbing floors & correct roof overhangs for the site’s latitude, have optimal insulation, HEPA/UV air filtration, and clean air heat exchangers. Pay now or pay later...
Not really, first it will add a lot of plumbing, thus cost, refrigerant content and risk of leaks, second and foremost(but not last) what if it breaks down? No heat, no hot water and no 'refrigerator or deep freezer'. It's always good to have some redundancy...
I would have a basic heat transfer system that pumps liquid down into the ground to transfer heat there, then brings it back up to run over the coils of the heat pump located in the basement with a second smaller system installed at the same time for the fridge... that way the system for the heat pump and the system for the fridge are not fighting each other in winter.
Thanks for your very straightforward and explanatory video. In my country heating with heat pump is currently the cheapest, cheaper even from firewood heating. My total electricity cost (VAT included) is about $0.13/kWh. At the moment my heat pump uses about 20 to 25kWh per day which costs me about $2.5 to $4. I don't know what will it be with subzero temperatures, but I expect $10 max. I strongly recommend anyone installing a heat pump or converting the A/C to heat pump, to install a water buffer tank and run the heat pump, when the outside temperature is higher and use the heat thru the cold night. If you can invest a bit more, put some solar panels on the roof and heat your home from there (if there is some sunlight, of course). Panels work very well when it's cold and sunny. Heat pump is the way to increase your solar efficiency by at least threefold.
I am using a Chinese Diesel Heater to run a greenhouse this year. They are great, very efficient, and I'm using even the exhaust pipe waste heat for heating the ground. I have a few videos on them if you're interested.
I'm writing from Poland and such systems are getting more and more popular in here, but mostly well-based. My heat pump installation is using liquid going 80m into the ground where temperature is stable throughout the whole year.
Buy a chinese 2kW Diesel air heater for around $110. I installed one this winter, and in total I've used 0.8L Diesel! It didn't get below -2C this winter though, and I really only used it to prevent fogging, but it kept the cabin at 21C. It uses 180mL/hour and draws only 1.2A on 12V once warmed up. So I've emitted 2.3kg CO2 this winter from my heater. However a heat pump uses 10 times as much electricity, which in the US translates to around 750g CO2 for the same amount of heating, so you'll save 1.6kg CO2 if you drive as little as I do but instead gets a heat pump. So is it worthwhile? The Heat pump if far more expensive, so you need more hours at work, which I presume also has some CO2 emissions, not the least by driving there on more days? regardless, if you throw a barbecue this summer, and burn 10kg of charcoal, you'll also emit around 3kg CO2, so my advice, get a diesel heater, and cancel one or your planned garden parties, and you're in the green.
when comparing CO2 emitted shouldn't the CO2 emitted in the manufacture of diesel be included? Isn't it much greater than the the CO2 emitted in the generation of electricity used by heat pump, especially electricity generated from solar/wind?
@@timmathison8740 That's an argument that pops up on RUclips often when talking about fossil fuels, but the conclusion is simply wrong: A barrel of crude contails 159L which when burned devellops 1.6MWh. An oil pump (donkey) uses 209Wh/per stroke, so the pumping only accounts for 0.5%, other types of oil extraction are more energy extensive, offshore 2% and oil sands even higher. Refining a barrel takes only 5kWh because the heat is recouped in the tower to preheat the next batch, tanker trucks and oiltankers are another few percent and so is sales and advertising, so on average 5-12% of the energy in oil is wasted before it gets into your engine. In other words, oil gives 12 times the energy back it takes to get it. So ask yourself; why has oil been king for a century, if it net uses more energy than it delivers? Has oil barrons been stupid wasting money every day through history? So you can fairly enough add 10% to the emissions of burning 1 L of diesel, to get the complete figure of emissions, but normally we only count what is burned, in electricity generation as well as in engines. We don't include workers health insurance or the diesel used in coal mines when calculating emissions from the grid.
Sorry I misread your argument: Yes, the heat pump uses less, but not much, you are saving around 1/3 the emissions, unless you charge by solar, then you save 95%. However a heat pump is more expensive, so the payback period is longer before it becomes cleaner than the diesel heater. In my example, I burned only 0.8L this winter, but if the dude lives in Alaska, A diesel burner is much worse. For comparison, I mentioned burning charcoal, and I actually missspelled: A kg of coal emits 3 kg of CO2, so he doesn't have to cancel a barbecue, but can just use 1kg less coal (and serve more sallad) at a single barbecue, to offset the slightly higher emissions from his heater by not getting a heat pump.
Well explained. I am looking to replace an old inefficient oil burner that converted to gas. It casts a lot to heat my home in winter and I have no air conditioning in summer. A heat seems like a good idea. Also, I have a shallow layer of rich soil over a what seems to be a deep layer of sand. This maybe helpful for installation of a geothermal system.
Thanks, I love the science. Side comment- I experienced the Texas freeze and although I have nat gas at my home the heater was dead because of no electricity to power the fan as well as the control electronics. Afterwards I discovered that the entire heater part of the system only required 110V, not 220V of the A/C part, so I could have used my small generator and an extension cord to enable the heater. Lesson for next time lol.
Nearly all small gen sets pump out 220 as well as 110 and they are relatively cheap. I don’t recall seeing any of the 5000 and up Jen sets that don’t have both. The only problem that comes into play is having the plug which is usually expensive and often hard to get
I have a deep cycle lead acid battery and a small inverter that I use for the boiler's circ pumps, t'stats, and water heater exhaust fan whenever the power is out. Don't even need a generator.
Great video! Your explanation clear and simple. Great introduction video for newbies. That not a critic but a compliment. Great work you are an excellent communicator. good work.
Been using a heat pump for years in multiple homes, best way to go. One I have now works down to -22F. Where I live it only gets to say around 18-20F at the lowest. TechnologyConnections did this same video, good one to watch.
Check out Dandelion Energy, they are using closed loop bore holes 200m deep instead of ground coils. Less disruption to the surface and more consistent temperatures too make it a more efficient system. Still very expensive, but as they hone the technology the prices will come down, so keep an eye on it.
@@MrGonzonator Good to know, thanks. Recent global events have left me with far less cash flow then I'm use to, so going to have to stick with what I've got for now.
@@jeffm2787 for sure. Bore hole systems can set you back $20k... However this is exactly the kind of thing you would have thought Tesla (maybe via an offshoot of the Boring Company?!) would be really into, especially since Musk has hinted at a Tesla HVAC system.
@@MrGonzonator I'm using a 5 zone mini-split currently rated at 24.5 seer. My electric bill this winter which included heat was right around the $150 mark monthly which I was happy about. It should be less now that the weather is warming, but not too warm.
@@jeffm2787 I've just read your original post again and done the F to C conversion... -30°C! That's colder than the coldest place in the UK ever on record.
There are companies, especially in Italy, who use water instead of the big fan for the external unit. So the external unit is much smaller and can be installed below the kitchen sink.
Each country and situation will call for different solutions. In the UK we have very badly insulated houses as our climate is never too extreme. But that makes them very wasteful to heat all year round. Here the answers would be to insulate,insulate, insulate, then much lower output boilers etc could be fitted. Air heat pumps simply would not work in the majority of UK homes, we have no room- due to the density of housing, to fit the larger efficient ones, and the smaller ones simply do not have enough output during Winter to provide enough heat. I f feel in the UK that we are going down a road, due to government pressure to be fitting expensive equipment that simply will not work in our situation.
Good video Ricky (but all of yours are!), but when you said there was "one more optimization" (11:09), you took a different direction than what I was expecting. In Europe and/or Japan (IIRC), they use CO2 (R744) for the 'heat pump fluid'. And then the HP works well below freezing more efficiently. Keep up the good work!
These really work well and cheaply. I installed one for my wife's house, from my workshop. Warm in her house, cool in my work shop. Way cheaper than divorce
Many people started using stainless steel sheets to reflect sunlight onto the AC, to heat it, to defrost it and help it heat the inside. Others also use geothermal, in the form of a few meters-long (or longer) air pipes going 1-3 meters (1-3 yards, or 3-9 feet) under the ground, so in the winter they get warmer air, and in the winter they get colder air, making the AC a lot more efficient than otherwise. Some systems use a closed loop, instead of open tubes, for the geothermal. In places with strong winds, or cold temperatures, vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT) can produce enough energy to more than pay for heating your home in the winter and cool it in the summer, and many people made those from oil barrels, at home. Version for installing on central-spacing highway light poles are planned to be installed in 2022, I think. "A vertical axis wind turbine without the wind! How do they do that?" by "Just Have a Think" on youtube, for more info.
hey ricky great video but you also forgot that truly modern hvac meaning ac and heat pumps are also efficient because inverter technology on the compressor side of things the variable speed of the compressor versus the on and off cycle makes a huge difference
very good point, I didn't want to bring in the complication of variable speed compressors, but you're 100% right. I wanted this to be more about just the base heat pump. You should join our discord server, I'd love your input and insights. any interest? let me know
Good video and your information was factual and reliable. There is one point though that many don't understand, that is the balance point. Every building will come to a point where the heat being provided by the appliance is not sufficient enough to offset the loss of heat from the building to the outside environment. I live in the upper Midwest in the US. Many of us have Heat Pumps with a gas backup furnace or straight electric resistance heating. We have heat pumps that are sized to the cooling load. In a typical well built 2,000 sq ft. home the Air-conditioning size is approximately 3 tons or 36,000 btu's of cooling. That means with a a heat pump you start out with 36,000 btu's of heating also. As the temperature outside drops below the temperature inside the heat pump starts to loose efficiency below about 45 degrees Fahrenheit. You were correctly describing the defrost need and cycle. Under some conditions this is the outside temp. where that begins to happen. As the outside air temperature drops the heat pump output efficiency drops and has a harder time moving heat and the temperature loss to the outside increases. At about 32 to 20 degrees F outside air temp the heat pump capacity is no longer sufficient to offset the heat loss to the outside environment. This is the balance point where something needs to be done to offset the heat loss from the building. Added resistance heat or a backup heating system needs to take over or add capacity to offset the heat loss. A gas furnace or gas boiler can be brought online and now those can reach an efficiency rating of 93% to 97% and have the ability to have a variable output to match the load. I have designed and built Solar Thermal systems in the past that help or augment heating systems through heating a liquid to direct air space heating. The best most efficient system to heat with is a Geothermal Heat Pump system that is water to water and has Solar Thermal helping it and uses Hydronic radiant floor heating. The Electrical input is very low and the radiant heating system is very efficient and comfortable. Terminal units or fan coils and terminal heat pumps can handle zoned systems if needed.😉
You mentioned that heat pumps work best when tasked with a relatively low change in temperature. This has several implications - firstly, as a heater they will work the least well when the outside air is coldest i.e. when you need them most. Secondly, if you try to extract heat from the air outside to warm water for piped heating at 55 deg C you will see poor efficiency so it is better to reduce the temp of the circulating water but you then need really big radiators - or underfloor etc. heating.
our parents and relatives all moved from Florida to Northern Minnesota and spent over a month digging and putting things underground. We never knew why nor asked about this ( that was over the summer of 2017 ) and as their daughter, I was concerned that it was too cold for them. Last Winter, we lost power during one of those power outages and our Uncles arrived at took all of us to our parents place within 30 Minutes there of. there Houses never dropped below 58°f over those 3½ days. When I asked how they did it, all my Mom told me was Underground Heating
Good video. Nicely done. I just want to say that it would be great if every high school student had a heat pump lab as part of their science coursework. Whether in high school physics, or general hs science. Coupling videos & textbook explanations like your vid with hands-on physical models, where students could actually measure temperatures, pressures, and observe phases (gas, liquid) in the different parts of a heat pump would be so helpful in solidifying the concepts. I was taught this material (from textbook) in hs chemistry & physics, then again in college chem & physics, including an upper-level thermodynamics course. Yet even as a chem major, I found it sometimes challenging to translate the thermodynamic principles, diagrams, etc., to a working understanding. I know vocational schools have working model heat pumps with real refrigerant. I wonder if there are models out there that are more appropriate for high school labs, i.e. that don’t require HCFCs (not as bad as CFCs, but still not good if leaked) or NH3 (incredibly noxious if leaked).
You're never getting it George. Your government is deciding that your electricity isn't expensive enough, and are writing laws requiring you to use expensive electricity produced by expensive means.
we just had geothermal heating installed at our house 10 months ago but instead of doing the coiling in the garden, in the faroe islands, we drill a hole in the ground. in our case a nearly 900 feet in the ground. the brine in varies from 7 to 11 centigrades, and we usually keep our house around 18-21 centigrades depending if we are at home (smart home controlled). the out side in the winter user becomes around -2'ish centigrades. a warm month her is around 8kwh a day, and a cold is around 20kwh. taken in to account we are remodelling the house, so it is a bit lacking in the isolation department so far...
Thanks for your explanation of the refrigeration cycle. It’s a cool piece of physics that we use without thought on a daily basis. When it comes to heating and cooling our homes it really does feel like “money for old rope”. It seems to me that with a few added components our air conditioners could also be our heaters. I know that already exists, but they could be a lot more popular.
I know this comment is 5 months old, but what we call heat pumps are both Heat and AC capable, that being said, in winter when it gets even below freezing, it CAN take the chill off, but you better not rely on it for your only heat source. The AC is amazing. Heat can be ok but to me, a nice Wood stove gives amazing heat comfy heat anyways. But yeah i don't think many people have just heat pumps with that being the only function. (where i live)
I absoutley loved this video. Heat pumps (especially mini split technology) are 100% the heating and cooling solution of the future as we head towards 0 carbon emissions. On top of that with mini split tech, you get ultimate zoned comfort with the ability to heat or cool no matter what it looks like outside. With that being said, I have to correct you on a few things. I'm sure this has been said already but I figured I'd throw it in. Electric heat is 100% efficient at producing heat energy and gas furnaces are 80% efficient at a minimum and the newest high efficiency models are at 99%.
Practical limit for heatpump capacity is break even with the secondary heat source. For natural gas it's around 20F and for propane it's below 0F but it takes an extra big compressor that might not be practical. Inverter duty required when the heat load is bigger than the cooling load. Edit: ice build up can be the limit for low operating temperature.
When it's time for an upgrade/replacement you 'll be happy with Mitsubishi Hyper Heat units are efficient at 13 deg F / -10C and are functional without backup heat to 0 deg F
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Very helpful. Thx!
I have a sanden heat pump hotwater system, installed mid winter in Melbourne Australia, it took 3.5 hours to heat a completely cold 250 Lt tank using 1.1kw per hour. In mid summer it can only take 35 minutes after a day's use by my wife and I, but our daughter hour long showers can make it run longer.
Clickbait sucks, bye. Not watching.
I’m subscribing. Why you ask?
Because I did fall asleep. My eye lids didn’t even get heavy👍
12:00 label is wrong
Great You Tube video with simple explanations that can be followed. Back in 1976 I moved into my first property, a Victorian flat (apartment). There was a sealed cast iron tank around 12 by 12 by 24 inches buried in the upper part of the chimney. Heat from a coal fire would provide hot water there was no pump simply due to the convection effect of having 2 inch diameter pipes. There was no thermostat either presumably it was not too close to the actual flames to overheat the water. It was fed from a riveted zinc water tank that had an open top end to allow for any pressure build up. No moving parts, no need for electricity or physical controls anywhere, Victorian Geniius!
Simple, practical example of commonsense and observation (of what worked and didn't !)
That is from a time when flue gases could exceed 1000 degrees. Today even what is left of chimney venting devices flue gases will not exceed 350 degrees. When you oxidize a hydrocarbon (burn fuel) you create water and co2. In old equipment you could not let this exhaust drop to the point of condensation as the water you created was acidic from the co2 and would eat away the chimney,so high exhaust temps were needed. Modern equipment no longer uses chimneys as they vent through the wall with pvc. The flue gasses are encouraged to condense in order to pick up that latent heat that he describes in the video thus eliminating chimneys and bringing the efficiency of modern boilers up to 96%. A similar idea was used on wood stoves, someone got the bright idea to put an exchanger with a fan on the smokepipe of an indoor wood stove, big Mother earth news thing lol. This caused the flue gases to condense, create creosote and numerous homes burned down from chimney fires.
The simple fact of the matter is most houses/ buildings across the entire world are in desperate need of a better exterior building envelope, i.e. insulated windows, VASTLY more insulation and better air sealing. This will DRASTICALLY increase the efficiency of ANY heating/cooling system. Also, proper building practices such as only having ductwork in the conditioned space rather than in the attic or crawlspace will help as well!
Also building with Passive Solar energy principles.
Yeah, real modern properly built houses cools & heats themselves. Just thru proper insulation and ventilation, reduces energy drastically for heating & cooling
@@Monno15 Earthships.
No electricity needed just passive solar.
the hard part on the removing ducting from the crawlspace/attic is convincing the homeowners to put the duct where it is visible. Most people don't like the look of the duct nor do they want a chase to protrude from the corner of the ceiling/wall .
@@mattdawson630 some houses you wouldn't be able to walk in the room without ducking if you did that.
HVAC Contractor here... Thank you for putting out this information for people. I think it's great. One thing I'd add is we actually have natural gas furnaces that are well over 90% efficient. They have a secondary heat exchanger that recycles the flu gas to pull more heat out of it. The end product is condensate and very little heat loss. If these systems are installed properly they can be great. Thanks again
all fun and games until a jack leg puts one in the attic without insulating it and you have to come in behind him and tell the customer their secondary heat exchanger is cracked
@@mattdawson630 Hahaha! True. Any system is only as good as the person who sizes it and installs it. Unfortunately there are jack legs everywhere...lol. Retired 41 years in HVACR. Residential-Industrial.
Hey, have you heard of the MR. Cool heat pumps? If so, do you think they're better than the usual brands? My heat pump (Rudd) just can't keep up when the outside temp is below 40.
That's a generator rather then a pump surely, you'll never get over 100% with a generator/converter but pumps can exceed 100 easily!
All fun and games until you realise that you are fucking up the planet from burning fossil fuels. But muricans sadly don't understand that.
Good vid, thanks.
I'm here to say we've been on a 3 ton geothermal system (forced air) for ten years in Upstate NY, USA and it's been great, and probably the best investment I've made in our home. Only thing lacking is the ducting for the house that looks like it was done by 5th graders; an ongoing work-in-progress to patch it up, find blockages and breaks.
Anyway we recycled the air circulator from the air-source heat pump we inherited, and replaced it with a ground source heat pump and a couple underground runs of something like PEX. Air is always comfortable (68F heated and 74F air conditioned) regardless the outside temps, which could be anywhere between -15F to 100F. And it makes all the noise of a modern refrigerator, but in the basement.
2 story??
@@michaelstarkey9745 yes
@@fruitsyfarms5115 ??
Love your take on topics regarding EVs and renewable energy. We downsized in 2012 to smaller home, eliminated the new natural gas Furnace/Water Heater, and replaced both with electric heat pump and heat pump water heater. We have never regretted that decision. We also added 13.2 kWh solar PV system complemented with two PW2's in 2018, which enable us to operate independent of grid for ~9 months of the year in Edmonds, WA. We also produced 350% of our electricity needs for all electric home last year, which included charging two Tesla's (MS and M3), and exported >50% of our excess electricity back to grid.
wow David that's amazing! 13.2kW solar system! I'm Jealous, I have less than half that, but always want to upgrade ;) congrats on such a renewable and sustainable living arrangement!
thats great but how much did all that cost
@@guguigugu never mind the relevant question, I'm pretty sure you'll never ask the same question when anyone is presenting his shiny 6 cylinder truck or noisy Harley
All good and clever my dear, but you say nothing about the cost ,maintenance and lifetime of all these.( I believe it is between 10 to 15 years).
@@nicoschadjidemetriou4373 belief isn't knowledge!
At least 20 years and very often +30 years is KNOWN as production time.
But why care about long and widely known facts, when you have an agenda...
My father worked on refrigeration systems for dairy farms as a sideline while I was growing up, so I've known about heat pumps systems since I was about 6. I also learned about Geothermal from a Mother Earth News article in the 70's. So I knew all about all of this before I clicked. Got to say you did an excellent job presenting this material! Apparently the efficiencies have changed. We always used to say, " put in 1 unit of energy and draw out 3 units of heat" (or negative heat as the case may be). I suspect the efficiency increase has a lot to do with both more efficient compressors along with the interface between the heat exchange materials.
Even though I came into this video with a thorough understanding of the subject matter, you STILL kept my interest AND taught me something along the way! Well done Maestro!
We got a mini-split a couple of years ago and really like it and our bills! And now I know how it works, thanks Ricky!
Right on!
Yeah the smaller Split units (Heat pumps with sometimes having electric heating backup) ones, (as cooling size goes up the BTU rating, the SEER seasonal energy efficiency rating goes down) can go as high as 40 SEER compared to regular central ac units (non heat pumps) that usually can get up to about 20 SEER at the most
I've been an HVAC/R technician and educator for 29 years, and this is the best non technical explanation of the refrigerant cycle and heat pumps I've ever seen on RUclips, good job!
Re. back up sources of heat, I've got an inverter driven variable capacity heat pump backed up by a multistage gas furnace.
The furnace is cheaper to operate here in Texas, but the variable capacity heat pump is more comfortable heat delivery in our mild winters. The furnace is good for especially cold weathers, and since I can supply its electrical needs with just a small 500w generator, is handy during a power outage.
Amusingly, I was completely prepared for loosing power during the big freeze, but never did.
Because I work in the industry, a couple of corrections. You mentioned that gas fired furnaces are about 70% efficient. Gas fired furnaces that have a standing pilot light were 70% efficient and they aren't even manufactured today because they don't meet today's efficiency standards. Also, the furnace that you did show at 12:44 is a high efficiency furnace, looks like a Lennox model EL296, and is extremely efficient. Notice the pvc flue? By the time the combustion gases reach the flue they are cool enough to vent through pvc rather than double wall metal that still gets very hot on 80% efficient furnaces. Another issue. Most clients that I have that were accustomed to a gas fired furnace are sorely disappointed with the performance of heat pumps unless they have auxiliary heat strips and a thermostat that can be programmed for comfort, meaning the heat strips will be energized quickly to assist the heat pump but the system does cost more to operate. The big reason for the disappointment is that furnaces blow hot air and heat pumps blow warm air. Therefor, when it's cold, heat pumps will have very long run times while a gas furnace will cycle on and off due to it's ability to quickly satisfy a thermostat. Heat pumps and mini splits do have situations that are appropriate like a small addition to the house such as a sun room, basement or in-law suite. However, heat pumps also have other drawbacks such as more electrical and refrigerant cycle components to fail.
Bill, Don't garbage it up with facts! LOL tell them what your hourly rate is to replace a compressor on a 10 degree day. TXV's on the outdoor unit, defrost times when it is snowing.
@@anthonyspadafora1384 No kidding. $44.10/quarter hr. for planned maintenance customers. Better hope it dies in the first year while it's still under parts and labor warranty but that's very rare. I'll go as quickly as I can to do it properly but I refuse to do a rush job and look bad.
@@bill944 Oh I hear ya, then with the POE oil being so hygroscopic makes it just about impossible with snow on the ground. I've been doing this for 40 years and now at 60 I just tell them to turn on the backup coils and call me in the spring lol Then when they get that next bill the tears begin to fall. A nice condensing gas boiler and floor heat. Quiet , dependable and very efficient. It really is a shame, all this nonsense and if they really wanted to conserve some energy they could start with a small exchanger after the compressor on the a/c and throw the damn heat into a domestic water tank. Basically you would get free hot water all summer long and increase your subcooling but they cant even do that but they fill everyones head with these super whacked out ideas that will never work in the real world.
Lots of cellulose attic insulation is a huge energy saver. It won't burn. Bugs can't live in it. Helps keep out noise. Works in walls.
As a refrigeration mechanic this takes me back 37 years to tech school 😊
Thank you Ricky. Also thank you Michael Faraday for first noticing and recording the refrigeration cycle. I think the fluid he had was ammonia. He didn't drop everything and start an air conditioning or refrigerator business though. He simply wrote that this could be useful in future as a refrigeration system and moved on to study the next interesting thing.
Thats always the path for great minds - the idea itself is the reward; not whatever 'the market' desires from it
Sometimes also the discovery needs more years/decades/centuries to have a practical application
Heating your house to 76ºF and you are still wearing a jacket? I cracked up laughing at you when you tripped on the corner of the rug and your popcorn went flying! I am so sorry, but you did a fantastic dramatic opening scene to this video.
you have to have some fun with it!
Your video is really confusing to anyone unfamiliar with basic A/C science ~100 years old, which is most of us: tragic fail.
@@TwoBitDaVinci not everyone rich spend alot , install it. government fail too give rebates help them too get too install faster then cheaper . blame the government fail. so say goverment give rebate 40% then yes American's do way faster. same with ev government give 15k instant rebate then ev flying of the sales floor . same with solarwith batterry if government say 50 % instant rebate then american install LIKE CRAZY.
@@hillbillyintheasia6122 no. The government needs to stay out of it.
Are you a teacher because this is some of the best teaching I’ve ever heard clearly understood a relatively complex system. Thank you!
Wow, thank you! I've always loved teachers and teaching, but no never professionally. thank you sir!
@@TwoBitDaVinci you are a teacher in my book. Thank you and keep up the great lessons
Your science humor is on point. ✌️
This is n excellent video... lesson. I’m an architect / contractor, and well understood this subject, but I have never seen it presented so clearly and insightfully! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this clip, heat pumps are pretty much a step in the path to a more environmental friendly world, we (living i Sweden) have had a Geothermal pump since 2008- it was soo nice to trow that stinky oil cooker away, and put a nice silence high- tech thing, that looked just like another fridge in the house. We have two 100 m holes (330 feet) and a 9 KW pump. The very nice thing with this is that in the summer we are reusing the flow of Brine which goes into the holes (a alcohol/water mixture, that doesn't freeze in temperatures over -40° C, in our case) - meaning we just pump it through our fan enhanced radiators, getting could air for (almost) nothing, the brine is never warmer than 13°C, meaning that the radiator deliver that temperature(in ideal circumstances), the circulation pump is 4W and the radiators fans are somewhere around 1W/radiator... meaning pretty cheap cooling.... And we put some energy down into the holes for next winter.... Love it!
Have your Swedish Nibe heat pump with cooling option. Works just wonderful!!! Cooling is not so effective as air conditioner but still makes difference (max 7 C). Heating? Living in almost passive house with solar power plant on the roof - 0$ bills. Thank you my European neighbors :)
Heat pumps are still using refrigerant that's not environmentally friendly...
All these environmentally friendly devices have their downsides in using up resources and creating waste. There is no magic wand or perfect answer that will suit all countries and conditions. People must be left to choose what is best for them, not be forced into paying for expensive equipment which may not be efficient in their situation and cost them more to run. For we cannot put people in debt or poverty just to satisfy our own environmental conscience.
Gas boilers and petrol cars may be the best for some people. Governments have no right to dictate what we may buy or use because of some imagined future scenario. The Earth is a volatile entity and is changing all the time including the weather, and this has always been. For what melted the ice ages when there was no industrialisation around? Most of what we are being told by ‘experts’ is only speculation and guesswork at the very best - and I am not a ‘denier’, far from it. I am concerned as anyone about pollution and the degradation of the natural world . But many of the ‘solutions’ put forward by the so-called experts are deeply flawed and create waste and pollution, and also use up massive natural resources.
‘Balance’ is what is required, there is no need to panic.
@@petercollins7848 : A bail of strAW dipped in fire retardant and used as a building block on the outside of your house will turn your house into a place where you can HEAT it with a candle in cool IT with an ice cube !!
This is not a joke , this is been out for as long as I can read , I am almost 60 now … ( local building cO DES are not For this , ect ect Ect ect ect ect)
As an engineering technician, and general JOAT, Excellent presentation! Very credible information!
Another great video. I will be hitting the like button fairly often on your content. I might have to advocate for this channel within my pool of family and friends so that you get the views and the likes your content deserves.
My personal experience with home heating is you cannot beat natural gas floor heating. They have outlawed floor and wall furnaces because they use fossil fuels, but you don't have to use electricity to warm your house which is way more efficient than a heat pump. Air Conditioner condensers runs on 240 volts AC which use way to much energy and the exchange unit also runs on 240 volt AC, which uses way to much electricity to heat a home. Gravity fed gas heaters are the most efficient way to heat and it does-not require electricity.
I'm almost as obsessed with heat pumps as Technology Connections
Nice work 2bit.
You just earned another subscription.
Appreciate the great analysis/explanation. Thanks from jeff-off grid in the USVI
What’s the USV? Love the off the grid life! Glad to hear it Jeff, I’d love to hear about your setup!
I think a lot of people won't appreciate this video... but I do! Thank-you for this most excellent in-depth.
Heat pumps are known by a much cooler name in Australia: Reverse-cycle air conditioners.
So is that all this is about is a heat pump?
Refrigeration uses a heat pump. Air conditioning uses a heat pump. Run it one way and you get cooling. Run it the other way and you get heating.
@@Dave5843-d9m yep that sums it up...and any heat pump and coil can be used for Thermal coefficient molecular attention... including Soundwaves..at the right decibels
LOL... yep, rolls right off the tongue...
@@666dynomax Furthermore Hayton Upton alak chuba in the medical clear canuten Val's client with the gibbous rod and huddle fitted out alabandata Hampton untin each spine iron valden filter
If you still have power (some type of bypass from grid power to a small "jackery" battery type product )to trigger the ignitor on a boiler/steam radiator system (no forced air) even if you lost grid power you'd only have to have enough battery power to run the thermostat and the ignitor until you got your power back. (or maybe use a generator for the same purpose).
cant remember the last time we lost power
Hi out there, the heating pump which I use at home has coefficient 7,6 (760%) efficiency and its working since 2009 :) it’s water/ground system, where are just two circuits one for freon and other for water. Freon circulates around the garden and water circulates on the flour. :)
That's impressive. Have you measured the COP?
My air to water heatpump has been running since 2008 without fail.
It handles down to -25C (-13F)
is it for a walk in freezer or are you mr freeze from batman
As someone who does HVAC and has installed mini splits. They are quiet, efficient and work amazingly.
Do you know models that I can find in Europe please?
@@Ayman-YAM google it.
Natural gas/ Propane furnaces sold in the US today for home heating have between 80-96% efficiency. I have installed only 90+% efficient furnaces for over 2 decades. I usually also install a heat pump with them so they can utilize the least expensive fuel available at the time. Looks like you have a great channel.
lol the problem with furnaces is that the METAL DUCTS lose the heat, even if it's insulated- unless it's only inside the house. mine is under the bottom floor without any basement. EXTREMELY INEFFICIENT. i just plug in some portable electric heaters. the electric bill is much lower than the natural gas.
In the UK, they keep pushing heat pumps to heat your home. Trouble is, it costs an absolute fortune to run.
Viessmann also has an ice storage system, extracting heat from water stored in a tank in the garden. This setup is as efficient as geothermal but cheaper. It has the advantage that it can also store heat from thermal solarpanels.
Would it be possible to connect with you? We have a propane heating system and it just awfully expensive.
Tanked systems like that are super efficient if you have the space and control them properly. I have designed a few for commercial sites and the savings are enough to get a payback period of around 4-5 years with pure savings for 15-20 years after that. The system works even better if heating and cooling are required at the same time in different locations and condenser heat is dumped into the store.
VRF systems give a limited version of the same functionality at a much lower price where budget is a major issue.
Thanks for this overview!
I’m in an earth sheltered home with a heat pump plus have electric heat strip option in that system.
Regarding natural gas furnaces not being able to have an HVAC blower during an electrical power outage, Honda solved that problem when they developed a natural gas reformer/hydrogen fuel cell module in the 1990’s. It can strip hydrogen from the inbound natural gas and then run it through the fuel cell to generate electricity. While Honda has a large system powering their Torrence, CA headquarters, they also developed a miniaturized version for Trane natural gas furnaces so that the HVAC blower fan can still operate in the event of an electrical power outage (as long as natural gas is still flowing into the unit,) while also allowing natural gas for the burner simultaneously. Not sure if this is still offered by Trane, but it was really innovative. Natural gas is not available in the remote area where I live in or I would have purchased the Trane system. When my current system fails, I intend to go with a split system.
It would be so cool if such a system were made for biogas (which I think offhand is predominantly methane, could be wrong)
Finally someone not afraid to talk to kids about the evils of the refrigeration cycle!!!
amen brother! hahaha
Well, you're actually embracing the refrigeration cycle. You're just reversing it for the heating season. In summer, you're rejecting heat into the warm outside air to cool the indoor air. In the winter, you're rejecting heat into the indoor air to cool the outdoor air (or, for geothermal, you're heating and cooling earth instead of outdoor air).
Point being: it's the vapor compression cycle being used for both heating and cooling (which it always is anyway).
And you're not getting "500%" efficiency. Not even close. That's just a shell game you're playing because you're disregarding the heat being "stolen" from the outdoor air (or soil) by heating it up for cooling and cooling it off for heating.
Big problem, of course, is in cold climates you're stuck having to go with geothermal because the air is too cold to try to cool to get heat from. In reality, in most climates, you'll still need to supplement in the winter time with resistance heaters or combustion of fuels because the availability of energy is just too low for high quality heat.
I'm going to wait for ultra high efficiency thermoelectric heat pumps. No moving parts, same high level heat pump principles, and much more friendly to DC, low voltage sources like photovoltaics. No damned motors and coils and compressors and refrigerants and such.
It's a couple of decades down the road, but it's coming. Then, kiss your R-whatever number chemicals goodbye for good! 👍
HUH?
@@mc2engineeringprof Are you high?
@@mc2engineeringprof Gas fired refrigerators are surprisingly efficient but they do use the refrigeration cycle. A small heater evaporates ammonia. This loops over to the condenser wher it’s cooled. Liquid ammonia takes up 100th of the space so creates a suction evaporating ammonia in the cold boil gives the cooling.
We talked about heat pumps in my thermal mechanics class and how they work. The issue of them is depending on their environments temperature will affect on how effect it can be. like how -30 C you still may want a furnace to keep the house warm, but you may not need to run it as nearly as long.
I actually enjoyed this video a lot! Thank you.
Nearly every home in America has a heat pump, it is called the refrigerator. :)
We are currently building a home with a geothermal heat pump (had them in our last home as well). The main reason for us is not the efficiency, but the lack of outdoor noise. We are on a river with the wonderful white noise from the water flowing. The last thing we want is outdoor heat pump fans turning on and off. The geothermal unit will be in a sound deadened utility room. We do not have access to natural gas, only propane, which in our area is about a wash compared to electricity when it comes to the price per therm.
Enjoyed your video!
Heatpump.
Most underappreciated invention ever.
I often day dream of having a heat pump power plant in which the heat concentrated by the heat pump in a tropical area or hot desert is used for generate electricity part of which is used for running the power plant in a sustaining manner while liquid air is produced to be use for air-conditioning and for powering vehicles that run on liquid air.
@@simon6071 A heat pump moves heat around. It can never generate more electricity than it uses.
@@nielsunnerup7099 You have a wrong idea about heat pumps. You obviously have no idea that a heat pump can create useful heat more than the amount of heat that can be produced by passing the same amount of electricity used by the heat pump to a heating element. In other words, the useful heat produced by a heat pump can be greater than 100 % of the heat produced by a heating element of 100% efficiency using the same amount of electricity.
It is not against the law of physics. The heat above the 100% created by the heat pump comes not from the electricity but from the latent heat of air. That's why cool or cold air is created during the operation of a heat pump. If the heat above the 100% is used for generating electricity, then we have more electricity than we put in.
If you use a blow torch to heat up and light up a large piece of wood, the large piece of wood will release more heat than the blow torch had release. That is not against the law of physics either because the extra heat comes from the wood not from the blow torch.
In fact the sleeping prophet Edgar Cayce had predicted that there will be a liquid air economy in the future in which engines and some vehicles are powered by liquid air that expands when it absorb heat from the surroundings.
I believe the liquid air economy will be possible with the use of powerful heat pumps possibly aided by solar power. The liquid air economy will have a beneficial effect in balancing the heat on earth even though I don't believe there is a problem of catastrophic global warming.
If there is going to be a global warming problem, the liquid air economy will be a perfect solution because heat in the air is concentrated for heating and generation of electricity while the liquid air, a by-product produced, stored in carbon fiber tanks will be useful for air-conditioning and for powering air-engines in hot areas.
I hope you are able to understand what I talked about. If you don't, it's no problem because the aim of my comment is for people who do understand what I talked about, such as the people who gave likes to my previous post.
@@simon6071 But you see, I'm a prophet too. You must trust my word that this Edgar was a false prophet and that the clever phycisists knew what they were talking about when they described the law of thermodynamics.
@@nielsunnerup7099 Now I tell tell that you are just an ignoramus who knows neither scientific matters nor the spiritual matters.
GOOGLE: why can a heat pump produce more heat energy than it consumes
"Heat pumps can seemingly defy the laws of thermodynamics, because they can deliver much more than one unit of heat (or cooling) per unit of electrical energy consumed. This is because they are extracting heat from around the evaporator and dumping heat to the environment around the condenser."
GOOGLE: How can a heat pump be more than 100 efficient?
"By contrast, heat pumps seemingly undertake the impossible: you get more heating out than the energy you put in. This is possible because we are using energy to move heat - rather than converting the energy directly to heat. As a result the apparent efficiency in terms of heat output is greater than 100%."
VIDEO: Edgar Cayce Documentary
You are an abomination to false accuse Edgar Cayce of being a false prophet without even attempt to learn about who he was, his amazing healing power and his accurate predictions.
The light from the resistive heater still ends up as heat in the house. Only the tiny bit of heater coil light that escapes a window would be lost.
The other light will be scattered and absorbed in the house as heat
I never knew that boiling had anything to do with pressure... Thanks for teaching me something new bud!
Really? How did you think steam trains work? Or nuclear power stations work.
@@BigRed-MWA Well... When water becomes steam it expands at a ratio of about 40:1 and that massive expansion can be utilized for driving pistons and turbines. But I was interested in how the boiling point changes due to pressure. That happens before the process that you mentioned.
@@carsonc1272 true that, will never forget how impressed I was when our physics teacher applied vacuum to water at room temp and boiled it.
The boiling point of water on Everest is less than 100 degrees. Makes terrible tea.
@@alainmcin Thank you, I remembered that wrong.
It ain't over 100% eff but the conversation ratio is higher & you explained really great. Had great time
Thank you!
Nicely done! When learning Boyle’s Law in school it’s application to heating and cooling was a revelation to me. You combined it with the basic mechanics well without confusing details. Really well done. Continuing in thermoD applied to everyday home life?
Your speaking, attitude and production quality is great. I hope you can grow further especially as there are plenty out there who don't present information as clearly or well as yourself
Well based ground-source heat pump is the ultimate solution. Difficult to implement, but absolutely the most efficient and most eco-friendly solution.
I have to disagree here. If you take lifespan en costs into consideration, then the attractiveness quickly dissappears. Also you will have to do some very serious insulation to your home/building before a ground based heatpump becomes a viable option.
@@bm5994 what are you currently using heating?
@@atnstn using a High Efficiency Boiler that runs on natural gas. This is used for hot tapwater and heating the house. Upstairs heating is combined with an ac unit that can cool and heat. Living in a house from 1935 in Europe btw.
@@bm5994 11 years now on a ground source heat pump and I can only but rave about it. Granted we have a modern home (~35yo) that's well-insulated and being well-insulated was part of the criteria for NYSERDA qualification. The house is also all electric so we really benefited financially. But I can see that the energy needed to do what an older air-source heatpump struggled with is a fraction. Our electric bills have been cut in half since we bought the place (also due to other measures, like LED bulbs, updated appliances, etc.)
An added benefit is that electric rates have been far more stable over the past ten years than fossil fuel prices. They've risen, but not like the rollercoaster ride that are gas and oil pricing.
@@bm5994 I think you might be focusing on ground-to-water heat pumps. Ground-to-air is an option even if insulation isn't top grade, and it's highly efficient. Water based heat pumps are pushed hard in the UK through grants etc and air to air or ground to air are largely ignored by agencies tasked with energy management, grant distribution etc. This may be because air based systems can be used for cooling and a cooling energy load in Summer would bugger up the government's rosy picture of progress towards targets for reductions in CO2 production.
Had my heat pump for three years, loved it so far.
I got it because I failed to get my wood that year. To buy wood would've cost $1000 at least.
The pump only cost $4000 installed and only $80 a month to operate, even at minus thirty!!🥶 The temperature my system is rated for.
Was thinking of getting a second one for the basement, it's good as a dehumidifier also!!😁👍🇨🇦
I approve of heat pumps !
Very nicely done. For us engineers it makes sense but explaining it to non-engineers is very hard. You did so very well!
Thank you Roberto!
Hi Roberto please my coment above
"What if I told you there was a type of heater, that breaks the laws of physics?"
I would say that immediately do not trust anything else you say after saying that BS.
What about when the outside temp is below -5 deg c?????? what is the efficiency then ??? virtually sod all
completely wrong on electric car efficiency,,,couldn't watch anymore.
@@ianship5058 Roughly 2-3 times the efficiency per-watt of a resistive heater. I think they equal out at around negative 60 or 70 degrees in Celsius.
@@ScarletFlames1 not at minus 5 degrees they aren't you are talking rubbish. What qualifications do you have in thermo dynamics ? Before you ask me I am a retired refrigeration engineer ,technical Director and consultant I was involved with the design and installation of heat pumps as far as back as the 1970s till I retired in 2013 and have worked for one of the worlds largest manufacturers so I do know little bit about it.
What a shame with that attitude nothing would have been discovered including the laws of physics, oh and man can't fly either
Great video and info, thanks! I’m in Texas and the mega freeze last year is exactly why I’ll never own an all-electric house (although 100% of local new construction houses don’t have gas)! We at least had our gas fireplaces and gas water heaters (until they shut off our water too)! I’m currently shopping for a generator!
You learned what we living in Northern NY always knew.. You always need 2 ways to at least minimally heat the house to a point where the pipes can’t freeze. One of them has to be not dependent on electricity.. The best last ditch method I know of is a good old unvented propane radiant rig that’s adjustable and sits right on top of a 20 lb barbecue bottle. Mine is 10-40000BTU. Add a cheap Battery powered digital CO alarm and you’re in business. We have a portable Generator as well always stocked with under 6 month old gas.
We managed well enough through 11 days of February ice storm in 1998. I was working at US Customs on the night shift during that time . The tales I heard from people coming out of Montreal every night scrounging for generators, gas and goods were pretty ugly. Lots of burning porches and furniture for heat , sleeping stuffed in closets ect. Plenty of thievery too running generators in particular. . One thing for sure. It’s better to live in the country when things go to crap like that.
We have heated out home north of Winnipeg, MB with a ground source heat pump since 1995. Expensive at installation time, but paid off several times over.
Well water washing is the schniz in Florida
Their was a heater out 30 years ago that worked on the pressure cooker type. It was very energy efficient, but the company was bought out buy one of the big guys. It still operates under the same name but they did away with the tech and started making resistive heaters.
I'm starting to explore geothermal heat pumps and your excellent presentation has gone a long way in helping me grasp the concept. Keep up the good work!!
Great Video Ricky! Coming from texas, we will do anything here to never have that freeze again!!
I'm in Austin, it got down to 2°. My Apt's heat pump worked fine the whole time. Pretty damn cool.
Thanks for making this video. I am deciding between a heat pump vs gas furnace. Thank you for your calculation. Looking the PG&E (California) rates it was $2.07 to run a gas furnace and $8.79 for electric heat pump furnace when looking therms to kWh. Gas is so much cheaper. But the kicker that you stated a gas furnaces still needs electricity to run the blower. So I don't feel so bad since I am getting solar panels with battery backup. My AC and blower can run off the PV, and then go with the cheaper gas furnace, not net-zero emissions, but I think its the best hybrid setup when crunching the financial numbers.
I don't think your calculations account for the heat pump's COP. A heat pump with say 24kW output will have an input of 6-10kW. A gas condensing boiler with 24kW output will have around 24kW input, so even though gas is much cheaper per kWh the heat pump and the boiler will cost around the same to run, averaged over the year. Depending on your local climate the heat pump may end up being marginally cheaper.
This video is a great explanation of the refrigeration cycles and heat pumps! I've been explaining this crap for years in the HVAC industry and now have a video I can tell and trust interns or new tradesmen to watch. Great job Ricky! Thanks for making this so easy to understand.
Great to hear super honored to hear you say that!
Surely anyone in the hvac industry would know this stuff as basic 1st year apprentice schooling ??
@@spinnymathingy3149 you would be surprised. We hire intern mechanical engineers who are learning a wide spectrum of mechanical knowledge. Also this industry is a high retirement industry. It's hard to find good help so we higher based on work ethic over knowledge. It's easy to teach someone who wants to learn but hard to find someone willing to put in the time.
@@AK8BLANK , I fully agree regarding finding suitable apprentices, I’m in the industry too and feel your pain. My previous comment was referring to basic 1st year apprentice hvac trade schooling, here in Australia 🇦🇺 this stuff is the first principals that are taught
Bro... thanks for that. You made it fairly easy to understand
Glad to hear that!
Really wanted a geothermal heat pump when my home was built. Unfortunately the ROI just wasn't there because the added cost of putting in the ground coils was so high. It's a great idea though and I'm glad you included it in this video.
Check out Dandelion Energy, they are using closed loop bore holes 200m deep instead of ground coils. Less disruption to the surface and more consistent temperatures too make it a more efficient system.
Still very expensive, but as they hone the technology the prices will come down, so keep an eye on it.
@@MrGonzonator Yeah much like solar initially was, there just is no real ROI unless there are huge rebates from the government, just doesn't make sense and you might as well use the air for your heat pump at that point.
That said I really don't see how the price will come down terribly much, unless a lot more people do it then there's competition involved, and it's doubtful there will be a huge surge in geothermal installations to warrant lots of people doing it. The technology isn't going to really change, you dig a hole in the same fashion that you dig any hole that's deep, and stuff something down that hole. One might say once the equipment side is paid off they can finally offer their service for a cheaper cost but that's just not going to happen, because now their company is making more profit.
@@Mike__B two words.
Boring Company.
@@MrGonzonator Yes those are two words, I fail to see how they are relevant to this.
It is good your area allows geo. Some communities do not allow holes drilled that may disrupt ground water lest water wells are contaminated.
Excellent presentation, production is great and the simple clear analogies make sense - great job
Thank you sir!
Title: "This Heating Tech Breaks the Laws of Pysics"
Content: "Why heat pumps don't break the laws of physics"
content good. title bad
Mine crypto with your video card, get paid to heat your house.
Electricity = money = crypto. Input - output equals a positive, therefore perpetual energy. 🤔
Q.E.D.
It's called "clickbait". It's used to get stupid people to watch your videos.
If you watched the video, it worked.
@@JohnSmith-qn3ob "stupid people" would think it does break the laws of physics.
@@JohnSmith-qn3ob I see you watched the video. Welcome to Stupidville. We are really nice here.
@@aaronmcdaniel7768 You see I watched the video? How did you see that? Fun fact: I didn't watch the video.
Well, if you're not a paid educator or in publicity, you should be. Excellent all around. Graphics, humor, technical quality, presentation--all good. I learned and refreshed a lot.
I'm heating my home with an air to water heatpump for some years now. It works more than just fine and in summary it even uses less electricity than my old oil burner before had to invest in heating the oil, transporting it from the tank to the burner, running its old control unit and running the circulating pumps.
Aren't those systems very expensive? I had a $40k quote to replace such a system in a house that I wanted to buy.
@@eugeniustheodidactus8890 in terms of heat pumps follow the same principles as Tesla does: keep it simple. Here in Austria I have a 5kW Panasonic Aquarea WHMDC05H3E5 monobloc heat pump installed outside my house and it cost me around $3k and another $1k for installation (around 3,5k Euro). I can't speak for the US, but I'm pretty sure you could get a Panasonic heat pump over there as well.
Julia Engel You forget that the average American favours a ridiculously large, poorly constructed and badly insulated house though! Your heat requirements can be met by a sensibly sized and affordable heat pump. The average US home probably uses (wastes!) three of four times the amount of heat that you do, hence the crazy prices they are always quoting- their installers are all quoting for massive systems three of four times the output that would be needed if they built their homes properly!
@@spencerwilton5831 In fact I did not forget that, I just did not mention it. This is a problem that needs to be solved, but thanks to the larger buildings they have larger roofs for solar. Batteries are becoming cheaper nearly every day so they could get themselves a Tesla solar roof and a Tesla powerwall. Or maybe two of these, they are stackable. :)
Excellent video, one pedantic point, the compressor in the heat pump does create some heat, but mostly it is just moving heat.
Actually the heat of compression is fairly sizable. Especially in water source heat pumps.
The combined use of a heatpump and a real wood burning stove is neat for Sweden. ;)
Good to have a stove when cold snaps occur.
😷 feel sorry for the neighbours when the wood stove gets fired up
We burn wood here in Pa outside Philly. The stove are efficient and smell good. I like the smell of woood.
When doing quantitative thermodynamic efficiency calculations on a system, it is necessary to define a “Control Volume”, which has to include all sources of energy flow in and out of the system. The sum of those has to be zero. So if the heat exchange with the outside environment is omitted, the “efficiency” can exceed 100%, but should be called something other than “efficiency”, for example effectiveness.
Another great video, Ricky! I only have one side note: You say that heat pumps do not create heat 13:45. This is not entirely true, running the compressor actually does add some heat. The coefficient of performance actually combines 1 unit of heat provided by the heat generated in the compressor with 4 units of heat from the outside, adding up to a coefficient of performance of 5. So some heat is generated, but the heat being moved far exceeds the heat being generated. As you'll always have the heat from the compressor, COP actually cannot drop below 1 (as long as you are ignoring losses (e.g. defrosting) of course)
That works for you when in heating mode, but against you in refrigeration mode.
Excellent video sir! Here in the State of Washington (King County) where we have winter wind storms that blow down trees into our power lines and we lose power, I have a gas furnace and gas water heater (CHEAP to operate!) but I have a generator to provide the electricity to run the blower fan in the furnace. I ALWAYS have hot water and heat when many of my neighbors do not. They come here to shower, get warm, cook their food, etc whenever the power goes out. Yeah, I'm that guy!
So to think of a whole house design, having a heat pump that also incorporates the refridgerator and freezer in your house might save additional money, and gain your more control as well.
Before you go there, site the house for optimal Passivhaus design, correct energy absorbing floors & correct roof overhangs for the site’s latitude, have optimal insulation, HEPA/UV air filtration, and clean air heat exchangers. Pay now or pay later...
Not really, first it will add a lot of plumbing, thus cost, refrigerant content and risk of leaks, second and foremost(but not last) what if it breaks down? No heat, no hot water and no 'refrigerator or deep freezer'. It's always good to have some redundancy...
A non-redundant system. What a nightmare.
I would have a basic heat transfer system that pumps liquid down into the ground to transfer heat there, then brings it back up to run over the coils of the heat pump located in the basement with a second smaller system installed at the same time for the fridge... that way the system for the heat pump and the system for the fridge are not fighting each other in winter.
Nope total waste of money.
Dear Dicky, excellent presentation and thanks for presenting these topics.
It's like re-watching Technology Connections.
Good for you 🤠... A reasonable and rational description of HeatPump function... And a bunch of other stuff 'thrown in' for good measure.
Great video, Professor Ricky and I love those dad moves with the thermostat! 🙂
thanks as always James 😂
Thanks for your very straightforward and explanatory video. In my country heating with heat pump is currently the cheapest, cheaper even from firewood heating. My total electricity cost (VAT included) is about $0.13/kWh. At the moment my heat pump uses about 20 to 25kWh per day which costs me about $2.5 to $4. I don't know what will it be with subzero temperatures, but I expect $10 max.
I strongly recommend anyone installing a heat pump or converting the A/C to heat pump, to install a water buffer tank and run the heat pump, when the outside temperature is higher and use the heat thru the cold night. If you can invest a bit more, put some solar panels on the roof and heat your home from there (if there is some sunlight, of course). Panels work very well when it's cold and sunny. Heat pump is the way to increase your solar efficiency by at least threefold.
That’s awesome yeah they will be increasing in popularity around the world this decade
This is really timely, I've been exploring heat pumps lately for an off grid greenhouse.
I am using a Chinese Diesel Heater to run a greenhouse this year. They are great, very efficient, and I'm using even the exhaust pipe waste heat for heating the ground. I have a few videos on them if you're interested.
I'm writing from Poland and such systems are getting more and more popular in here, but mostly well-based.
My heat pump installation is using liquid going 80m into the ground where temperature is stable throughout the whole year.
I sure wish I had a heat pump for my little Chevy spark EV. Would make a huge difference. Fun Show :)
Buy a chinese 2kW Diesel air heater for around $110. I installed one this winter, and in total I've used 0.8L Diesel! It didn't get below -2C this winter though, and I really only used it to prevent fogging, but it kept the cabin at 21C. It uses 180mL/hour and draws only 1.2A on 12V once warmed up. So I've emitted 2.3kg CO2 this winter from my heater. However a heat pump uses 10 times as much electricity, which in the US translates to around 750g CO2 for the same amount of heating, so you'll save 1.6kg CO2 if you drive as little as I do but instead gets a heat pump. So is it worthwhile? The Heat pump if far more expensive, so you need more hours at work, which I presume also has some CO2 emissions, not the least by driving there on more days? regardless, if you throw a barbecue this summer, and burn 10kg of charcoal, you'll also emit around 3kg CO2, so my advice, get a diesel heater, and cancel one or your planned garden parties, and you're in the green.
@@Tore_Lund good advice.
when comparing CO2 emitted shouldn't the CO2 emitted in the manufacture of diesel be included? Isn't it much greater than the the CO2 emitted in the generation of electricity used by heat pump, especially electricity generated from solar/wind?
@@timmathison8740 That's an argument that pops up on RUclips often when talking about fossil fuels, but the conclusion is simply wrong: A barrel of crude contails 159L which when burned devellops 1.6MWh. An oil pump (donkey) uses 209Wh/per stroke, so the pumping only accounts for 0.5%, other types of oil extraction are more energy extensive, offshore 2% and oil sands even higher. Refining a barrel takes only 5kWh because the heat is recouped in the tower to preheat the next batch, tanker trucks and oiltankers are another few percent and so is sales and advertising, so on average 5-12% of the energy in oil is wasted before it gets into your engine. In other words, oil gives 12 times the energy back it takes to get it. So ask yourself; why has oil been king for a century, if it net uses more energy than it delivers? Has oil barrons been stupid wasting money every day through history? So you can fairly enough add 10% to the emissions of burning 1 L of diesel, to get the complete figure of emissions, but normally we only count what is burned, in electricity generation as well as in engines. We don't include workers health insurance or the diesel used in coal mines when calculating emissions from the grid.
Sorry I misread your argument: Yes, the heat pump uses less, but not much, you are saving around 1/3 the emissions, unless you charge by solar, then you save 95%. However a heat pump is more expensive, so the payback period is longer before it becomes cleaner than the diesel heater. In my example, I burned only 0.8L this winter, but if the dude lives in Alaska, A diesel burner is much worse. For comparison, I mentioned burning charcoal, and I actually missspelled: A kg of coal emits 3 kg of CO2, so he doesn't have to cancel a barbecue, but can just use 1kg less coal (and serve more sallad) at a single barbecue, to offset the slightly higher emissions from his heater by not getting a heat pump.
First video from this channel. Very entertaining and informative!!!! Love it. Thank you. Subscribed.
Great explanation!
Well explained.
I am looking to replace an old inefficient oil burner that converted to gas. It casts a lot to heat my home in winter and I have no air conditioning in summer.
A heat seems like a good idea. Also, I have a shallow layer of rich soil over a what seems to be a deep layer of sand. This maybe helpful for installation of a geothermal system.
Thanks, I love the science. Side comment- I experienced the Texas freeze and although I have nat gas at my home the heater was dead because of no electricity to power the fan as well as the control electronics. Afterwards I discovered that the entire heater part of the system only required 110V, not 220V of the A/C part, so I could have used my small generator and an extension cord to enable the heater. Lesson for next time lol.
Nearly all small gen sets pump out 220 as well as 110 and they are relatively cheap. I don’t recall seeing any of the 5000 and up Jen sets that don’t have both. The only problem that comes into play is having the plug which is usually expensive and often hard to get
The one good reason for gas, or wood stoves.
I have a deep cycle lead acid battery and a small inverter that I use for the boiler's circ pumps, t'stats, and water heater exhaust fan whenever the power is out. Don't even need a generator.
Great video! Your explanation clear and simple. Great introduction video for newbies. That not a critic but a compliment. Great work you are an excellent communicator. good work.
Been using a heat pump for years in multiple homes, best way to go. One I have now works down to -22F. Where I live it only gets to say around 18-20F at the lowest. TechnologyConnections did this same video, good one to watch.
Check out Dandelion Energy, they are using closed loop bore holes 200m deep instead of ground coils. Less disruption to the surface and more consistent temperatures too make it a more efficient system.
Still very expensive, but as they hone the technology the prices will come down, so keep an eye on it.
@@MrGonzonator Good to know, thanks. Recent global events have left me with far less cash flow then I'm use to, so going to have to stick with what I've got for now.
@@jeffm2787 for sure. Bore hole systems can set you back $20k... However this is exactly the kind of thing you would have thought Tesla (maybe via an offshoot of the Boring Company?!) would be really into, especially since Musk has hinted at a Tesla HVAC system.
@@MrGonzonator I'm using a 5 zone mini-split currently rated at 24.5 seer. My electric bill this winter which included heat was right around the $150 mark monthly which I was happy about. It should be less now that the weather is warming, but not too warm.
@@jeffm2787 I've just read your original post again and done the F to C conversion... -30°C! That's colder than the coldest place in the UK ever on record.
There are companies, especially in Italy, who use water instead of the big fan for the external unit. So the external unit is much smaller and can be installed below the kitchen sink.
Good job guys 👍🏻🤗
Each country and situation will call for different solutions. In the UK we have very badly insulated houses as our climate is never too extreme. But that makes them very wasteful to heat all year round. Here the answers would be to insulate,insulate, insulate, then much lower output boilers etc could be fitted. Air heat pumps simply would not work in the majority of UK homes, we have no room- due to the density of housing, to fit the larger efficient ones, and the smaller ones simply do not have enough output during Winter to provide enough heat. I f feel in the UK that we are going down a road, due to government pressure to be fitting expensive equipment that simply will not work in our situation.
Great video. Really enjoyed. I liked your little jokes.
Good video Ricky (but all of yours are!), but when you said there was "one more optimization" (11:09), you took a different direction than what I was expecting. In Europe and/or Japan (IIRC), they use CO2 (R744) for the 'heat pump fluid'. And then the HP works well below freezing more efficiently. Keep up the good work!
Oh interesting, yeah that's a good point! thanks for the kind words Dennis cheers!
These really work well and cheaply.
I installed one for my wife's house, from my workshop.
Warm in her house, cool in my work shop. Way cheaper than divorce
Many people started using stainless steel sheets to reflect sunlight onto the AC, to heat it, to defrost it and help it heat the inside. Others also use geothermal, in the form of a few meters-long (or longer) air pipes going 1-3 meters (1-3 yards, or 3-9 feet) under the ground, so in the winter they get warmer air, and in the winter they get colder air, making the AC a lot more efficient than otherwise. Some systems use a closed loop, instead of open tubes, for the geothermal. In places with strong winds, or cold temperatures, vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT) can produce enough energy to more than pay for heating your home in the winter and cool it in the summer, and many people made those from oil barrels, at home. Version for installing on central-spacing highway light poles are planned to be installed in 2022, I think. "A vertical axis wind turbine without the wind! How do they do that?" by "Just Have a Think" on youtube, for more info.
hey ricky great video but you also forgot that truly modern hvac meaning ac and heat pumps are also efficient because inverter technology on the compressor side of things the variable speed of the compressor versus the on and off cycle makes a huge difference
very good point, I didn't want to bring in the complication of variable speed compressors, but you're 100% right. I wanted this to be more about just the base heat pump. You should join our discord server, I'd love your input and insights. any interest? let me know
I will be honored but how i do that
Good video and your information was factual and reliable.
There is one point though that many don't understand, that is the balance point.
Every building will come to a point where the heat being provided by the appliance is not sufficient enough to offset the loss of heat from the building to the outside environment.
I live in the upper Midwest in the US. Many of us have Heat Pumps with a gas backup furnace or straight electric resistance heating.
We have heat pumps that are sized to the cooling load.
In a typical well built 2,000 sq ft. home the Air-conditioning size is approximately 3 tons or 36,000 btu's of cooling. That means with a a heat pump you start out with 36,000 btu's of heating also.
As the temperature outside drops below the temperature inside the heat pump starts to loose efficiency below about 45 degrees Fahrenheit. You were correctly describing the defrost need and cycle. Under some conditions this is the outside temp. where that begins to happen.
As the outside air temperature drops the heat pump output efficiency drops and has a harder time moving heat and the temperature loss to the outside increases.
At about 32 to 20 degrees F outside air temp the heat pump capacity is no longer sufficient to offset the heat loss to the outside environment. This is the balance point where something needs to be done to offset the heat loss from the building.
Added resistance heat or a backup heating system needs to take over or add capacity to offset the heat loss. A gas furnace or gas boiler can be brought online and now those can reach an efficiency rating of 93% to 97% and have the ability to have a variable output to match the load.
I have designed and built Solar Thermal systems in the past that help or augment heating systems through heating a liquid to direct air space heating.
The best most efficient system to heat with is a Geothermal Heat Pump system that is water to water and has Solar Thermal helping it and uses Hydronic radiant floor heating.
The Electrical input is very low and the radiant heating system is very efficient and comfortable.
Terminal units or fan coils and terminal heat pumps can handle zoned systems if needed.😉
You mentioned that heat pumps work best when tasked with a relatively low change in temperature. This has several implications - firstly, as a heater they will work the least well when the outside air is coldest i.e. when you need them most. Secondly, if you try to extract heat from the air outside to warm water for piped heating at 55 deg C you will see poor efficiency so it is better to reduce the temp of the circulating water but you then need really big radiators - or underfloor etc. heating.
our parents and relatives all moved from Florida to Northern Minnesota and spent over a month digging and putting things underground.
We never knew why nor asked about this ( that was over the summer of 2017 ) and as their daughter, I was concerned that it was too cold for them.
Last Winter, we lost power during one of those power outages and our Uncles arrived at took all of us to our parents place within 30 Minutes there of. there Houses never dropped below 58°f over those 3½ days. When I asked how they did it, all my Mom told me was Underground Heating
For a non-science individual, great video..
I'm hoping to appeal to everyone, so that's the goal.
Good video. Nicely done. I just want to say that it would be great if every high school student had a heat pump lab as part of their science coursework. Whether in high school physics, or general hs science. Coupling videos & textbook explanations like your vid with hands-on physical models, where students could actually measure temperatures, pressures, and observe phases (gas, liquid) in the different parts of a heat pump would be so helpful in solidifying the concepts. I was taught this material (from textbook) in hs chemistry & physics, then again in college chem & physics, including an upper-level thermodynamics course. Yet even as a chem major, I found it sometimes challenging to translate the thermodynamic principles, diagrams, etc., to a working understanding.
I know vocational schools have working model heat pumps with real refrigerant. I wonder if there are models out there that are more appropriate for high school labs, i.e. that don’t require HCFCs (not as bad as CFCs, but still not good if leaked) or NH3 (incredibly noxious if leaked).
I liked, can’t wait for my 15% off heating bills
trust me George, good karma is coming your way my friend :) cheers
You're never getting it George. Your government is deciding that your electricity isn't expensive enough, and are writing laws requiring you to use expensive electricity produced by expensive means.
we just had geothermal heating installed at our house 10 months ago
but instead of doing the coiling in the garden, in the faroe islands, we drill a hole in the ground. in our case a nearly 900 feet in the ground.
the brine in varies from 7 to 11 centigrades, and we usually keep our house around 18-21 centigrades depending if we are at home (smart home controlled).
the out side in the winter user becomes around -2'ish centigrades.
a warm month her is around 8kwh a day, and a cold is around 20kwh. taken in to account we are remodelling the house, so it is a bit lacking in the isolation department so far...
Thanks for your explanation of the refrigeration cycle. It’s a cool piece of physics that we use without thought on a daily basis. When it comes to heating and cooling our homes it really does feel like “money for old rope”. It seems to me that with a few added components our air conditioners could also be our heaters. I know that already exists, but they could be a lot more popular.
I know this comment is 5 months old, but what we call heat pumps are both Heat and AC capable, that being said, in winter when it gets even below freezing, it CAN take the chill off, but you better not rely on it for your only heat source. The AC is amazing. Heat can be ok but to me, a nice Wood stove gives amazing heat comfy heat anyways. But yeah i don't think many people have just heat pumps with that being the only function. (where i live)
Your awesome man. Well appreciate and loved. Good videos keep up the good work.
I absoutley loved this video. Heat pumps (especially mini split technology) are 100% the heating and cooling solution of the future as we head towards 0 carbon emissions. On top of that with mini split tech, you get ultimate zoned comfort with the ability to heat or cool no matter what it looks like outside. With that being said, I have to correct you on a few things. I'm sure this has been said already but I figured I'd throw it in. Electric heat is 100% efficient at producing heat energy and gas furnaces are 80% efficient at a minimum and the newest high efficiency models are at 99%.
Practical limit for heatpump capacity is break even with the secondary heat source. For natural gas it's around 20F and for propane it's below 0F but it takes an extra big compressor that might not be practical. Inverter duty required when the heat load is bigger than the cooling load.
Edit: ice build up can be the limit for low operating temperature.
The heater he showed isnt 100% effective
But yes, that exists
Great work 2 bit! Liking your style and eloquent flowing presence
I have one for 15 years and works fine, untill it freezes, then goes crazy for a wile (defrost process), then works again!
Yes you're outside condenser freezes up you got to have a heating coil on the compressor to the oil doesn't freeze
When it's time for an upgrade/replacement you 'll be happy with Mitsubishi Hyper Heat units are efficient at 13 deg F / -10C and are functional without backup heat to 0 deg F
@@rcpmac What heatpump is not "functional" at 0 degrees? Just producing 40 or less degree air. Better have sweater