Heat Pumps, Hooray
Infrastructure
home energy calculator
SHOW HN2022
How HN took it
7 positive, 15 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 18 critical, out of 40 comments about the project. Thread score -0.53.
Design: 0 for, 9 againstIdea: 3 for, 1 againstExecution: 1 for, 3 againstPerformance: 0 for, 4 againstPricing: 1 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Good information without an overwhelming UI.
From 1 comment
Great job! This has a lot of information without making the UI overwhelming. I have a bug report I got "1.5e+2% of your annual heating."
Siecje on HN
Objections
Default indoor heating temperature of 68F seems too low, skewing savings.
From 2 comments
From the "calculator" the default "heat to" temp is 68. That seems kind of absurd to call a default indoor air temperature during winter months. Is used for all day or just night…
mrguyorama on HNIt's very low for a daytime temperature. Maybe it makes sense with the gas crunch and energy prices in europe, but the specific thing that bothers me about it is hiding that…
mrguyorama on HN
Savings figures don't add up; $24K or $37K totals seem implausible.
From 3 comments
"Switching to a heat pump, you'll save $67.53 per year" also "Total savings over a 15-year period are up to $37,000" I must be missing something cause that doesn't add up.
sparrish on HNIt doesn't seem like the chart of costs includes the effect of summer A/C. And the chart that is shown peaks in winter a couple months early. Overall, it seems to significantly…
vba616 on HNIf you already have an A/C a furnace is very very cheap, so cheap it's almost free (i.e. included with the A/C). I don't see how you can possibly save $37,000 just by getting rid…
ars on HN
Results underestimate costs and show odd seasonal peaks.
From 2 comments
It doesn't seem like the chart of costs includes the effect of summer A/C. And the chart that is shown peaks in winter a couple months early. Overall, it seems to significantly…
vba616 on HNI'm a european (with a heat pump), but i tried it anyway. I entered : - Zip 56714 - 2500 sqft - 4 occupants - 1 boiler - no aircon - natural gas and the result was : Switching to…
8fingerlouie on HN
Mobile display shows truncated numbers and multi-zone mini-split inputs are miscalculated.
From 2 comments
On iOS at least, expanded ducts are showing as $15 (despite adding the more reasonable $15K to the total). Similarly, a panel upgrade is listed as “$1,000 to $3” despite adding…
sokoloff on HNI'm not sure it's doing the right thing when I entered a multi-zone mini-split. It's acting like I'm buying a separate A/C for each zone, but that's not how they are priced. I…
ars on HN
Performance in very cold climates like Fairbanks is poor.
From 1 comment
Put in the zip code for Fairbanks, Alaska. 99701. Not so good :-( I guess heat pumps aren't great when it's really really cold?
mig39 on HN
Requests
Support for hydronic/air-to-water systems.
From 2 comments
On iOS at least, expanded ducts are showing as $15 (despite adding the more reasonable $15K to the total). Similarly, a panel upgrade is listed as “$1,000 to $3” despite adding…
sokoloff on HNRoger that! We're hearing the desire for hydronic / air-to-water systems and support for Europe / elsewhere from a few different places, so this is helpful. Note for those in…
bake on HN
Support for countries outside the US, such as Europe.
From 3 comments
Does anyone know something similar for Europeans (I live in The Netherlands)? Common units used here are all metric; for heating I've seen Natural Gas Usage (in m3) used and…
woutgaze on HNThanks for the feedback! We can make those sliders better, thanks for the suggestions. Yes, unfortunately we haven't seen great resources for the rest of the world, either. The…
bake on HNRoger that! We're hearing the desire for hydronic / air-to-water systems and support for Europe / elsewhere from a few different places, so this is helpful. Note for those in…
bake on HN
Ground-source heat pump support.
From 1 comment
Big plus to ground-source here! Everything shown on the site today is air-source only.
bake on HN
Clearer labels for basic and advanced sliders.
From 1 comment
The sliders labelled basic are slightly confusing, especially as it's dimmed suggesting 'basic' is off. Maybe a down arrow and advanced? Also as a non USian without a zip code,…
benj111 on HN
Questions
Is the heat-to temperature used for all day or only night?
From 1 comment
From the "calculator" the default "heat to" temp is 68. That seems kind of absurd to call a default indoor air temperature during winter months. Is used for all day or just night…
mrguyorama on HN
Why does the simulation take so long to run?
From 1 comment
It seems like it takes a long time to process/calculate the simulation. Is this done server side? Is there a reason for the slowness?
Dork1234 on HN
Alternatives named
NREL's BEopt software for building energy scenarios.
From 1 comment
I would suggest that folks interested in energy efficiency improvement take a spin with NREL's BEopt software. It allows you to make a simple 3D model of your home, enter its…
rainbowzootsuit on HN
lun.energy, a Swedish heat pump site.
From 1 comment
I'd suggest asking the folks at https://lun.energy, to start. You're right that our site doesn't yet work for homes outside of the US, unfortunately. The approach would be…
bake on HN