Post by @thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@thomasfuchs/116641358895134190

just by the by living in a warm place where you need AC a lot is more energy-efficient than a cooler place where you need heating a lot; the temperature delta (and hence the energy needed) that you want to achieve is on average much less for cooling than for heating.

Also solar energy is most abundant exactly when you need cooling most, which is a nice bonus.

Thomas Fuchs

@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io · 4 hours ago

Let's see how "Europeans complaining about Americans and calling them weak and excessive for having air conditioning" is playing out this year.

For some reason, I hear these complaints less and less.

Will

@Will@thepit.social · 59 minutes ago

@thomasfuchs I feel like there are more accessible strategies for passive cooling than there are for passive heating. I'd have to consult my passivhaus friends, but basic things like white roofs, shade structures, trees, and thoughtful breezeways do a lot to cool structures without machines, whereas the architectural methods of retaining heat mostly are around insulation and thoughtful use of solar gain. I just think the totality of it means cooling is easier.

Thomas Fuchs

@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io · 53 minutes ago

@Will unless you go like completely underground you can’t passive cool a house when it’s 45°C outside; and you also can’t retrofit it to existing houses

a (mostly) solar-powered heat pump will work with any house and doesn’t even require grid energy most of the time, plus it’s very cheap compared to the cost of a house

also—buildings are machines

mathieui

@mathieui@piaille.fr · 2 hours ago

@thomasfuchs Not dunking on Americans here (though I did find the cooling very heavy-handed when I went in the summer), but one of the missing parts of the equation is that it is quite easier to produce heat than to remove it, and most insulation jobs in Europe are targeted towards keeping the heat in, making it that much more painful in long heatwaves.

Anyway, heat pumps are the future and they provide both heat and cold in the most energy-efficient package, so let's hope Europe accelerates on that front and stops buying Russian gas.

Thomas Fuchs

@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io · 2 hours ago

@mathieui yes it’s easier to set things on fire than to compress gas, but you also have a fridge it’s not rocket science

Alpaca Male

@alpacamale@social.cologne · 2 hours ago

@thomasfuchs Powering an AC with solar is an absolute life-hack and a giant fuck you to the universe. Taking the thing that makes your room hot and using it to power a cooling unit feels almost illegal.

Thomas Fuchs

@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io · 2 hours ago

@alpacamale our solar cells on the roof not only make energy for the heat pump, they also shade the house 🤌

Dźwiedziu

@dzwiedziu@mastodon.social · 2 hours ago

@thomasfuchs
Ummm… heat pumps?…

Jernej Simončič �

@jernej__s@infosec.exchange · 2 hours ago

@dzwiedziu @thomasfuchs If it's 35°C outside, and you cool the inside to 25°C, that's delta 10°. If it's 0°C outside, and you heat to 20°C inside, that's delta 20°, so you need about twice as much power.

Thomas Fuchs

@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io · 2 hours ago

@jernej__s @dzwiedziu it’s not that simple with heat pumps because they don’t use electricity directly to heat or cool but yes, in general they have to run longer for higher deltas (and even longer as efficiency diminishes when it’s really cold)

Thomas Fuchs

@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io · 2 hours ago

@dzwiedziu heat pumps are better at this than brining gas or whatever but also are more efficient for cooling small deltas than heating large deltas