Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by bfuller 1078 days ago
Heat pumps are expensive to operate, and a nightmare to fix. There is a big movement to build whole subdivisions without using natural gas at all, electric ranges and heat pumps. I don't know why it upsets me so much but it does.
2 comments
Tor3 1077 days ago
Heat pumps for homes aren't expensive to operate. They are cheaper to "operate" than resistance heaters. I doubt they're a nightmare to fix - I have actually had to get mine "fixed" once. It was still fairly new, and it turned out there was a leak in the tube so the coolant gradually (over the last year) got out. The company came and fixed that easily enough. Since then (January 2011) the heat pump has been running 24/7 with no issues whatsoever. In fact you're not supposed to turn them off at all, the moving parts are supposed to keep moving. So, if I'm away for some weeks I simply set the temperature to the recommended "idle" temperature of 17C, which in practice means it's not really doing any work, but it's not off either.
link
Alupis 1078 days ago
Well, the no-gas thing upsets me because cooking on modern electric cooktops/stoves is still staggeringly awful.
link
cycrutchfield 1078 days ago
Induction cooktops heat faster and more evenly than gas
link
Alupis 1078 days ago
There's many good reasons induction cooktops aren't used in commercial kitchens... and those reasons apply for home-cooks as well.
link
Tor3 1077 days ago
But they are used in commercial kitchens. I joined a cooking course arranged by a well-known restaurant where I live, and to my surprise the kitchen we used used induction. Very easy to operate, and you could easily set the heating exactly. It worked basically as a gas restaurant kitchen, just without the gas.
link
baq 1077 days ago
Woks suck on induction by design and that’s pretty much it. The rest is uniquely US problem of not having 400V installations.
link
dacryn 1077 days ago
you have wok shaped induction plates that work extremely well

It's a niche, I give you that, and the plate can only be used with specific sized woks, but they exist.

https://maxima.com/en/induction-wok-wok-burner.html

link
cycrutchfield 1076 days ago
Inertia? Ignorance?

I've seen induction cooktops in commercial kitchens before, maybe they were just being stupid?

link