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Colorado should mandate heat pumps in all new homes (Letters) (www.denverpost.com)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/denver_post_comments@lemmy.world
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[–] 9 points 7 months ago (4 children)

No. A specific tech should not be mandated. But, strongly incentivizing moving away from gas furnaces is a good idea.

The problem with mandating a specific technology is in the near future there may be something better, then the corporations that got fat over having their tech blessed spend their money to keep the law from changing.

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  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago* (1 child)

    I don’t think there’s anything that we’re on the cusp of discovering that would meaningfully change how humans heat their homes.

    Also, for homes that have AC, mandating that the AC be a heat pump is logical. They’re cheap now, and the difference is a reversing valve and some logic. I can’t think of a good reason not to, in climates where heat is even occasionally needed - perhaps with exception of geothermal availability.

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago

    I use an evaporative cooler, works well with the dry climate and it is simple enough that I can do any repairs myself (no electronics, just a pump and a fan and switches for them), and is very energy efficient. I've also read about digging pipes that go deep underground to circulate air for cooling. I'd think about getting a heat pump but my main concern is maintenance, have heard from people whose heat pumps broke down and they had some trouble getting them fixed. It's not totally unambiguous that it is the best choice in all circumstances.

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (1 child)

    I generally agree but in this case you can't really beat a heat pump in the near future, except with a better heat pump. The cats spending money to keep things from changing are the gas lobby.

    If we keep installing gas we'll be stuck maintaining two expensive energy distribution infrastructures forever when one (gas) is much less useful and flexible compared to electricity

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago

    There was technically no ban on incandescent lightbulbs. Instead, the law set efficiency requirements, which were beyond what incandescents could meet.

    I'm sure we could write something like that for HVAC systems.

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