ᐅ Air-to-Water Heat Pump: Current Consumption and Data

Energy mix – a familiar concept? Relying entirely on electricity simply won’t work. People still buy new cars with gasoline or diesel engines.

Objectively, gas heating initially produces more CO2 emissions, but depending on the electricity source used to power a heat pump, the situation can be quite different.

However, a gas heating system combined with photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors is certainly far from being climate-unfriendly. Operating a heat pump while flying overseas twice a year is hypocritical climate policy. Where do we start, and where do we draw the line?

Let’s start by moving away from diesel, gasoline, and gas heating systems—that is relatively simple and already possible today. Everything will have to run on electricity eventually; there is no alternative.

And I’m neither sanctimonious nor hypocritical about flying overseas. These clichés usually come up at the end of such discussions anyway...

It’s clear that the electricity for heat pumps must come from renewable sources. It already does so to about 50% automatically, with a rising trend. Those who want more can install photovoltaic systems, use storage solutions if necessary, or buy green electricity. There is also truly 100% renewable electricity available on the market. If more people chose that option, the transition would have happened long ago.

So: willingness to change? Doing something for children and grandchildren? There are currently good incentives. Or would you rather keep your horizons limited? Everyone can decide for themselves. But in the end, don’t complain if bans and significantly increased costs are the consequences.

By the way, sorry. Maybe one of the @admin could move the side discussion elsewhere? Bookstar and I probably got a bit carried away... :-)

No, I wrote "probably." And I am also in favor of quickly replacing fossil fuels wherever possible.
But there are realistic scenarios where a heat pump might actually have a worse environmental impact.
In 2018, one kWh of electricity accounted for over 460 g CO2/kWh (source: UBA) (gas 202 g/kWh). This will surely decrease as the share of renewable electricity increases and coal decreases, but to stabilize the grid, quickly ramping gas power plants will still be needed in 2038, and coal will only be fully phased out by 2038. So the CO2 share in the electricity mix will not drop to zero within the next 20 years (or even 50).

On average, a poorly adjusted heat pump (seasonal performance factor of 2) without a green electricity tariff can obviously produce more CO2 than a gas condensing boiler.
And if you also consider that a poorly adjusted heat pump tends to break down more often...

Is that desirable? Certainly not. But simply saying "use a heat pump, it’s more environmentally friendly" ignores half of the necessary conditions for that to be true.

Deliverer schrieb:

No.

Currently, we are at 400 watts with standard modules (1.7 x 1.0 m (5.6 x 3.3 ft)). I think that is quite decent.

@Deliverer, you seem to have a deep understanding of this topic. Do you have a specific recommendation regarding the cost-performance ratio, especially for the mentioned standard modules ≤ 1.7 m x 1.0 m (5.6 ft x 3.3 ft)?
For me, this is the ideal size to cover the roof most efficiently. Currently, I am leaning towards the 340-watt modules from Axitec.
If there are good 400-watt modules available for a negligible additional cost, that would be interesting.

Tolentino schrieb:

In 2018, 1 kWh of electricity generated over 460 g/kWh CO2 (source: UBA) (natural gas 202 g/kWh).

You have chosen the worst figures possible (three years old, annual performance factor of 2), and yet the two were already equal three years ago. So what exactly is your point again?