Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

You may be educating others on this topic, but you're not educating me. No one runs resistive electric heaters in Maine. Is that common in California? Is that why the startup above is comfortable saying "it's 3-5 times more efficient than [my] current furnace?"

Air source heat pumps are very popular here. We have two. They are great technology, but they are not a panacea. The majority of the electricity we generate comes from natural gas in New England because we don't have access to amazing renewables like is available in California. Also, they are a point heating source, so many folks who retrofit end up buying 3-4 of them to get full coverage in old poorly insulated homes. If the product above is $12k, we're getting into $36k-$48k which is almost double the cost of installing a ground source heat pump which is vastly more efficient during the winter compared to an air source.

This further proves my point: the startup above is clearly looking at this problem from a California context. They should get that under control immediately because the realities in the rest of the country will be shocking to them once they have to take customer calls outside their mediterranean climate.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: