<story><title>Heat pumps of the 1800s are becoming the technology of the future</title><url>https://knowablemagazine.org/article/technology/2023/heat-pumps-becoming-technology-future</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>fifteenforty</author><text>In a house I own in Melbourne, Australia, I just replaced an old gas central heating system with 3 new top of the line Daikin mini split heat pumps. The new units can heat the entire house for the same amount of electrical energy that was used to run the FAN in the old gas unit. They are crazy efficient.&lt;p&gt;Ducts are dead.&lt;p&gt;The Daikin Alira X is the gold-plated option and cost $8k AUD for 2x2.5kw and 1x7.1kw units including installation. Payback time is about 3 years. The system is oversized, but enables excellent zoning and of course provides cooling which is a must on 40C&amp;#x2F;104F days.&lt;p&gt;Why do they seem to be so much more expensive in the US?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Brybry</author><text>I don&amp;#x27;t think the hardware is that expensive in the US, it&amp;#x27;s the installation (which costs more than the hardware).&lt;p&gt;And mistakes by installers will cost even more. Our installers didn&amp;#x27;t flare a line set connection properly and it leaked slowly and that was a very expensive bill (especially since refrigerants have changed so much).&lt;p&gt;Our Daikin indoor units have also had condensate leaking issues, probably due to poor installation.&lt;p&gt;Ductless heat pumps do seem like the future but I think there are issues with regards to condensate draining, air filtering, and indoor unit cleaning&amp;#x2F;maintenance and replacement that could be done much better.</text></comment>
<story><title>Heat pumps of the 1800s are becoming the technology of the future</title><url>https://knowablemagazine.org/article/technology/2023/heat-pumps-becoming-technology-future</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>fifteenforty</author><text>In a house I own in Melbourne, Australia, I just replaced an old gas central heating system with 3 new top of the line Daikin mini split heat pumps. The new units can heat the entire house for the same amount of electrical energy that was used to run the FAN in the old gas unit. They are crazy efficient.&lt;p&gt;Ducts are dead.&lt;p&gt;The Daikin Alira X is the gold-plated option and cost $8k AUD for 2x2.5kw and 1x7.1kw units including installation. Payback time is about 3 years. The system is oversized, but enables excellent zoning and of course provides cooling which is a must on 40C&amp;#x2F;104F days.&lt;p&gt;Why do they seem to be so much more expensive in the US?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>throw0101a</author><text>&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;Ducts are dead.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ducts are still needed to circulate air, especially if you want to remove stale air (e.g., bathrooms, kitchen) and bring in (filtered) fresh air (to bedrooms).</text></comment>