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Oxford study proves heat pumps triumph over fossil fuels in the cold (www.nationalobserver.com)
submitted 2 years ago by [M, B] to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Oxford study proves heat pumps triumph over fossil fuels in the cold::Published Monday in the scientific journal Joule, the research found that heat pumps are two to three times more efficient than their oil and gas counterparts, specifically in temperatures ranging from 10 C to -20 C.

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[–] 1 point 2 years ago (2 children)

Many parts of Canada will regularly see colder than -40F, so I can sympathize easily with a view that solely relying on them might not be safe in that environment.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Tbf, most Canadians don't live in those areas. Places like Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver rarely get that cold.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Edmonton Saskatoon Regina Winnipeg

    As a Canadian who doesn't live in the GTA it drives me nuts when people dismiss the rest of Canada as some kind of statistical outlier undeserving of acknowledgement.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Which would account for 5-10% of the Canadian population. Just the three metros I mentioned would account for 35% of Canadians. The record low for the coldest of those cities (Montreal) is -36F, but the average low in January is 7F.

    70% of Canadians live south of the 49th parallel (the northernmost point of the Continental US) and 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US border.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Why is it such a controversial thought to merely include and acknowledge the rest of Canada, rather than discounting them outright?

    In case you're wondering here the divide comes from: it's this, and it's you.

    All Canadians matter, every Canadian experience is valid, and no Canadian is any less of a Canadian than any other. Erasure of Canadian experience outside of the GTA is an elitist and divisive attitude and serves ONLY to create friction where there need be none.

    As soon as you erase a group from the whole, it's INEVITABLE that they'll seek to find their own independent identity. Considering your proximity to Quebec this shouldn't be a foreign concept. Just feel free to extend the inclusive attitude west as well as east. It costs nothing to be inclusive of your fellow countrymen.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Because your comment suggests that heat pumps can't work in Canada. It's like an American dismissing heat pumps because Alaska is part of the US. For at least 70% (if not more like 90%) of Canadians, heat pumps work just fine. Obviously, if you are in the part of Canada that gets consistently below -40 degrees, don't get a heat pump.

    Also, I'm not from Toronto or Canadian so I'm not sure all that talk about elitism applies to me. I'm from a small city in the US where I experience weather similar to most Canadians.

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  • [–] -2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    My comment doesn't suggest that, and the fact that you're projecting that on me is your fucking problem.

    And the fact that you're not even Canadian makes it even more absurd that you're explaining to me the nuances of the Canadian experience.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    It's fine. We use geothermal heat pumps with the lines buried below the frost line. (6-8 feet below the surface.) I know quite a few houses and even a few factories (30,000 square feet+) that use them in temps that drop well below -30c to -40c without any issues.

    The initial setup cost is a fair bit more because of having to bury the lines, but after that they're fine.

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