Does anyone know something similar for Europeans (I live in The Netherlands)? Common units used here are all metric; for heating I've seen Natural Gas Usage (in m3) used and GigaJoules. Also almost no-one here seems to use air conditioning.
The easiest (and very crude) solution is probably to find the amount of gas you use per year in m3, then calculate the amount of kWh heat that yields. 1m3 of gas produces approximately 10.55 kWh of heat, depending on the type/age of your furnace.
That is the amount of heat you require over a year.
Through the magic of heat pumps, you can find the COP value of any model you plan on purchasing, but in essence the COP value tells you how much heat the pump will produce when using 1 kWh of electricity, for instance a COP value of 3.62 means the heat pump will produce 3.62 kWh of heat for 1 kWh of electricity.
So say you have a yearly gas usage of 1600m3, that equals 16880 kWh of heat. Assuming a heat pump with a COP value of 3.62, you can then divide the 16800 by 3.62 to find the amount of electricity you will need with that particular heat pump to produce the same amount of heat, in this case 4663 kWh.
As i said, this is a very crude calculation, and it doesn't take into account that the heat pump efficiency drops as temperature drops to around it's lowest efficiency temperature (for mine it's -25C). When that happens, it has a built in backup heating device that will do regular electric heating, meaning 1 kWh per 1 kWh.
It also doesn't take into account climate control built into many european heat pumps (and maybe american as well ?). Mine has an outdoor sensor that simply shuts off the heatpump whenever outside temperature goes above a certain point.
And then there are all sorts of after market upgrades you can buy, like Tado, who produces a "sensor" for certain heat pump models, which will further reduce consumption based on local weather forecasts, AI and other readings.
You're right that our site doesn't yet work for homes outside of the US, unfortunately. The approach would be similar, but some different equipment and home configurations to consider along with different data sets (fuel pricing, weather, grid emissions, etc.) -- I'll keep an eye out for good resources, and would love to help anyone who wants to try to build it!
In Europe we have water based heating system, be it radiator or floor heating. That changes the equation quite a bit, and also impact what type of heat pump you can install (low temp or mid temp).
The best is to have a hybrid system: a heat pump and a gas/oil/wood boiler which will fire up when it is freezing.
I'm .. suspicious of hybrid systems. I've encountered a company which was pushing them, and I don't like the idea that I'll be paying gas standing charge and installation cost for a very rarely used boiler.
8fingerlouie|3 years ago
That is the amount of heat you require over a year.
Through the magic of heat pumps, you can find the COP value of any model you plan on purchasing, but in essence the COP value tells you how much heat the pump will produce when using 1 kWh of electricity, for instance a COP value of 3.62 means the heat pump will produce 3.62 kWh of heat for 1 kWh of electricity.
So say you have a yearly gas usage of 1600m3, that equals 16880 kWh of heat. Assuming a heat pump with a COP value of 3.62, you can then divide the 16800 by 3.62 to find the amount of electricity you will need with that particular heat pump to produce the same amount of heat, in this case 4663 kWh.
As i said, this is a very crude calculation, and it doesn't take into account that the heat pump efficiency drops as temperature drops to around it's lowest efficiency temperature (for mine it's -25C). When that happens, it has a built in backup heating device that will do regular electric heating, meaning 1 kWh per 1 kWh.
It also doesn't take into account climate control built into many european heat pumps (and maybe american as well ?). Mine has an outdoor sensor that simply shuts off the heatpump whenever outside temperature goes above a certain point.
And then there are all sorts of after market upgrades you can buy, like Tado, who produces a "sensor" for certain heat pump models, which will further reduce consumption based on local weather forecasts, AI and other readings.
bake|3 years ago
You're right that our site doesn't yet work for homes outside of the US, unfortunately. The approach would be similar, but some different equipment and home configurations to consider along with different data sets (fuel pricing, weather, grid emissions, etc.) -- I'll keep an eye out for good resources, and would love to help anyone who wants to try to build it!
pjc50|3 years ago
Glawen|3 years ago
The best is to have a hybrid system: a heat pump and a gas/oil/wood boiler which will fire up when it is freezing.
pjc50|3 years ago
brnt|3 years ago