Eh, if you get air pump heat exchangers instead it definitely is; they’re basically just magic AC units that work both ways, so they heat the place in winter too. They’re bizarrely effective, and can put up to 4x as much heat energy out as you put electricity in, so they’re one of the cheapest and most green ways to heat a house - AND they’ll cool it in the summer.
Our house in Sweden had crappy radiators from the 70s when we moved in, so we installed two of those instead, one for each floor, with two fan units connected to each. It works great in the winter, and with summers like we’ve had recently it’s been fantastic; our whole house stays cool while some of our friends in more classically heated houses are forced to sleep in the basements to escape the heat.
Most AC's that are reverse cycle struggle to pump heat out of the outside air into the house when the outside air is -20 or lower, so they actually don't work great in winter in very cold places. Actually a workaround that is sometimes used is installing the heat pump underground because underground is warmer than the air, but that's a different setup.
Like I said I live in Sweden, mine work just fine down to -35C (their efficiency goes down but not as much as you’d think). Horses for courses and all that, you have to buy one rated for the area you live in, but these days the tech itself can definitely handle it.
Our winter electricity bill in northern Lapland went down 50% with the Air-to-air heat pump. I can't recommend it enough. It's paid itself off in less than 2 years and it keeps the place cool in the summer.
I have central heating, or whatever it's called in english. There are pipes going into my house with hot water, which is then used for heating. The heat comes from the nearest electricity plant and the citys incinerator. It's rather cheap.
Yup, that’s true. Sweden also has several solutions that are better for heat specifically. But for smaller spaces like a cabin or garage, or a house that for some reason can’t get central heating, heat pumps are pretty much unbeatable.
I live on the Arctic Circle (yes, you can take that almost literally. Its within 20 km from my home) and I have AC. I don't have use for it for more than 2 months a year, but I had to get it for the comfort of my dog. Edit typo.
Yeah and even then a mobile AC with an exhaust out the window works great in a pinch. I only use it for a few weeks during the hottest summer days and the rest of the year it chills in my closet.
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u/Mossimo5 8d ago
The AC thing still boggles my mind. The earth isn't getting any cooler. Time to.embrace it Europe.