The inverter #heatPump, which refuses to operate at temps below 40F, has still been pretty useful this pnw winter. But what if it could charge up a room-temperature phase-change thermal battery running on solar electricity in the daytime? Radiator full of wax plugged into the window unit or hung off the inside of it... 🤔
@enobacon but we can get 4 cent/kWh power from midnight to 6am (versus 28 cents from 3pm-8pm, and 12 cents other times). The midnight power is pretty much all wind.
So for us, it could be cheaper to run baseboard from 00:00-0600, than to run heatpump at daytime.
@NewNordicNormal depending on your net-metering agreement, it could be cheaper to sell the solar but collecting the heat when it is able to be pumped more efficiently and the solar power is right there with no transmission losses or the whole thing could be off-grid and just run when there's sun (and even plug in to run when there's not), with no solar interconnect agreement or electrical permit. I'm thinking in terms of a window-mounted appliance and a few panels directly plugged into it.
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