From Rockets to Heat Pumps

Summary

Joel and Owen peppered me with questions about heat pumps, bad incentives, and why on earth someone would leave rockets for HVAC.🎧 Listen to the full episodeThe Question Everyone Asks: “Will a Heat Pump Save Me Money?”Let’s start with the uncomfortable part.Owen opened with the question I hear constantly:“How do we get the masses to adopt heat pumps when gas is so much cheaper than electricity, especially in California?”Heat pumps really are 3–4x more efficient than gas furnaces.But in much of California, electricity is also 3–4x more expensive than gas.That means the operating costs often come out roughly even, maybe a bit better, maybe a bit worse, depending on the house and rate structure.I wish I could tell people, “Install a heat pump and your bills will drop by 50%.” Right now, in most of California, I can’t. And I don’t try to force that narrative.So instead of pretending there’s a huge savings where there isn’t, I lean on what is true:You get heating and cooling in one system.Comfort is better and more stable - no more furnace cycling on and off at full blast.There’s no combustion, no carbon monoxide risk.With incentives, upfront cost is often lower than installing a traditional AC and furnace.Is it a financial slam dunk everywhere? No.Is it a better system that future-proofs the home, often at similar lifetime cost? In most cases, yes.A Quick Heat Pump ExplainerWhen I say “3–4x more efficient,” here’s what I mean in plain terms:A gas furnace is ~80–95% efficient. You burn gas, some energy goes out the flue, the rest warms your home. You’re creating heat from fuel.A heat pump doesn’t “make” heat; it moves it.Even on a cold day, molecules in the air are moving—that motion is heat.A heat pump pulls that heat out of the air, concentrates it, and moves it indoors.It’s the same physics as your refrigerator or air conditioner, just run in reverse in winter.Heat pumps move heat instead of generating itHow I Ended Up Trading Rocket Engines for Heat PumpsPeople love ...