The problem is SO BIG from climate change preparedness to phasing out outmoded energy sources.
In general when I post I'm speaking to this audience on the board, which is mostly US based, mostly white, mostly upper middle class. So if I say that people should be looking at generators for emergency use if your grid is in danger, I mean this board. It's a warning and a prediction. Things are only going to get so much worse before they start getting better. Especially in certain states.
I have a whole house generator, but it’s also powered by natural gas, so is that not problematic?
We have a whole house generator that runs on propane. I figure that an emergency device that only gets used rarely and for short periods of time is much less problematic than a gas appliance that gets used daily.
I do admit that I don't have another solution though.
I’m in KC, so we get real winter temps every year. We built our house w/combo heat pumps with gas furnace backup. We primarily run on the heat pump until it gets super cold (teens?). When we switched to nest thermostats, we did have to pay a technician to install them bc the wiring is a bit complicated. That said, the company we had been working with messed it up, shorted one of our thermostats, came to replace it w a warranty replacement and flat out forgot to wire it up to the heat pump. DH called our hvac company and they gave him the code we needed to DIY and it’s all better.
We have gas heat but the system is very old and needs replacing. I’ve been considering a heat pump but heard some stories about them being “not sufficient” for very cold climates and was nervous. I feel like the info in this thread has been great and helped me realize it could work fine for us even though we have cold winters.
Heat pumps are defying Maine’s winters and oil industry pushback - wapo.st/3x7biIE
These articles tickle me a great deal. This one exposes just how hard the oil industry is trying to push out bad information.
I can't wait to move to Maine and get a heat pump. We also want a fireplace, so I'll have to research the best kind. Maybe a pellet stove? Maybe electric hooked up to something sustainable like solar?