Site Background
I started this site because I wanted to advocate for the greater use of air-source heat pumps and dispel some myths that are circulating around the web. It is my goal that after the launch of this site, the links I reference will clean up their act and change their stories to better reflect reality and better serve the consumer in terms of the pros and cons of installing, running, and maintaining air-source heat pumps. I also wanted a vehicle to share my enegry calulator spreadsheet in which I've invested countless hours.
I originally registered this domain name because I thought it might be fun to make a comic strip about the a character called the Globalwarminator. He may have been a villain or a hero, I was undecided. If a hero he would likley roam the earth spreading the word of carbon neutral techniques for life. He would fight the enemies that created global warming in whatever manner he could.. If he was a villain, he would have a constant stream of methane emanating from his body, he would chant slogans of "pave the earth" and "down with the rain forests." He would go around spreading poor carbon footprint habits, and doing things that generally wasted energy in an ambiguous way.
Rather than create my comic strip and embark on a satarical rant of comedy, I decided to stick with my roots of my Electrical Engineering and shelve my Globalwarminator ambitions for a later date. I was starting a family and like many middle class Americans, I wanted to add AC to my moderate sized home. We have a upper story addition to a ranch style house that consistently stayed in the upper 80s-90s June-September. The downstairs floor only "needed" AC about one month of the year, but because of the heat gain of vaulted ceilings, and poor insulation, the upper area needed help if my new family was to use this space in the summer.
I already had a natural gas fired furnace installed a few years back, so I figured I could add AC for 2-3000 dollars. Efficiency, quality, quietness, were all factors that were important to me as I went online to research my options.
What I learned was that it doesn't cost much more to get a heat pump instead of an air conditioner unit, and the savings will be huge!
If you take away only one thing from this website, take away this: If you are considering adding AC to your home with an existing natural gas fired furnace. You can save a significant amount of money and energy if you instead get a heat pump unit. You will have what is called a "Dual Fuel Heat Pump" system.
Dual Fuel -- The Ultimate Heating Tool
An air-source heat pump that is pared with a nautral gas furnace is the ultimate heating setup. You can use the heatpump for heat when it makes the most sence (the milder times of the year) and you can use the furnace when it makes the most sense (the coldest days of the year). This heat pump configuration is almost as good as a geothermal heatpump at a fraction of the cost.
Spread the Facts -- Don't be a Globalwarminator!!!
There is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to heat pumps, official and supposed energy experts scare people away from heat pumps by claiming various issues. If you already have a gas furnace, getting a heat pump for the milder 6-8 months of the year saves you money and saves energy for the planet. Support the cause for heatpumps and don't be a Globalwarminator
