On 21/05/2021 14:39, charles wrote:
In article , Theo
wrote:
newshound wrote:
We don't use gas fridges because we don't (yet) have mini gas turbines
to drive the compressor. The old fashioned gas fridges were the
"absorption" type, much less efficient than modern ones.

And the primary advantage of electric heat pumps is you can run them off
renewables, which you couldn't do with a gas heat pump.

When the CEGB was privatised, one of the managers was going to use his
redundancy payout to try to adapt lorry turbocharger technology to make
a "home" system to generate domestic electricity and use the waste
heat for DHW and central heating. I helped him to scrounge some
laboratory C&I stuff that was otherwise going into a skip for him to
start making prototypes. I guess it never got anywhere, but I was
always slightly sorry about that. It seemed to me to be a scheme with
potential (although probably better in colder climates with a more
consistent CH requirement).

'Combined Heat and Power' is a thing you can buy today:
https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/tech/chp-boilers/

The problem is generally modulating down - they really want to be run
full blast, but that generates too much heat for a domestic setting.
Even in cold climates, you would be much better off insulating. They
might be fine for something like a swimming pool where there's a constant
predictable heat demand.

In its 1920s Portobello power station, Edinburgh used the waste heat to
warm up the sea water for the neighbouring open air swimming pool. Now both
have gone.

Battersea power station ran its final condensate out to blocks of
flats...its the ideal location for a nuclear power station...rub
londoners noses in the fact that someone somewhere has to live next door
to a power station




--
"Corbyn talks about equality, justice, opportunity, health care, peace,
community, compassion, investment, security, housing...."
"What kind of person is not interested in those things?"

"Jeremy Corbyn?"