Everyone's Pumped About Heat Pumps
Uncanny Valley | WIRED23 Touko 2024

Everyone's Pumped About Heat Pumps

People everywhere are hot for heat pumps. These electric appliances—which perform the same heating and cooling tasks as traditional HVAC systems, just much more efficiently—have been outselling gas furnaces over the past couple of years. Their proliferation seems to be pointing more towards an energy-conscious electric future in people’s homes. And, four months ago, nine states in the US signed a memorandum of understanding that says that heat pumps should make up at least 65 percent of residential heating, air conditioning, and water-heating shipments by 2030.

But, what exactly is a heat pump? How does it work? How much does it cost to replace your furnace with one, and how much money does making the switch actually save you in the long run? Let’s also consider the same question we’re asking about AI: how much will this change or displace existing jobs for the people who have been trained to install and service traditional HVAC systems?

WIRED staff writer Matt Simon is our in-house heat pump expert. He joins us this week to tell us everything we need to know about these appliances he calls “climate superheroes.”


Show Notes:

Read all of our heat pump coverage. Don’t miss Matt’s story about the heat pump technician shortage. Matt also took a look at the in-window heat pumps now hitting the market that look and operate like in-window AC units. WIRED’s Rhett Alain digs into the physics of heat pumps.


Recommendations:

Matt recommends the book Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization by Edward Slingerland. Mike recommends the book Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna. Lauren recommends taking a staycation.


Matt Simon can be found on social media @mrmattsimon. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jaksot(426)

How to Hack a Poker Game

How to Hack a Poker Game

Last week, the US Justice Department published an indictment involving NBA stars and members of the mob for allegedly running a network of rigged gambling games. One of their rigging tactics was a man...

30 Loka 202531min

BIG INTV: Why Nicholas Thompson Made a Custom GPT to Run Faster

BIG INTV: Why Nicholas Thompson Made a Custom GPT to Run Faster

The Atlantic CEO’s new book, The Running Ground, examines his complicated relationship with the sport. Nicholas Thompson, former WIRED editor, talks to Katie about the ways tech is helping him become ...

28 Loka 202550min

WIRED Roundup: Protest Frogs, Google Bedbugs, AI Psychosis

WIRED Roundup: Protest Frogs, Google Bedbugs, AI Psychosis

In today’s episode, Zoë is joined by WIRED’s Louise Matsakis to run through five stories that you need to know about this week — from how SEO is changing in the era of AI, to how frogs became a protes...

24 Loka 202522min

How Data Centers Actually Work

How Data Centers Actually Work

Tech giants have been investing hundreds of billions of dollars into AI data centers just this year alone. But as the deals pile up, so have the concerns around their viability and sustainability. Mik...

23 Loka 202528min

BIG INTV: Zohran Mamdani, the Internet’s Mayor

BIG INTV: Zohran Mamdani, the Internet’s Mayor

Mere months ago, New York's mayoral frontrunner was polling at the same level as literally "someone else." Zohran Mamdani talks to Katie about building a social media juggernaut, Big Tech capitulation...

20 Loka 202532min

WIRED Roundup: Satellites Data Leak, Cybertrucks, Politicized Federal Workers

WIRED Roundup: Satellites Data Leak, Cybertrucks, Politicized Federal Workers

In today’s episode, Zoë is joined by WIRED’s Jake Lahut to run through five stories that you need to know about this week — from how satellites are leaking sensitive data to what Zoë learned after int...

17 Loka 202521min

The New Power of Far-Right Influencers

The New Power of Far-Right Influencers

History professor Mark Bray is no stranger to death threats. As the author of the book Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, published in 2017, he has received backlash and harassment from far-right circ...

16 Loka 202532min

BIG INTV: Mark Cuban Would Still Have Dinner With Donald Trump

BIG INTV: Mark Cuban Would Still Have Dinner With Donald Trump

Billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs, talks to Katie about the state of entrepreneurship, American healthcare, and tech under Trump. The investor cam...

14 Loka 202544min