WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.060 --> 00:00:04.080 I want to talk about an invention you likely take for granted. 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:05.259 Your furnace. 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:09.090 If you live in an area that gets pretty cold during the winter time, odds are you have 00:00:09.090 --> 00:00:11.830 a gas-fired furnace heating your home. 00:00:11.830 --> 00:00:16.450 Since you have gas lines in your house, you likely cook with a gas-fired stove and oven, 00:00:16.450 --> 00:00:20.460 and if you have a clothes dryer it is likely also fueled with gas. 00:00:20.460 --> 00:00:25.440 Even rural areas that don't have the infrastructure to deliver natural gas via pipelines typically 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:30.560 will utilize gas fired furnaces that run on propane, with businesses similar to Hank Hill’s 00:00:30.560 --> 00:00:33.250 refilling the tanks of farm dwellers Nationwide. 00:00:33.250 --> 00:00:37.570 Now you probably know that for every one of these gas-fired inventions, there exists an 00:00:37.570 --> 00:00:39.630 electric counterpart. 00:00:39.630 --> 00:00:44.730 Electric furnaces are indeed a thing and can be used to provide heat to the living space. 00:00:44.730 --> 00:00:45.810 Electric stoves are very common. 00:00:45.810 --> 00:00:48.910 And electric clothes dryers are very common too. 00:00:48.910 --> 00:00:52.630 In fact in areas that don't get that cold, you'll often see most of these appliances 00:00:52.630 --> 00:00:54.530 being largely Electric. 00:00:54.530 --> 00:00:58.800 So then, why has the use of natural gas for the furnace and other appliances remained 00:00:58.800 --> 00:01:01.280 a staple of the midwestern home and elsewhere? 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:04.909 Well the answer is simple, and it has to do with efficiency. 00:01:04.909 --> 00:01:08.200 But as we’re about to see, this is going to change. 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:12.649 For now, a furnace like this is designed to burn a fuel such as natural gas and release 00:01:12.649 --> 00:01:15.719 the heat of that fuel into the living space. 00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:20.070 Furnaces are wonderful at doing this, even the most basic gas-fired furnaces are 80% 00:01:20.070 --> 00:01:21.370 efficient or more. 00:01:21.370 --> 00:01:25.999 This means that they release at least 80% of the heat energy contained in natural gas 00:01:25.999 --> 00:01:27.619 into the living space. 00:01:27.619 --> 00:01:31.740 In areas that remain cold for a long period of the year, having an efficient furnace is 00:01:31.740 --> 00:01:33.120 very very important. 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:37.080 Now, gas-fired furnaces are usually 80 to 90% efficient. 00:01:37.080 --> 00:01:40.829 But electric heat is actually 100% efficient. 00:01:40.829 --> 00:01:41.829 Sort of. 00:01:41.829 --> 00:01:42.930 We’ll get back to that. 00:01:42.930 --> 00:01:44.569 Electric heat is incredibly simple. 00:01:44.569 --> 00:01:47.609 This is a $10 space heater that works just fine. 00:01:47.609 --> 00:01:51.759 It's able to be so cheap because all it is is a coil of nichrome wire and a fan to blow 00:01:51.759 --> 00:01:53.350 air past the wire. 00:01:53.350 --> 00:01:57.340 The most expensive component in this space heater is likely the fan motor. 00:01:57.340 --> 00:02:02.109 Just as a point of comparison, this heater puts out 5,120 btus, and the furnace for my 00:02:02.109 --> 00:02:04.369 apartment delivers 45,000. 00:02:04.369 --> 00:02:08.229 So less than 9 of these little guys could replace the furnace, maybe even fewer since 00:02:08.229 --> 00:02:13.310 furnaces are typically sized a little larger than required to combat nastily cold days. 00:02:13.310 --> 00:02:17.250 Of course space heaters are a terrible source of permanent heat for many many reasons, most 00:02:17.250 --> 00:02:21.280 important of which is safety, but nevertheless it would work if there were enough separate 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:24.420 circuits throughout the apartment to power them all together. 00:02:24.420 --> 00:02:28.049 Electric heat is so simple because all you need to do is run an electric current through 00:02:28.049 --> 00:02:31.890 a resistive material, and that material will heat up. 00:02:31.890 --> 00:02:36.489 100% of the electrical energy you put through that material will be released as heat. 00:02:36.489 --> 00:02:39.980 This is the reason why electric heat is itself 100% efficient. 00:02:39.980 --> 00:02:44.360 See when we talk about making electronic devices more energy efficient, we are actually talking 00:02:44.360 --> 00:02:46.470 about reducing wasted heat. 00:02:46.470 --> 00:02:50.069 That's why modern LED lights bulbs are so much more efficient than their Antiquated 00:02:50.069 --> 00:02:55.060 incandescent counterpart--per unit of light, they waste less energy as heat. 00:02:55.060 --> 00:03:00.519 But when your goal is to create heat, you can't get it any more efficient than 100%. 00:03:00.519 --> 00:03:01.519 Sort of. 00:03:01.519 --> 00:03:03.060 Hold on, I promise we’re getting somewhere. 00:03:03.060 --> 00:03:07.170 A gas-fired furnace compared to a space heater is incredibly complex. 00:03:07.170 --> 00:03:11.370 It requires a sophisticated control system to monitor and regulate gas flow as well as 00:03:11.370 --> 00:03:13.500 ignite the flames upon startup. 00:03:13.500 --> 00:03:17.880 It requires an expensive heat exchanger to actually combust the gas safely and get the 00:03:17.880 --> 00:03:21.099 exhaust from this process away from the living space. 00:03:21.099 --> 00:03:25.650 And it requires multiple fans and motors to both expel exhaust and move air through the 00:03:25.650 --> 00:03:26.720 furnace. 00:03:26.720 --> 00:03:31.349 But putting up with all of this makes far more sense in cold climates then using electric 00:03:31.349 --> 00:03:32.349 heat. 00:03:32.349 --> 00:03:37.189 See, although electric heat itself is 100% Efficient, Electric power generation is nowhere 00:03:37.189 --> 00:03:38.540 near that amount. 00:03:38.540 --> 00:03:43.409 So long as we continue to use fossil fuels to generate electricity, then using the fossil 00:03:43.409 --> 00:03:46.360 fuel itself to heat makes far more sense. 00:03:46.360 --> 00:03:51.090 A typical natural gas-fired electric power plant will be about 40% efficient. 00:03:51.090 --> 00:03:55.019 Subtract a few percentage points for transmission losses (though in reality transmission losses 00:03:55.019 --> 00:03:58.849 are very small across the electric grid), and you're looking at a fuel to heat efficiency 00:03:58.849 --> 00:04:02.840 of about 37% or so for an electric space heater. 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:07.120 This means that even the most basic gas-fired furnace uses less than half the amount of 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:09.700 fuel to produce the same amount of heat. 00:04:09.700 --> 00:04:14.290 And that means that gas heat is a lot cheaper than electric heat, and it uses far less of 00:04:14.290 --> 00:04:16.500 our precious natural resources. 00:04:16.500 --> 00:04:21.220 And thus in cold climates, it makes far more sense to have natural gas infrastructure capable 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:25.510 of delivering the gas itself to homes and businesses then it does to rely solely on 00:04:25.510 --> 00:04:27.320 electricity for heat. 00:04:27.320 --> 00:04:31.780 A lot of natural gas would be wasted if it was only used to generate electricity. 00:04:31.780 --> 00:04:34.569 But this is almost certainly going to change. 00:04:34.569 --> 00:04:40.290 Our electric grid is very soon going to become 100% renewable, or at least zero percent fossil-fuel 00:04:40.290 --> 00:04:42.060 if nuclear power remains viable. 00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:48.220 To be clear, very soon probably doesn't mean in the next 10 years or so, but likely within 00:04:48.220 --> 00:04:49.470 our lifetimes. 00:04:49.470 --> 00:04:53.551 As solar and wind energy continues to get cheaper and more ubiquitous, the electric 00:04:53.551 --> 00:04:57.430 grid will become larger with less resources required to fuel it. 00:04:57.430 --> 00:05:01.509 Now of course we have energy storage and demand problems to get sorted out, but I have faith 00:05:01.509 --> 00:05:06.060 that with the Monstrous projects Humanity has taken on in the past, we'll find a way 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:07.180 around it. 00:05:07.180 --> 00:05:11.890 Once we have an electric grid capable of heating everyone's homes with electricity, and it’s 00:05:11.890 --> 00:05:16.310 able to do so at a cost that is less than Natural Gas or propane, you should expect 00:05:16.310 --> 00:05:21.070 to see electric stoves, electric dryers and electric furnaces in every home. 00:05:21.070 --> 00:05:24.889 This will come with so many advantages to help make our lives more enjoyable. 00:05:24.889 --> 00:05:29.090 For one thing, electric heat is so much more reliable than gas-fired Heat. 00:05:29.090 --> 00:05:33.660 One of the most reliable sources of electric heat is the radiant baseboard heater. 00:05:33.660 --> 00:05:37.550 These are still fairly common in older apartment buildings, and you can buy them new for new 00:05:37.550 --> 00:05:39.130 construction. 00:05:39.130 --> 00:05:44.150 Electric baseboard heating does have the disadvantage of taking up some visible space in every room, 00:05:44.150 --> 00:05:47.560 but it is completely silent and lacks any moving Parts whatsoever. 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:52.000 It is common to not have to replace these for decades if at all. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:56.080 Plus, if installed correctly, they offer a comfort advantage as they create a flow of 00:05:56.080 --> 00:06:01.139 warm air rising in front of windows and outside walls, creating an air curtain that reduces 00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:02.139 drafts. 00:06:02.139 --> 00:06:06.030 But did you know there is actually an electric heating solution that is not 100% efficient, 00:06:06.030 --> 00:06:09.270 but up to 400% efficient? 00:06:09.270 --> 00:06:13.900 Now before you start saying that breaks the laws of thermodynamics, trust me, it doesn’t. 00:06:13.900 --> 00:06:15.980 I'm talking about a heat pump. 00:06:15.980 --> 00:06:19.759 Heat pumps are amazing things that have been around for quite a while but are only just 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:21.360 now picking up steam. 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:26.400 A heat pump is essentially a modified air conditioner that is able to operate in reverse. 00:06:26.400 --> 00:06:31.379 See, air conditioners actually move three to four times as much energy than they consume. 00:06:31.379 --> 00:06:36.880 An 8000 BTU air conditioner and heat pump might only use a quarter of the electricity 00:06:36.880 --> 00:06:40.680 that an 8000 BTU resistive space heater would. 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:45.069 This means that even with a natural gas fired power plant, a heat pump can move more heat 00:06:45.069 --> 00:06:52.330 energy into a living space than the natural gas itself contains, as 37% times 4 is 148 00:06:52.330 --> 00:06:53.360 percent. 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:57.610 This is possible because the mechanical energy of the compressor in an air conditioner is 00:06:57.610 --> 00:07:02.050 used to move a refrigerant from a low pressure state to a high pressure state, and it’s 00:07:02.050 --> 00:07:07.120 the phase-change that occurs from gas to liquid and back again inside a pair of heat exchangers 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:12.479 that actually absorbs and expels energy, moving heat energy from one place to another across 00:07:12.479 --> 00:07:13.590 a barrier. 00:07:13.590 --> 00:07:17.870 I'm going to talk about this more in a later video, but for now, know that the heat pump 00:07:17.870 --> 00:07:21.389 is very likely going to become more and more popular. 00:07:21.389 --> 00:07:25.750 Right now they don't work so well in climates like mine because when the temperature outside 00:07:25.750 --> 00:07:30.039 drops below freezing, the efficiency of a heat pump diminishes rapidly. 00:07:30.039 --> 00:07:34.780 However, heat pumps are being combined with geothermal heat sources which circulate a 00:07:34.780 --> 00:07:39.060 heat transfer fluid underground to pick up heat from Earth's crust. 00:07:39.060 --> 00:07:43.580 These systems maintain a high efficiency level even on the coldest of days. 00:07:43.580 --> 00:07:47.850 While editing this video, I realized I needed to clarify one thing about heat pumps. 00:07:47.850 --> 00:07:53.310 The fact that their efficiency diminishes below freezing isn’t the biggest problem. 00:07:53.310 --> 00:07:58.290 Even in temperatures far below freezing, they often can move more energy than they consume. 00:07:58.290 --> 00:08:02.490 But along with getting less efficient, their actual heat output also drops. 00:08:02.490 --> 00:08:06.300 So even though a heat pump may be producing twice the amount of heat energy for the living 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:10.849 space as it consumes, the fact is that it’s now providing less heat. 00:08:10.849 --> 00:08:15.319 So while a heat pump may provide 20,000 btus of heat when it’s 45 degrees fahrenheit 00:08:15.319 --> 00:08:20.389 outside, about 7 celsius, it might only produce half that when it’s 20 degrees outside, 00:08:20.389 --> 00:08:21.940 about minus 7. 00:08:21.940 --> 00:08:26.669 Without a geothermal system in place to absorb heat from, the heat pump must be supplemented 00:08:26.669 --> 00:08:30.030 by a second type of heat. 00:08:30.030 --> 00:08:34.719 Now I happen to know that PTACs, the air conditioning and heater units commonly found in hotels, 00:08:34.719 --> 00:08:37.719 are starting to also incorporate a heat pump. 00:08:37.719 --> 00:08:41.599 This makes sense because a heat pump is really just an air conditioner with a couple of reversing 00:08:41.599 --> 00:08:43.010 valves added. 00:08:43.010 --> 00:08:46.410 These newer units can tell when it’s too cold outside for the heat pump to provide 00:08:46.410 --> 00:08:51.110 enough heat, and will automatically switch to using the resistive heater when necessary. 00:08:51.110 --> 00:08:54.670 I think that this sort of logic might as well be incorporated into a general heating and 00:08:54.670 --> 00:08:58.700 cooling system, as in the spring and fall months, even in a cold climate, there are 00:08:58.700 --> 00:09:00.649 times that a heat pump could be effective. 00:09:00.649 --> 00:09:04.450 If you’re installing an air conditioner, you might as well spend the extra dollars 00:09:04.450 --> 00:09:05.650 and make it a heat pump. 00:09:05.650 --> 00:09:07.590 Anyway, back to the rest of the video. 00:09:07.590 --> 00:09:11.910 To be clear, the gas-fired furnace is going to stick around for a little while. 00:09:11.910 --> 00:09:15.950 Until the point where electricity gets cheap enough, and heat pumps become popular and 00:09:15.950 --> 00:09:21.130 effective enough to provide cheaper heat than a traditional furnace, well natural gas heat 00:09:21.130 --> 00:09:22.780 still going to be popular. 00:09:22.780 --> 00:09:27.260 But it is already the case that solar and wind energy are cheaper than fossil fuels. 00:09:27.260 --> 00:09:32.030 After all, once a solar panel is constructed, it captures energy from the Sun and doesn't 00:09:32.030 --> 00:09:34.920 need any sort of fuel to create electricity. 00:09:34.920 --> 00:09:37.140 The Same goes for wind power. 00:09:37.140 --> 00:09:41.040 Once a feasible storage solution is figured out to deal with the intermittency problems 00:09:41.040 --> 00:09:45.690 of wind and solar, nearly our whole world will be powered with electricity. 00:09:45.690 --> 00:09:49.660 And when that happens, well there will be no need for gas lines anymore. 00:09:49.660 --> 00:09:52.780 Thanks for watching this video on technology connections. 00:09:52.780 --> 00:09:56.850 If you like videos like this, I humbly ask that you hit the thumbs-up And subscribe to 00:09:56.850 --> 00:09:58.320 technology connections. 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:00.520 I'm doing my best to keep videos like this coming your way. 00:10:00.520 --> 00:10:02.540 I'll see you next time.