Vienna Embraces Heat Pumps to Ditch Russian Gas
www.bloomberg.com
The Austrian capital has a $21 billion plan to end its dependence on imported natural gas with heat pumps, boreholes and energy efficiency.
  • Zelaya@lemmy.todayEnglish
    26·
    3 days ago

    I know about that. However, the main reason for reducing emission is to reduce the influence of Russia and China, not the environment. But I mean that the technology is similar to fracking for gas (apparently bad), and fracking for hot water is good?

    • Starring7@lemmy.world
      7·
      3 days ago

      The technology for heatpumps doesn’t involve fracking. You can have air-source heatpumps, which involve 0 drilling.

      Are you thinking of geothermal?

      • Zelaya@lemmy.todayEnglish
        3·
        3 days ago

        The heat source is geothermal boreholes.

        From the article: “After reaching the reservoir with deep-drilling techniques developed for fracking, the companies intend to use the boiling water to power enormous heat pumps, delivering hot water to the surface and onwards to 20,000 homes in Vienna.”

    • Devorlon@lemmy.zipEnglish
      5·
      3 days ago

      the main reason for reducing emission is to reduce the influence of Russia and China

      Do you mean reducing gas usage? All people I’ve talked to want emissions reduced to benefit the environment, not reduce the influence of Russia / China.

      the technology is similar to fracking for gas

      (I’m not going to be using the correct terminology) There’s multiple types of heat pumps that operate by transferring the heat via the ground, air or water source. These are air and (closed) ground types

      Whereas this is an (open) ground type

      The environmental effect of closed types is during manufacturing and what the electricity is sourced from (solar, coal etc).

      For fracking what happens is water is injected into the ground in an attempt to extract gas (very simplified explanation), the resulting water and gas can then make its way into local water sources which will effect the local population. An open heat pump system works by taking the water from ground water tables, using the water for heating / cooling and putting that water back into the ground, and due to the large size of these water sources, the average temperature doesn’t really change (lighting a fire outside doesn’t increase the temperature for your neighbour).

      • Zelaya@lemmy.todayEnglish
        34·
        3 days ago

        I had heard about those pumps, but the article is talking about something else.

        As for Russia and China. That’s like saying that banning Huawei and TikTok is because the government care so much about privacy and has nothing to do with losing in business competition.

        Gas and fossil fuel is also not about the environmental. American and Canadian companies *also do horrendous things to the environment. It’s about stopping the competition from developing with cheap energy.

        • BurstarM
          2·
          2 days ago

          Gas and fossil fuel is also not about the environmental

          This is starting to sound like trolling. At this point if you still have a bug up your ass about Geothermal/Heat Pump power generation I’m asking you to cite sources for your claims and avoid the nonsense tu quoques.

    • Buffalox@lemmy.world
      11·
      2 days ago

      Drilling holes for geothermal heating is not in any way like fracking.
      The transport of thermal heat for the heat pumps is a closed system, and does zero harm to the environment.
      At least that’s how it usually works.